Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
~NICK~
“ I won’t eat that.” I take the sugary strawberry jam out of the cart and put it back on the shelf.
“Good, more for me.” Jordan smiles sweetly and retrieves the jam, putting it back in the basket. “I like it on my English muffins in the morning.”
“You have quite the sweet tooth.”
“Yeah, it’s a good thing I run about five miles a day.”
She pushes the cart, and I follow a few steps behind, doing my best not to stare at her firm, tight ass.
Okay, I’m not doing my best. I’ve looked at least four times already. Jordan’s not the male nurse I was expecting. Instead, she’s this compact, gorgeous little ray of sunshine, with her golden blond hair and bright smile. Not to mention, her green eyes would likely stop traffic in Times Square. If it were anyone else, her optimistic happiness would get on my bloody nerves.
But so far, all she’s done is lighten my mood, which is unexpected, to say the least. I was ready to throw her out on her ass yesterday.
And today, I want to throw her out for completely different reasons.
Because keeping my hands to myself is going to be a test of wills that I’m not sure I can win.
Maybe it’s been too long since I last got laid.
I think back over the previous year, trying to remember when it was. If I’m not mistaken, it wasn’t in the last year at all.
That’s fucking pathetic.
“Nick?”
“What?”
“Corn or flour?” Jordan holds up some taco shells. “Which one do you prefer?”
“Corn.”
She throws both packages of shells into the cart.
“If you were going to buy both, why did you ask?”
“Because if you’d said flour, I would have only bought one.”
She tosses her scarf over her shoulder with a sassy flip and turns out of the aisle, running straight into another cart.
“Oh, crap!” she exclaims. Then, to my amazement, she squeals and runs to the other woman to hug her tightly. “Oh my gosh, it’s so good to see you!”
“I didn’t know you were back,” the brunette says as she pulls away. “Are you here with Jeremy?”
“No,” Jordan says immediately, shaking her head. “Fresh start.”
“Ah, gotcha.” The other woman turns to me with a curious smile. “Hi. I’m Sidney.”
“Sorry,” Jordan says and gestures to me. “This is Nick. He’s a…friend. Nick, this is my cousin, Sidney.”
“Nice to meet you,” I reply with a nod.
“Let’s get together before Christmas,” Sidney says to Jordan. “You can fill me in on things.”
“Sounds great. I’ll text you.”
They hug once more, and then we’re off again, Jordan filling the basket with more food than I’ll likely eat in a month.
“So, do you have a lot of family here?” I ask her as she chooses a box of oatmeal and tosses it into the basket.
“Yeah. My family goes back a long ways. I’m related to a lot of people. Lots of cousins. And I know almost everyone.”
“Why didn’t you tell her I’m your patient?”
“Because, technically, you’re not my patient. And because your medical situation is your business. It’s not my place to say anything. Besides, you are my friend. I mean, not like a close one, but we’re friendly.”
She leads me down a seasonal aisle, and her face lights up. “Oh, this is fun. We’ll pick up some Christmas stuff today, but I’ll get the majority of my things later. I’ll hit the thrift shop, too, because people change their décor all the time, and you can find some really great stuff there.”
“Why are you buying holiday rubbish?”
She turns to me with a frown, her lips plump and glossy from that stuff she constantly spreads over them. Fucking hell, I want to kiss her.
“Because it’s December. Which means it’s almost Christmas. Don’t you like having holiday things in the house?”
“It’s not on my radar, no.”
“You’re telling me the royal family doesn’t decorate for the holidays?”
“Of course, they do. Or their staff does, at least. It’s my job to protect them, not hang stockings.”
She tosses red and green baking sprinkles into the cart, making me frown.
“But don’t you see your family?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I just don’t.” I exhale and push my hand through my hair. I’m not getting into this. Especially in the Christmas aisle of the grocery store. “There’s no need to go to all that trouble.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble.”
“It’s not my house to decorate,” I remind her, but she just shrugs one shoulder.
“I already talked to Nina about it. She’s fine with me making the place look a little festive. Don’t worry, I won’t go overboard. Gosh, speaking of Nina, I sure do like her. She’s so nice. ”
“How do you know her?” I ask. I know of everyone the princess has contact with, but Jordan’s name has never been on that list.
“Oh, I don’t. Not really. I met her through my other cousin, Willa. Well, she’s not technically my cousin, but our families are close, so we’ve always said cousin . Willa told me that Nina needed someone for this job and put me in touch with her. I’m so glad she did.”
There’s that sweet smile again as we leave that aisle and turn down the coffee one. “We’re going to need more coffee. And creamer. Sometimes, I like whipped cream in my coffee, so I’ll grab that, too. I’m going to make strawberry pie over the weekend. That’ll go well with the whipped cream, too.”
“I thought we were going to be eating healthy.”
She just laughs at my snide comment and leads me through the store. She stops to chat with those she knows, which seems to be almost everyone.
Once we’re at the checkout, and the cashier gives us the amount due, I raise my eyebrows in surprise.
“We went a little crazy,” I say as I reach for my wallet.
“There is literally nothing in that house,” Jordan says, waving me off and pulling a card out of her wallet. “And this is taken care of.”
I don’t question her here, but the urge is strong. Who the hell is taking care of it? I don’t want Nina and Sebastian to pay for my bloody groceries.
That’s above and beyond.
When we get to the car, I start to unload the groceries, but Jordan puts up a hand. Her face has gone from happy-go-lucky to all-business.
“No. These bags are heavy, and you will not lift them. I’m perfectly capable.”
I don’t say a word, just push her aside and resume grabbing the bags. Suddenly, she’s in my way, all five-foot-nothing of her in my face.
“Nick, don’t make me get mean.”
Her voice is stern. Her face is hard.
Buggering hell, if I thought I was turned on by her earlier, that was nothing compared to this.
“Fine.”
I get into the car and seethe as she handles all of the bags, then rolls the cart to the return slot behind us.
“It’s gonna snow tonight,” she says when she gets into the vehicle. She pulls her seatbelt on and starts the engine. “I’m so excited. I love the snow. Maybe I’ll sit outside in it later. It’s not too cold.”
I don’t answer. I don’t like feeling incapable. Inadequate.
For fuck’s sake, I should be working, not fetching groceries.
“I’m making the tacos for dinner. With margaritas.”
“Whatever’s your cup of tea.”
She glances my way. “What crawled up your butt?”
I’m silent as she drives through town.
“Are you pissed because I didn’t let you help with the bags? Nick, this is the whole reason I’m here. To make sure you don’t do things like that. It’s the whole point.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t have to like it.”
“The less you do now, the faster you can get back to normal,” she says. She sounds perfectly reasonable.
I still don’t like it.
“Who’s Jeremy?”
She doesn’t miss a beat as she flips on her turn signal and then heads toward the lake house.
She also doesn’t answer me.
“Jordan.”
She clears her throat.
“You can tell me to mind my own business.”
“It’s not that. I’m trying to find a diplomatic way to answer that question. Jeremy is my ex-boyfriend.”
“What’s the non-diplomatic answer?”
“He’s the piece of shit I stayed with for way too long.”
I nod thoughtfully. “I like the second answer better.”
“Me, too.” She laughs and pulls into the driveway. “We dated through high school. I followed him to Arizona because that’s where he wanted to go to college. And now, I’m home.”
There is clearly a massive amount of information that she glossed over, but I figure I’ll let it be for now.
Later, I’ll run a search on this Jeremy. Shouldn’t be difficult.
“I have a meeting at HQ this afternoon,” I inform her. “I’ll be gone for a couple of hours.”
“Great, I’ll go to the gym and get some miles in,” she replies. I’d almost rather go to the gym with her and watch her run.
Of course, I know she wouldn’t allow it.
“We’re staying through the first of the year,” Sebastian says. We’re in HQ, holding our weekly briefing with both me and Randall Hunt, Sebastian’s new head of security for both him and the Montana property. Sebastian has another security point man whenever he’s in London.
I’m always assigned to Nina, no matter where she is in the world.
We also have other property detail men here.
“Why are you staying so long?” I ask, surprising His Highness.
“Nina would like to spend the holiday with her brother, and I have no objection to that.”
I suspect that she wants to stay and supervise my recovery, but I keep that observation to myself. Things have been quiet here at the Montana property since the incident just a month ago, making life much easier for the security detail. But being on high alert, no matter the circumstances, is part of the job.
We finish going through some information, and just when Sebastian starts putting his coat on, he nods at me. “Nick, walk to the house with me?”
“Yes, sir.”
We step out into the cold, calm air and climb the recently shoveled walk up to the main house.
“How are things going?” he asks.
I know he’s asking about Jordan.
“It would be great if you could get me out of this.”
He laughs and opens the door for me.
“My wife has her mind made up, I’m afraid. Is the nurse incompetent? Do you want us to find someone else?”
“That’s not it.” I shake my head in frustration. Maintaining my professionalism has never been a problem for me. And I’ll be damned if I’ll let it be an issue now. “I’m not used to having a babysitter.”
We climb the stairs and find Nina sitting in the living room with her sister-in-law, Jenna.
“Your Highness.” I bow my head.
“Hello, Nick. How nice to see you. How are things with Jordan?”
Sebastian laughs as he fetches himself a drink from the kitchen.
“What does that mean?” Nina demands, standing.
“She’s fine,” I reply, shaking my head.
“It means something,” she insists, narrowing her eyes at me. “Do you hate her?”
“No.” No, I like her too much. “She’s fine, like I said.”
“I’ve met Jordan before,” Jenna says. “She’s super sweet. A little young, but the nicest girl. I can’t imagine she’ll give you any trouble.”
“She’s a ray of sunshine,” I mutter, remembering my assessment from earlier. “Just delightful.”
“Are you being grumpy with her?”
Sebastian laughs again, making me scowl. “I’m always a little grumpy.”
“Well, don’t chase her off. Be nice.”
“I’m perfectly nice.”
“What does she look like?” Sebastian asks, earning a glare from me. “That bad?”
“No,” Jenna says thoughtfully as a smile spreads over her face. “I think it’s that good .”
“I’m leaving.”
I march to the front door and fling it open to the sound of the three of them laughing behind me.
“Have a good evening,” Nina calls out to me. I don’t answer as I slam the door shut.