Book 22 Rescue After Dark #5
Jordan’s sheepish little grin twists him up inside, minutes after he lectured himself about swearing off women and the drama that comes with them.
She’s made a profitable career out of courting and exploiting drama, which is contrary to what he wants for himself.
He has no business finding her adorable or wishing he could actually kiss those sweet lips that form the cutest smiles.
Nikki offers Mason a drink, and he asks for a soda.
“Are you on duty?” Jordan asks.
“Nope, but I don’t drink anymore. I’ve been in recovery for thirteen years.” He’s always transparent about why he avoids alcohol, preferring to share his truth rather than hide from it. That, too, helps him stay sober.
“Oh.” Jordan sits at one of the stools at the counter and gestures for him to join her. “That’s cool.”
As he sits on the stool, he can tell she wants to ask more about it but doesn’t. “I’m an open book on that topic,” he says as he accepts a glass of iced ginger ale from Nikki, “so don’t be shy if you want to know about it.”
“It’s none of my business,” Jordan says, “but good for you. That’s an amazing accomplishment.”
“Thanks. It’s something I’m proud of.”
Mason is dazzled by her, and all the warnings in the world can’t stop him from wanting more of her or from doing something that can lead to even more heartache than he’s experienced in the past. She’s the kind of woman who can truly ruin him, which is all the more reason to keep his distance.
But as he sits next to her in the cozy kitchen, a feeling of rightness and completion comes over him that makes him feel even more ridiculous than he did earlier. He’s smitten.
Jordan can’t stop stealing glances at Mason.
Everything about him fascinates her, from his towering height to the blond streaks in his brown hair, to his tanned skin and the way his large hands cradle the glass of soda.
And that he’d come right out and told her he was a recovering alcoholic gives him mad points in her book.
Most of the people she knows would never admit to being anything less than perfect and certainly wouldn’t have owned their alcoholism the way he did.
That is something else about him to be admired, especially in light of what she’s been through with Brendan and his addiction issues, not to mention her mother’s struggles with drugs.
“After dinner,” he says in a low, intimate tone that sets her heart to racing, “do you want to go for a ride?”
“I do, but I, um, I should tell you that I’m still married.”
“Oh. Okay.” Does he seem disappointed, or is that her overly active imagination?
“Not for much longer, but technically.” She shrugs. “I’m waiting for him to get out of rehab so I can serve him with papers.”
“There’s no chance you’ll go back to him?”
“No chance in Hell.”
“Then going for a ride shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Jordan swallows hard, wondering if going for a ride is code for much more than that.
She nods, unnerved by the intense way he looks at her.
It’s been so long since her husband has paid her any real attention.
She can barely remember what it’d been like to feel the heady sort of anticipation that comes with understanding that a man was interested in her. And that she’s equally interested.
“I’m kind of a red-hot mess, Mason, and you seem like a really nice guy. Things have been complicated and…” The words die on her lips when his big hand covers hers, infusing her with warmth that seems to touch her everywhere.
“We’re just going for a ride, okay?”
Now, she feels foolish for blowing it up into more, but he has a right to know her marital status in light of the attraction between them that can’t be denied. “I’m looking forward to it,” she says, smiling because she wants him to know she means it.
“Me, too.”
“And we’re going to find that sling.”
Riley joins them, welcoming Mason to their home.
Shortly after that, Finn and Chloe come in.
Chloe is apologetic for being late and blames her last client.
Chloe has rheumatoid arthritis and isn’t cutting hair that much anymore because her hands are often swollen.
Finn puts his arm around her and kisses the top of her head.
The bond between Finn and Chloe touches Jordan every time she’s with them.
From what Riley has told her, Finn has rallied to the cause by finding out everything he can about RA and how he can support her.
Like his brother, Finn is a great guy, and Jordan has been envious of her sister and Chloe more than once.
Mason nudges her with his good elbow. “You okay?”
Jordan realizes she’s spaced out of the conversation—and he noticed. “I’m good. Just thinking.”
“You looked sad. Are you?”
Surprised by the insightful question, she tries to decide how to answer him.
“I’m wondering what the secret is,” she says in a low tone that only he can hear as the others chat with each other the way they did whenever they were together.
The four of them have become close, and Jordan is happy to know that Nik has made such great friends on the island.
“The secret to what?”
She nods toward the two happy couples. “That. What they have.”
“Ah, that secret. If I knew, I’d tell you, but I’m clueless.”
“Glad I’m not the only one.”
After dinner, Jordan takes the ride with Mason. Mason is standing by his SUV, waiting for her. He opens the passenger door for her.
“We’re going to find that sling.”
“If you say so.”
“I do. I say so. And you’re putting it back on.”
“Are you always this bossy?” He sounds amused as he drives the SUV down the driveway.
“Only when it’s important. Your arm can’t heal properly if you’re using it all the time.”
“How do you know that?”
“I looked up dislocated elbows online and found out it’s a serious injury. You’re supposed to keep it immobile for one to three weeks if you want it to heal properly.”
“You looked it up online?”
“Did you hear the rest of what I said?”
“I heard it. I just can’t believe you actually looked it up.”
“Why not? I was interested.”
“Well, I was interested in the treatment for a severe asthma attack, and from what I read, you’re still supposed to be in the hospital.”
Jordan laughs. “Touché. Dr. David let me go home because my breathing was almost back to normal, or I’d still be there. You, on the other hand, are not back to normal. Put the bright lights on. We’re going to find that sling.”
Once Jordan spots his sling hanging from a bush, he stops to retrieve it, and she makes him put it back on.
She teases him about being thirty-five years old and throwing his sling out the window like a child.
He asks her how old she is, and she’s surprised he didn’t look her up online.
When he tells her maybe he did, Jordan says he shouldn’t have done that.
“Why not? I was interested in you after meeting you last night.”
“And now you know all sorts of sordid things.” She kicks off her flip-flops and pulls her knees up, wrapping her arms around them, wishing she hadn’t come on this ride with him.
“I only found out how old you are because I was actually afraid you were, like, twenty or something.”
“You were not.”
“Yes, I was!”
“Why were you afraid of that?”
“Because I really liked hanging out with you last night, and if you were only twenty, that would make me feel like a dirty old man. But seeing as you’re an old lady at twenty-eight, then I don’t feel so silly.”
“About what?”
“About being nervous about going to dinner with you and wishing we could hurry through dinner so we could go for our ride, or whether I have any chance at all of convincing you to maybe hang out with me again sometime. That kind of stuff.” He pulls into the parking lot at the town beach and shuts off the engine.
“You were nervous about coming to dinner?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just was.”
Mason takes Jordan for a walk on the beach. “Do you believe in things happening for a reason?”
“Not usually, but I’m wondering if I should reconsider. It’s funny that a leaking roof brought Riley to Nikki, and the same roof catching on fire brought you to me.”
“That is funny.”
She no sooner said that than she feels silly for comparing them to Riley and Nikki, when they’re on a whole other level.
But as they walk slowly along the shoreline, Jordan feels peaceful for the first time in longer than she can remember. The ocean has always had a calming effect on her. Apparently, her companion does, too. “So, you almost got married once?”
“Yeah, she called it off a month before the wedding. Kinda sucked at the time, but I’ve come to see it was a blessing. We weren’t meant to be.”
Mason gets a call about a bad accident in town, so they make their way there. He apologizes for interrupting their time together with work, but she knows he’s always on call. “I am, and that sucks at times like this.”
“At times like what?”
“When I have something else I’d much rather be doing.”
He sounds truly annoyed to have their time together interrupted.
“How about we take a rain check and do it again some other time?”
“You want to do it again?” he asks as he holds the door for her.
She laughs. “Why do you sound so surprised?”
“I guess it’s been a while since I had a second date.”
“Oh, was this a date?” she asks, her brows raised.
He blows out an aggravated huff and shuts the door. While he walks around to the driver’s side, Jordan laughs while she has the chance. Why is it so fun to push his buttons? And why isn’t it awkward to be pushing the buttons of a guy she’s only just met?
On their way to the accident scene, they agree to a second date the next night.
Mason takes care of the accident and asks Jordan if she’s in a rush to get home.
When she tells him no, he takes her to his favorite place on the island.
He navigates the bumpy dirt road that winds through a dark thicket of trees.
“And then they found her body two weeks later.”