Page 43 of Then Came Love
He set sweats and a T-shirt on the bed and stripped off his shirt, enjoying the way she checked him out. “Because I don’t plan on ever moving, and I hope to have a family of my own one day. So I built an upscale bungalow large enough to raise a family in, luxurious enough to feed my appreciation of nice things, and homey enough to welcome sticky fingers and dirty paws.”
She was quiet for a long moment, looking at him like she was puzzling something out. “Do you ever get lonely in that big empty house?”
“It’s hard to be lonely with Coco around.” He moved the phone so she could see Coco lying on the bed, then turned it back toward himself. “Do you get lonely?”
She held his gaze as “Yes” slipped from her lips.
How could one simple word make him ache to be by her side so badly? “That’s why you need me in your life.” He stopped short of saying something he shouldn’t. “To entertain you on video calls and keep the loneliness at bay.”
“I’d say lucky me, but seeing you shirtless isn’t helping.”
“Damn. Sorry about that.” He pulled on his shirt and changed into his sweats. “You could have looked away.”
She rolled her eyes.
They each got a bottle of wine and a wineglass, and Coco snuggled in beside him on the couch as they settled in by their televisions. Jax texted Jillian to let her know he wasn’t going to make it to Whispers and told her he was turning off his phone and going to bed so he wouldn’t have to deal with a dozen texts from her trying to talk him into coming.
He and Jordan angled their phones so they could see each other, and she tucked her legs beside her and draped a blanket over them. It took everything he had not to tell her how much he wished he was there. He propped his feet up on the coffee table, ankles crossed, enjoying the way she made a little nest of pillows around herself, and as Coco rested her head on his lap, he wondered if Jordan built that nest for the contact, to feel less lonely.
He held up his glass. “To good friends.”
“Here, here. It’s been a long time since I’ve had one. Thank you for talking me into this.”
They sipped their wine and watched the movie. She stole glances at him, catching him watching her every time. They didn’t talk, and that was okay, because seeing her smile and hearing her laugh was better than banter any day.
As the night wore on, she lay on her side, pulling the blanket over her shoulder, her eyes at half-mast. Her eyelids got heavier by the minute, and eventually she nodded off. She looked peaceful and a thousand times happier than she had when she’d first answered the call.
Jax turned off his television, but he left the FaceTime call rolling and whispered, “Good night, sweet Jordan. See you soon.”
