by Lea Kinkade
The fourth day, there were orange roses and another card, in his own hand like all of them had been, read, “Orange roses, symbolizing the desire and passion we share.”
On the fifth day, there were bloodred roses. The card, again in his own hand, read, “For the desperate love I have for you. I love you, Jordan. Please forgive me.”
On the sixth day, another delivery arrived. Jordan didn’t know what to expect after the red roses so, when she saw the big bouquet of lavender lilacs, she started crying. The card read, “Just because I know these are your favorites. I miss the scent of lilac, angel. Please give me another chance.” Also delivered was an envelope with a piece of parchment paper inside. On the piece of parchment was a charcoal drawing of herself. Had Xander drawn this himself? She didn’t know he had this kind of talent. Why hadn’t he shared it with her?
Jordan didn’t know what to think. She knew she loved Xander, but the way he had handled their relationship, if she could even call it a relationship, hurt her deeply. True, he had never said he loved her, but she had thought when they made love each night that they were showing each other their love and that it hadn’t needed to be said. Thinking it had just been sex to him had hurt. A lot.
However, she also realized that she had played a part in keeping their relationship a secret as well. She hadn’t had to go along with it, but she had. She’d had her own reasons, surely, but she had been complacent with keeping their relationship under wraps until she saw him openly dating another woman. Then, she’d felt like the cheap whore on the side.
She had ignored his calls, didn’t listen to his voice mails, and had refused to answer her door to him for more than a week. It hadn’t been that hard. She was mad and hurt, and she wasn’t feeling well. She wondered if a person could get heartsick. She had gone to work every day and worked on her pottery, finishing several pieces. She had even started her picture portfolio and was getting it ready to send out to some pottery and art dealers.
She had had lunch with Jessie several times. At first, Jessie had been as angry at Xander as Jordan had been. She had told Jordan to keep ignoring Xander and he would lose interest and go away. However, when the roses had started arriving, Jessie had changed her tune. Jordan didn’t share the words on the cards with Jessie, but from her smile, she thought Jessie must have looked up the meaning of the different colors and made a guess at what was written on them.
From that point on, she had urged Jordan to give Xander a chance to prove himself to her. She pointed out to Jordan that, except for that one Saturday night, Xander hadn’t dated anyone else since he and Jordan had started seeing each other. She also pointed out that Xander wasn’t one to be so persistent with a woman or to send a woman roses. She again hinted at Xander’s failed relationship with his former fiancée, Sophie, telling her that men can be idiots, and asked Jordan to give her stupid brother another chance. Jordan thought she was perhaps talking about other men besides Xander when she said this. Jessie pointed out that if Xander hurt Jordan again in any way, she would kill him herself.
Cassie Chisholm had also stopped by Jordan’s place. She didn’t defend Xander. Instead, she had simply opened her arms to Jordan. Jordan had stepped into the embrace and cried tears she didn’t know she had left. After she was done crying, Cassie had made tea and taken out the container of cookies she had baked and brought with her. They sat on the porch drinking tea and eating cookies for a couple of hours, talking about everything but Xander. Cassie had left with Jordan’s tentative promise to come to Sunday lunch soon and a promise to call if she needed anything.
Having decided to talk to Xander the next time he showed up or called, Jordan waited for the contact. It came the evening after she received the lilacs. Her house was filled with roses as she hadn’t had the heart to throw the beautiful flowers out, so they sat around the house in their vases, giving off a heavenly aroma. The lilacs were still her favorite, though.
At 6:00 p.m., the doorbell rang on the front door. Having been in the pottery room, Jordan hadn’t heard anyone drive up, so she opened up the door expecting one of her neighbors looking to borrow something or dropping off some fresh produce from their gardens, as they had been doing recently. Opening up the door, she found Xander standing on the steps with a suit on.
* * * *
Xander waited on the front porch with a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates. He knew Jordan was home as her car was in the driveway, and he had double-checked that she had the night off from the club. As she opened up the door, his eyes drank in the sight of her. She looked tired. Tired but beautiful, with her raven-black hair pulled up in one of those hair thingies and no makeup. There was a smudge of clay on her face, and her hands were caked in wet clay, holding an old hand towel, and she was barefoot. She also looked surprised, and maybe a little happy, to see him.
“Hi,” he said, as he watched her closely.
When she simply stared at him, he spoke again. “I was wondering if you would go out on a date with me tonight. I would have called first, but you haven’t been answering my calls.”
As she began shaking her head, Xander quickly said, “Please go out with me, Jordan. I want to make it up to you. I want us to start over.”
“I’m all dirty.” Jordan knew she sounded stupid, but she hadn't been prepared to see Xander, and she certainly wasn't prepared to go out on a date with him.
“That’s okay. I’ll wait however long it takes you to get ready.” He said that knowing his words held a double meaning.
“It will take me about an hour to get this all cleaned up and get ready to go.”
“That’s okay. Let me open up this bottle of wine, and we can share it while you get ready, okay?”
“Okay,” she said hesitantly, “the corkscrew is in the drawer next to the oven. Let me clean up the clay, and then I can take a quick shower.” She opened the door for him. Xander walked in past her, breathed in her lilac scent, and smiled. He had missed the way she smelled. Hell, he'd missed everything about her.
Xander went to the kitchen, found the corkscrew, and uncorked the bottle of Riesling he had brought over. It was already chilled. He knew Jordan didn’t like dry wine, and he had picked this one in particular because she had once mentioned it was one of her favorites. He set down the box of chocolates, a box of chocolate-covered caramels that he knew she loved, and looked in the cupboard where he remembered she kept the glasses. He found two wineglasses and poured the wine. He took a large swallow of his and then filled it back up again. So far, so good. At least she hadn’t slammed the door in his face.
Jordan returned to the kitchen with the dirty hand towel still in her hands. “I’ve got the clay put away and cleaned up. Now I need to take a shower. I’ll take my glass of wine with me.” Taking a sip, she stopped, surprised, and asked, “Is this…?”
“Yeah,” responded Xander. “I remember you saying it was your favorite.”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks,” she responded and blushed, quickly heading down the hall to the bedroom.
Xander took his glass of wine and went to sit down on the couch. He grabbed the remote and turned on the television to ESPN. He took another gulp of his wine and settled in to wait for Jordan.
* * * *
Jordan walked into the bathroom, flicked on the light switch, and looked at herself in the mirror. “Oh, God,” she said softly. “I look like shit.” Quickly going to the shower and starting the water, she pulled off her clothes, which had varying amounts of clay drying on them. She adjusted it to the medium heat she preferred and stepped in, reaching for her bodywash. She cleaned her hands well, getting the clay out from beneath her nails. Then she got down the shampoo and washed her hair twice from top to bottom. After putting conditioner on her hair, she went back to the body gel and soaped up her entire body. She looked at the razor and thought, “What the hell,” and shaved her legs for the second time that day.
After rinsing off, she grabbed two towels. One towel she wrapped around her hair and the other she u
sed to quickly dry her body. Grabbing her robe from the back of the bathroom door and pulling it on, Jordan headed into her bedroom. She took another sip of her barely touched glass of wine and placed it on her bedside table. For some reason, the wine tasted off.
Jordan took the towel off her hair and began to comb it out. She grabbed the blow dryer and began the fifteen-minute process to dry it. Finished, she brushed it out and decided to leave it down. Xander seemed to like it that way.
She pulled panties and a bra from her drawer and put them on. She didn’t think too hard about why she grabbed a black thong and a matching black-lace bra, she just did it. Xander was in a suit, so they must be going somewhere nice. Deciding to wear a turquoise-and-black print skirt that showed off her legs with a matching turquoise silky blouse, Jordan knew she looked good. A pair of strappy black sandals and her outfit was complete. No nylons. If Jordan was going to wear hose, she would wear stockings and a garter. She didn’t feel like wearing either tonight.
Next, she went back into the bathroom and applied her makeup. She felt a little pale, so she used a bronzer, some mascara, and some pink lip gloss. Looking in the mirror, she thought she looked a lot better than when she entered the bathroom and decided that she would do. Grabbing a black clutch purse, she put her wallet, cell phone, and a tube of lip gloss in it and headed out to the living room and Xander.
* * * *
Xander looked up when she entered the living room and his cock throbbed to life. He couldn’t help but stare at her. She was smart, funny, hardworking, and gorgeous. How could he not have known he was in love with this woman? The affect she had on him was like no other. His cock got hard whenever he thought about her. Sophie hadn’t even affected him like this, and he had been only minutes away from marrying her. His mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“Did I miss something? Do I still have some clay in my hair or something?" She put one hand up to her head as if she thought there may be something left in her hair
“No. You look beautiful. I mean, you always look beautiful, but you look especially beautiful tonight.” Jordan smiled at his stuttered explanation. He hoped she was just as nervous as he was.
“Oh. Good save,” Jordan said with a laugh. “Where are we going?”
“I thought we’d go to Michael’s. It’s the best restaurant in town, and I want to show you off. Then I thought we could go dancing at the club. I haven’t held you in my arms for too long. I want every man in town to know that we’re dating, and that you’re off the market. I want every woman to know that I’m not seeing anyone but you.” Xander was dead serious. He wanted every man to know she was taken, and he wanted every woman to know to back off because he was in love. He didn’t want any misconceptions surrounding his relationship with Jordan after tonight. They were together. They would remain that way.
“Oh. Okay. Let’s go. We can lock up the back door when we leave.”
“No, angel, we’re leaving through the front door. I want everything to be out in the open. As you can see, I parked out in front of the house. I intend to court you. I want everyone to know my intentions.”
She went and locked the back door, allowing him to open the front door as she preceded him out of the house. He flicked the switch to the front-door light on his way out and made sure the door was locked. He led her to the Escalade with one hand on her back, just above the crease of her ass. Polite but possessive, too. He helped her into the Escalade and leaned across her and fastened her seatbelt. Shutting her door, he strode around the back of the vehicle and got in the driver’s side. “We have reservations for 7:30 p.m. We should be right on time.”
As he walked around the back of the Escalade to help Jordan out of the vehicle, Xander recognized several cars in the parking lot. Several belonged to men that he knew had hit on Jordan at the club. He knew she had turned them all down, but it would feel good to demonstrate his ownership of her in front of some of the men who had tried to get her into bed since she had come to town. Okay, Jordan would decidedly not like the word ownership, but that’s how Xander thought of it. In any event, she wouldn’t be sleeping or doing anything else in the future with any man but him. Just as he wouldn’t be sleeping or doing anything else in the future with any woman but her.
After their delicious dinner, Xander noticed that Jordan was watching him closely. He had been very attentive during dinner. Making sure she had everything she wanted, taking her hand over the table, and holding it for most of the meal. He flushed when she pointed out that holding his hand made it hard for her to eat. He quickly gave her back her hand until the dinner plates were taken away.
As they sat and drank some coffee with the cheesecake they were sharing, Jordan suddenly asked, “So what are your intentions?” When he looked at her questioningly, she repeated, “You said you don’t want anyone to mistake your intentions, but you didn’t say what those intentions were. I was just wondering.”
“I intend to love you. I intend to cherish you. I intend to make you fall in love with me. I intend to be with you forever,” he said very seriously. He smiled teasingly, “I intend to do a lot of other things, too, but that will do for starters.”
“Oh.” She was usually a better conversationalist than this. He must have her on the rocks with his new attitude. He knew she wouldn't tell him she already loved him. She wouldn't make it that easy for him. He knew he'd hurt her deeply, and she needed some time before she opened up to him again.
“That’s it? Just ‘Oh’?”
“Yeah,” she responded. “Just ‘Oh’.”
As they entered Chaps & Spurs, they garnered a lot of attention. Some of it was blatant Some was more subdued. Xander looked around the dance floor. His brothers, the flirt twins, were supposed to have reserved a table for them. Otherwise, it would not be easy to find a place to sit at nearly 9:00 p.m. on a Saturday night. After learning of the woo campaign, they had backed him solidly, thinking better him than them.
Finally locating the twins at one of the larger tables, Xander realized he would not be getting time alone with Jordan tonight except on the dance floor. It looked like the whole Chisholm clan was at the club to monitor Xander’s wooing of Jordan. Dillon was there with a pretty redhead he thought he recognized from one of the department stores in town. Xander couldn’t remember her name right off. Levi and Taylor were there also, looking goo-goo eyed at each other even after five years of marriage. Jessie was there, also, but appeared to be alone. She gave Jordan a hug when they approached the table. Finally, both of the twins were there with dates. Xander noted, thankfully, that he had not dated either of the women that would evidently be sharing the table with them tonight.
Xander drew Jordan to the table with a hand to the small of her back. They sat in a couple of empty chairs beside each other and ordered their drinks. Jordan ordered a diet soda. She wanted to keep her wits about her tonight. Xander ordered himself a beer. Looking around the table, he looked at Ryder expectantly. After staring back at him a moment, Ryder got the hint and made introductions around the table.
Once introductions were made, they sat for a few minutes enjoying their drinks. Xander noticed that Jordan was swaying to the beat of the music and asked her if she wanted to dance. In answer, she stood up and held out her hand to him. Taking it, he led her to the dance floor. They danced a lively two-step to an old favorite, “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” by Brooks & Dunn. Then another to “Just To See You Smile” by Tim McGraw. The white screen was up tonight, and the video for the song played on one of the walls beside the dance floor.
A slow song came on next, and as Jordan moved to leave the dance floor, Xander held her hand and pulled her into his arms as they slow danced to “Breathe” by Faith Hill. Two different cowboys had tried to cut in with Jordan as the song played, and both had been turned away by Jordan—as well as by a nasty look from Xander.
Xander inhaled the lilac fragrance that was Jordan. He knew she could feel the swell of his cock through his pants and her filmy blouse. He co
uldn’t help it, and he didn’t want to. He wanted her to know just how much she affected him. He hoped he was affecting her in the same way. He knew he could feel her hardened nipples poking him through his dress shirt. He had discarded his jacket after the first dance.
As the song was ending, they were getting ready to leave the dance floor when the blonde that Xander had been on a date with on that fateful Saturday two weeks ago sidled up to them. “You might want to stick around and dance to the next one, honey,” she said nastily. “Me and a couple of other girls that Xander has screwed over have requested a song just for him. It’s up next. You should pay attention,” she said tauntingly as she flounced away and over to a table with four other women smiling at them just as nastily. Just then, Carrie Underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova” started playing over the speakers of the club.
Hearing the song, Xander groaned softly and tried to move Jordan to the table so she could get her purse and they could go. “Oh, hell no.” It turned out Jordan loved this song and wanted to dance to it. If he really wanted to see where a relationship with her could go, he knew it was good that she wasn’t going to skulk away at the first sign of adversity. “You want me to believe I have nothing to worry about with these women? That whatever you had with them is in the past, right?”
“Right,” Xander replied, feeling slightly confused.
“Then let’s dance. I love this song.” So they danced, much to the dismay and anger of Stephanie and her fellow tablemates. Within thirty minutes, the table was taken over by another group, as Xander’s past mistakes all left the club with other men.
Jordan and Xander spent most of the night on the dance floor dancing to both the slow and fast songs. Nobody else came up to disturb them. At about midnight, Jordan told Xander she would like him to take her home. They went back to the table where Jordan grabbed her evening bag. They left the club, got in Xander’s Escalade, and drove back to Jordan’s.