Page 15 of Dreaming About Forever

“More” couldn’t happen. He had to keep things on the safe side of friendship, or he’d be tempted to lean into Alicia’s natural draw.

The larger-than-life Alicia Carver had been kind to everyone she’d encountered all day. She minded her Ps and Qs as if she were raised with Southern hospitality.

Jordan didn’t like it. It was great for everyone she met, but it was bad for Jordan’s resolve to keep things professional.

The pilot appeared from the front of the plane and spread his arms. “Welcome to Denver.”

“Thanks, Pat,” Alicia said as she stood. “It’ll probably be a while before I see you again. The tour doesn’t start for a couple of months.”

“You have plenty of pre-tour events. The next few weeks will fly by.”

Alicia stepped into the older man’s embrace. “You’re right. It won’t be that long.”

“Have a great vacation. You should really rest. You need it.”

She made quick work of putting away her laptop. “Thanks. I’ll tell you all about it the next time I see you.”

“I wish you the best,” Pat said as he turned to help the flight attendant open the airplane door.

Alicia zipped the bag, and Jordan reached for it. She took a step back as he hooked it over his shoulder. “Lillian said the car is ready.”

Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, Alicia looked at everything except him. “Good. Thank you.”

Jordan gestured for Alicia to lead the way. He let her get a few steps ahead and inhaled a deep breath.

The extra oxygen hadn’t helped in the way he’d hoped. Alicia Carver even smelled out of his league. She had a fragrance that tingled in his nose, sending a pulse of electricity throughout his body.

He closed his eyes and shook his head as he followed her. The winter chill hit him like a brick wall as soon as they stepped onto the tarmac.

Alicia folded her arms but didn’t speak. Her sweater and skirt were perfect for the Los Angeles weather, but winters in Colorado were no joke.

A man wearing a blue uniform loaded Alicia’s luggage into a black car. She waved to him and said a polite thanks as Jordan opened the door for her.

The man bowed to her. Bowed like she was the Queen of England and not an entertainer.

Jordan had a hard time wrapping his head around the whole celebrity thing. Singers, actors, athletes–what made them worth the hype? So what if their faces ended up on TV often. Jordan didn’t see any of them as special enough to warrant the red-carpet treatment.

Celebrities got away with murder just because they had familiar faces, and it didn’t make sense.

He slid into the car beside Alicia and closed the door, trapping them in the vehicle with unnatural silence.

Alicia adjusted her skirt around her legs and rubbed her arms. Jordan pushed his coat off his shoulders and handed it to her. She looked at him, then back at the coat.

“It’s not pretty, but it’ll keep you warm,” he said, hoping she’d take it. Watching her shiver made him uneasy.

She slowly reached for the coat as if she were waiting for him to pull it back at the last second, like Lucy tricking Charlie Brown in aPeanutscartoon.

Alicia held up the coat, studying it for a bit before draping it over her chest and legs, tucking her shoulders in to keep her entire front covered. “Thanks.”

The thing swallowed her, and Jordan cleared his throat and looked away. He couldn’t waste time thinking about her wrapped up in his coat. He’d seen her dressed to the nines, and he’d seen her colorless and broken on yesterday’s video call.

Now, she was a combination of class and casual. She had the girl-next-door look, and it was messing with his head.

Jordan scanned the area and let Nathan’s orders play on repeat in his thoughts. Agent-client protocol was strict. Never mix business with pleasure.

Too bad his addled brain couldn’t forget the pretty woman–arguably the most beautiful woman in the world–sitting next to him.

“When was the last time you visited?” Alicia asked.

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