Page 107 of Crossing the Brooklyn Briggs
“You were feeling desperate.”
I shake my head. Okay, maybe Iwasfeeling desperate, but I’m not desperate now. I’m no longer wallowing in misery or stuck imagining my unfulfilled future, and that’s all thanks to him. “Jordan Torres, you are the best thing to ever come into my life.” I grab hold of his bicep and brush a kiss against his cheek. “And I meant it when I said I love you.”
Dropping the eggshells into the carton, he grabs a towel to dry his hands and then takes hold of my head to pull me in for a kiss. If anyone feels desperate,hedoes as he kisses me with an earnest enthusiasm that steals my breath. If I thought our kisses were good before, I was deluding myself because this kiss is beyond delicious.
“I love you, Queens,” he says against my mouth.
A little squeak escapes out of me. It’s not at all flattering, but Jordan doesn’t seem to mind. Doesn’t stop my face from turning bright red, though. “You do?”
He chuckles, brushing his thumb across the heat of my cheek. “Yeah. But I wasn’t about to say it in a text. And I was going to use the waffles to solidify my feelings, but I’ve clearly taught you too well. You are…” He presses a long and slow kiss against my mouth. “Temptation at its finest.”
I am more than content to kiss this man all night long, but my stomach has other ideas. With his hand on my waist, Jordan feels every rumble, and eventually he is laughing too hard to keep kissing me properly.
“Okay,” he says, holding his hands in the air and taking a step back. “I hear you.” He says this directly to my stomach, though his eyes stray from my belly to other areas, as if he’s cataloging all of my curves.
I press my hands to my burning cheeks. “What are you looking at?”
“You.” He returns his gaze to my face, eyes locked on mine. “I love every part of you, Queens. Inside and out.” He gives me a gentle smile. “Especially inside. Your soul is my favorite part.”
I shake my head, trying to understand why all of this feels so unfamiliar and yet so comfortable at the same time. “How are you this good at flirting?”
He laughs. “Way too much practice. I had to distract myself from you somehow back in the day.” But then his smile falls, and he takes a step back. “I love you,” he repeats, but it almost sounds like a question. “How am I supposed to tell Houston?”
Oh. Right. “You’re asking the wrong person.” Then I remember what Micah told me earlier today, something I’ve been doing my best to ignore ever since we set it up on Saturday. “We’re all going out to dinner tomorrow,” I say slowly. “My stepsister Skyler is coming into town with her husband, Kit. Micah is bringing her coworker, Fischer.” Assuming he ever responds to her… Apparently he’s gone radio silent. “Maybe you should come and we can tell Houston there.”
He seems to consider that. “You want to tell Houston that we’re dating in front of his whole family?”
“Chad won’t be there.”
“That’s a relief.”
I smack his arm. “Chad will be fine with you and me. He already knows you. I just think… Kit—Skyler’s husband—is really good with people, and Houston looks up to him a lot. If anyone can convince Houston that you and I aren’t a bad thing, he can.”
He nods, a smile slowly growing on his lips as he wraps his arm around my waist. “You think we’re good together?”
“I think we’re great together.” I lean back before he can claim my mouth with a kiss. “But I really am hungry. Do I need to help you focus on these waffles?”
His laugh rumbles through his chest. “I don’t think anyone has ever had tomakeme focus before. What are you doing to me, Queens?”
“Good things, I hope.”
“Very good things.”
He steals a quick kiss and then turns to his cooking, the biggest smile on his face.
I’m pretty sure I have one to match.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Jordan
October 24
Rain falls in buckets formost of Thursday, which means my team can’t do their jobs. The boys seem glad for the break, which probably means I need to hire a couple more sooner than later, so I spend the morning sitting at the desk in my bedroom and calling up the guys Rick and I agreed would make good additions to the team.
They’re both eager to join No Mow Problems and plan to meet me Monday morning to get started.
The afternoon involves another conversation with my ex-father-in-law. When we talked yesterday after Natalie told me she was having dinner with her parents and handed the phone over to Jeff, he seemed skeptical about my request but told me he would look into some things if he had the time.
