Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Oh.
Cringing, I instantly turn a full body shade of crimson no human should ever turn. Not unless they’re being immolated.
“What are you doing here?” Sitting up, I take the buds out and turn off the audiobook, scramble to shove my old T-shirt on over the suit now that he’s made me feel like a kid caught breaking the rules. I don’t think I’m showing too much skin. The bikini is even high-waisted, tasteful. I honestly don’t see what the problem is. I steal a glance around and yep, there are women wearing much worse.
The hard lines of his face relax. His eyes soften, moving to and away from me. “I have a meeting uptown later…I thought maybe we could have lunch.”
He may as well dropped a cinderblock on my head. Lunch? He wants to have lunch? Am I allowed to show joy about this? Or am I required to act blasé, pretend it’s not happening? What are the rules between employer and employee? Nanny and boss.
“I haven’t eaten yet,” I go with, a bland, neutral statement. Better to be safe than sorry. Even though we’ve shared a bunch of little moments, Jordan is basically a turtle in human form. If he senses any sudden movement, he may retreat back into his shell and not come out for another hundred years.
He smiles when he looks at Maisie. That’s his one weakness that he can’t hide from me. “She’s sleeping soundly.”
She’s sleeping so hard she has not moved once. “Playroom and pool. In the shallow end with inflatable arm pillows,” I say quickly, before he starts complaining about safety measures. I finally got him to drop the helmet requirement. I can’t go back to that. The strange looks we were getting could scar her for life.
He nods. I stand and we’re so close I can smell his soap. “Where did you get the swimsuit?”
The question takes me off guard. He searches my face as I’m contemplating why that would matter. But looking for what? I don’t know. It’s not an accusation though. He sounds genuinely curious. Regardless, he’s the man who signs my checks and I’m feeling more and more self-conscious by the minute, fidgety. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“I bought it in the shop myself. I mean, I paid for it––”
“That’s not what I meant. And I told you to charge everything to my account.”
“I can go change. I’m sorry If I embarrassed you.”
“You didn’t embarrass me,” he’s quick to clarify. “I just…didn’t expect to see you in a suit.” He looks uncomfortable discussing it, his color a little rosy. It makes me feel better at least.
His eyes meet mine again, there’s a soft smile in them. “It’s a nice suit,” he says, clearing out the tension. “Come on, let’s get a table.”
“Have you found Eli yet?” I ask, biting into the best free-range angus cheeseburger on the planet.
Jordan shakes his head, worry etched between his pulled-together brows.
He redoubled his efforts to find Maisie’s father after the food allergy debacle. Not only do we need to know important information regarding her health, but I suspect Jordan is worried for Eli’s state of mind as well. Besides, it’s been a while. At what point should he get Eli’s family involved?
“I thought you were a crafty, super-sleuth techn genius. Isn’t there something illegal you can do to track him down?”
The big smile startles me. It’s so out of character for him I have to make sure he’s not having a stroke. Except there it is, in his eyes as clear as day, some levity.
“I tried, trust me. No luck so far.” Sinking back to reality, his smile fades.
“I do,” I tell him. Because I do, implicitly. Being trustworthy is a bedrock principle for him. “How did you get into tech? Have you always liked it?”
He looks down at his grilled salmon salad, organic obviously, picks through it. “I’ve always loved it. I love solving problems, building doors where other people see dead ends.”
“Heavy.”
“I spent a lot of time alone when I was a kid. Computers––code was easy to figure out. People weren’t.”
With a mother like his, I can imagine what his childhood was like. I can practically feel it––the loneliness he must’ve felt. Maybe because I felt it too. The well of sympathy I have for him runs deep and wide, bubbles to the surface and pours out of me.
“Are you always the smartest guy in the room, Jordan?” The intensity of his gaze could punch a hole right through me. “Must be lonely.”
“You forgot something,” he says in a low voice, his eyes on my lips.
“What?” I ask, breathless, my heart beating fast.
“Love.”
I blink. Confused. Off balance. “Excuse me?”
“Your tattoo…the quote. It’s love and fortune favor the brave.”
The day I opened my business I marked the occasion on my body. Fortune Favors the Brave along my bra line. To remind myself to never give up.