Chapter 3
Damn, she was gorgeous and funny and sarcastic.
Normally, sarcasm drove him mad because he was overrun with youthful firefighters and paramedics, many of whom had never been taught not to talk back to their boss.
He put up with it because they were a small, tight-knit department, and for all their faults, his firefighters and paramedics did an excellent job serving the Gansett Island community.
But coming from Jordan, sarcasm took on new meaning. He liked that she gave it right back to him and more than held her own when it came to bantering with him.
He liked her. While he’d waited for the pizza to be done at Mario’s, he’d taken a quick look at Google to get the latest lowdown on her.
What he’d read about her husband had infuriated him.
Other than seeing her show a few times and having been entertained by it, Mason didn’t know much about Jordan Stokes.
However, he’d certainly heard about Zane and had even liked his music before reading about what he’d done to his wife in a hotel room in Charlotte, North Carolina.
There’d been tons of speculation over what’d become of Jordan since the meltdown with Zane.
Apparently, she hadn’t been seen in public or posted to her social media accounts since the night of their fight in the hotel.
People were speculating as to whether they’d seen the last of her or if she’d be back for another season of her reality TV show.
With the pizza finished and Jordan settled back against her pillows, with her face pale and her dark eyes big from the ordeal, he knew he ought to leave her to get some rest. The paperwork waiting for him back at the station wasn’t going to do itself, but he wasn’t in any rush to leave her.
So he stayed until Jordan’s sister and future brother-in-law came rushing into the room a short time later.
Nikki hurled herself at her sister, sobbing as she clung to Jordan. “Oh my God! You scared me to death!”
“I’m so sorry about the fire and the house. I don’t know what happened.”
“Who cares about that? All that matters is you’re all right. I’ve been shaking for two hours since we got the call.”
“I didn’t want them to call you. It was your night away.”
“Don’t be silly, Jordan,” Riley said. “All that matters is that you’re all right.”
Nikki hugged her sister for so long that Mason worried Jordan might be having trouble breathing and was about to say so when Nikki finally pulled back to study the face that was just like hers, only with subtle differences.
For one thing, Jordan had a tiny mole on the left side of her upper lip, and her right eyebrow had an arch to it that Nikki’s didn’t.
And honestly, why in the world did he care about the differences between the twins, and why was he even still there?
“I, um, I’m gonna get going. I’ll, ah, check in with you tomorrow, and we’ll be by for a look at the roof and chimney in the daylight.”
Jordan nudged Nikki to the side so she could see him. “Thank you so much, Mason, for rescuing me, keeping me company, feeding me, entertaining me. I really appreciate it.”
Nikki surprised him when she got up from Jordan’s bed and hurled herself at Mason, narrowly missing a full hit to his injured arm.
“Whoa,” he said as he absorbed the impact.
“Nikki!” Jordan said. “Watch out. He’s hurt!”
“Thank you so, so, so much for saving my sister, Mason.” Nikki broke down into tears again. “You saved us both, because there’s no me without her.”
Mason patted her awkwardly on the back and was relieved when Riley rescued him.
“Come here, love. You’re freaking the poor guy out with your hysterics.”
“Sorry, Mason,” Nikki said, sobbing into Riley’s chest.
“No worries. Glad I was in the right place at the right time.” He thought it wise not to mention that Jordan hadn’t had much time left when he’d arrived on the scene.
“We’re eternally grateful, Mason,” Riley said, shaking his hand.
“Just doing my job.” He gave a small wave to Jordan, who looked so small and adorable in the big hospital bed. “Feel better.”
She gave him a smile that did funny things to his insides, making him wish they’d had more time to talk before her family showed up. “Thanks again, Mason.”
“Sure thing. We’ll see you all tomorrow when we come back to take a look at the house in the daylight.”
“See you then,” Jordan said.
As he walked out of the hospital into the warm late-spring evening, he couldn’t wait for tomorrow.
Nikki sat on the edge of Jordan’s bed, holding her hand. “What happened? Do you remember?”
“I’d taken a sleeping pill, so I was kind of out of it.
I remember my chest hurting and feeling like something was wrong, but I couldn’t do anything about it.
Then Mason was there, and he was running me through the house.
I couldn’t figure out what was happening.
Apparently, there was smoke from the chimney, and I had an asthma attack. ”
“Shit,” Riley said, “I bet I left the flue open the last time we had a fire. I’m so sorry, Jordan.”
“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known what would happen.”
“I’d really like to know how the roof caught fire in the first place,” Riley said.
Nikki brushed Jordan’s hair back from her face. “Shane said you were barely breathing when Mason found you. I almost had a heart attack when he said that! Then we heard it was an asthma attack. You haven’t had one in years.”
“I know. I actually thought I’d outgrown it.”
“The smoke probably triggered it,” Riley said.
“I guess,” Jordan said. “It’s kind of scary to know it’s still lurking in there after all these years.” Asthma had been the story of her life as a child and teenager, but the condition had improved as she moved into her twenties.
“Let’s hope it was a onetime thing and not the start of a new phase,” Nikki said.
“God, I hope so.” Asthma was terrifying, with the attacks often coming with little or no warning.
One minute, she could breathe fine, and the next, she’d be straining to get air into her lungs.
It was the worst feeling she’d ever experienced, and she used to live in fear of each attack.
Of course, freaking out over the attacks had only made them worse.
“What did Dr. David say?” Nikki asked.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet. Katie was in earlier and said my lung sounds were much better.”
“We’ll make an appointment with him for as soon as possible,” Nikki said. “If necessary, we’ll find a pulmonologist on the mainland to give you a complete workup. Try not to worry.”
“I should just go back to LA and see my doctors there.”
“No! You promised to hang out for the summer. You can’t leave yet.”
After her marriage ended in spectacular fashion, she’d put her career in LA on indefinite hold.
Since she had nothing pressing she needed to get right back to, Jordan had agreed to spend the summer with Nikki and Riley.
However, she still felt weird about being at the house when they were crazy in love and not afraid to show it.
She felt like the awkward third wheel in her sister’s love affair.
“You guys don’t need me underfoot. I’ll come back a couple of weeks before the wedding. ”
“Please don’t go. I love having you here.
It’s made me so happy to know we were going to do the wedding stuff together.
” Nikki paused, tipped her head and added, “Unless it’s too painful for you after what’s happened with him.
” Nikki had refused to say his name after Charlotte.
“God, I’m such an ass. Of course you don’t want to help plan a wedding when your own marriage just ended. ”
“That’s not it, Nik. I’m super excited for your wedding. I swear. I just feel like you guys need your privacy and—”
“We’re fine,” Nikki said. “We get plenty of privacy, right, Ri?”
“That’s right,” Riley said. “We’re happy to have you spending the summer.”
Jordan eyed him skeptically. “As if you’d ever tell me otherwise.”
“He would,” Nikki said. “He’d come right out and say, ‘I want to be alone with Nikki.’ You’ve heard him say it!”
Riley laughed, because he couldn’t deny that he was rather blunt when he wanted Nikki to himself. “The house is huge, Jordan. There’s plenty of room for all of us. It’s no sweat, and we like having you there. You make Nik so happy, and I like happy Nik.”
Jordan drew in a breath and exhaled, relieved that her breathing had returned to normal, even if the attack had left a lingering ache in her chest. “You guys are too nice.”
“You’re family, Jordan,” Riley said. “I have my own version of a Jordan, too, don’t forget. Finn and I aren’t identical twins, but we might as well be.”
“That’s right,” Nikki said. “He practically lived with us all last winter while we were renovating. Riley owes me big for putting up with Finn.”
Riley scowled at her, but his eyes conveyed amusement. “Finn is a bit of a handful. You’re nothing compared to him.”
Jordan had spent time with Finn and his girlfriend, Chloe, and liked them both a lot.
“Fine. If you guys are sure you don’t mind a third wheel underfoot, I’ll stay.
But I’ve got to go home eventually and figure out my life.
” In addition to the show, she had numerous endorsement contracts she’d put on hold after the trouble with Brendan, and Gigi had been after her to think about getting back to work before someone decided to sue her for breach of contract.
Despite the fact that Brendan had assaulted her, she’d been the one receiving death threats from his loyal fans after he’d been arrested and charged.
Her grandmother had insisted on hiring security for her that she’d recently dismissed after the initial furor had died down.
Gran and Nikki had been upset with her for ditching the security, but she couldn’t bear to be watched all the time.
Besides, no one knew she was on Gansett, so she certainly didn’t need them on the remote island.