Page 103 of The Price of Forever

There’s nothing wrong with that.

So why did it give me the weird churn in my gut?

I whipped out my phone again, knowing what I needed to do. There was no other option than to continue with the plan. The one that made the most sense for myself and for my future. I sent Liam a response to his application, expressing my interest in interviewing him further. I suggested a date, time and place, and hit send before I could think better of it.

I hadn’t told Jordan much at all about the business. Mostly because it hadn’t come up, but also because when it had come up, it hadn’t seemed appropriate to divulge anything beyond the absolute necessary baseline.

But I suspected she wouldn’t like the idea. I could already see her fighting back about me handing her protection over to someone else. Imagining it made me twitch, which only confirmed the deeper truth that circled inside me.

Jordan might be mine, but I could never claim her fully. Not when so much fear lurked in the shadows.

If we made this real—then I stood to lose her.

Whether from the hands of her brothers finding out about us and firing me, or from a cruel twist of fate a second time around.

I didn’t know which it would be, but I was almost certain it would be one of them.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

JORDAN

“You want me to do what now with my ankle?”

Jessa’s disbelieving shriek prompted peals of laughter from me and Mercedes. Jessa was on the pole on a Tuesday morning, with Mercedes waiting in the wings to try next. I’d invited all the Fairchild ladies over for a little bit of pole dancing and caffeine, but Cora had a speaking engagement lined up somewhere out of town, so it was just the three of us. I was formally launching my Teach My Entire Family How To Pole Dance campaign. Even if they didn’t win any awards and didn’t end up on the stage at Gemstones, this was the best way I knew to spend time.

“You’ve got this,” I coached Jessa, gently guiding her ankle where it needed to be on the pole. “Make sure you press your weight in here”—I squeezed the part of her leg to focus on—“and the rest of your body will compensate to keep you balanced.”

“This is insane, Jordan!” Jessa said between laughs. Both Mercedes and I watched with huge smiles as Jessa followed my instructions and crept up the pole another few inches. She was a solid few feet off the ground now.

“Look at you!” I clapped. “You’re on the pole!”

Jessa screamed, squeezing her eyes shut. “I shouldn’t look down, right?”

“You’re not that high up,” Mercedes said.

The more time I spent with Mercedes, Jessa, and Cora, the more I began to see them as friends and even, kind of, sisters. It was so easy to be around them. So fun. So relaxed. They knew where I came from, so we didn’t need to dodge any awkward topics. The truth was just out there, and they didn’t judge me. They didn’t pity me.

“You ready for the next move?” I asked Jessa.

“I guess!”

I laid out in a calm, level voice exactly what she needed to do next. These girls were beginners, which was so fun. Watching the shock and awe in new pole performers was a highlight for me. That moment when someone realized they really could do that crazy thing with their body. As I watched Jessa tentatively attempt the next progression on the pole, something warm and fuzzy spread through me.

I’d never tried to teach people like this; I’d only ever worked with novice strippers at the club, helping them learn some tricks that would translate better to the stage. But damn, this felt good. Especially as Jessa’s face lit up with pride and she let out another peal of laugher.

“Mother clucker, I’m doin’ it!”

I coached Jessa through another couple of steps before I could tell that her arms were getting shaky and she needed to come down. I snapped a few pictures before I guided her through the dismount. She had both feet on the ground and the three of us were high-fiving and clapping when Seven returned from his morning errands.

He wore his gym clothes but had his laptop bag along with his workout bag, which he set on a stool. His keys jangled on the countertop, and he slid his coat off then came over to us, looking amused.

“Did I miss something?”

“Oh, nothing major. I just scaled a steel pole under the incredible guidance of this lady,” Jessa said, knocking my hip.

“Is it pole lessons day?” Seven asked.

“Sure is. And if you stick around long enough, your second lesson will happen. Right after Mercedes takes her turn,” I said, waggling my eyebrows at her.

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