Page 73 of Dreaming About Forever

The reality of what they were doing crashed into her, and she pulled back. She gasped, breathing in as much reason as she could through the cloud of her feelings for Jordan. “Wait. Your job. We can’t.”

Jordan pulled her back to him. “We’ve been dancing around each other, but we need to talk about it now. I want this, I want us, but it takes more than just me.”

Alicia pulled him closer and lifted onto her toes to press her lips to his. Her hands shook as she held onto him. “I want this too, but I don’t want you to risk your career.”

Jordan pressed his forehead to hers. “I don’t know how to approach the subject with Nathan, but I’ll be up-front with him. He can either fire me, pull me from your contract, or give me the hint that I need to resign.”

“We have a week left. It’s Christmas. I don’t want to miss this with you and your family. Can we wait until after Christmas to talk to him? We can keep our distance and be professional until the contract ends. We could talk to Lillian about adding you to the tour security team. It wouldn’t be the same job, but we could be up-front about our relationship before the move.”

Jordan swallowed hard. “We have a lot to think about.”

Alicia wrapped her arms around his neck. “You can’t lose your job though.”

“We’ve blown past all the lines tonight, and we’re not going to be able to hide it forever. If I keep the job I have, we’ll be separated right after Christmas.”

“No,” Alicia said. “We can work it out. You can come on tour with me.” She pulled her hands back and covered her cheeks. “If you even want to come with me. I know that’s a lot to ask. It’s a completely different world.”

Jordan smiled down at her and wrapped her hands in his, pulling them down from her face. “I’d go anywhere with you. I love you. I can’t imagine being without you.”

Alicia threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “I love you too.” A bubbling laugh escaped her throat. “We’re going to get roasted by the media.”

Jordan tightened his hold on her. “Who cares what they think?”

She buried her face in the crook of his neck. “I was thinking we could spend next Christmas here with your family.”

Jordan’s soft chuckle vibrated against her chest. “I’m trying to figure out how to get us past Christmas unscathed, and you’re making next year’s holiday plans.”

She laughed, thrilled and terrified at the same time. “I’ve heard balance is a good thing to have in a relationship. You be the rational one, and I’ll be the impulsive one.”

Jordan inhaled a deep breath against her hair. “Let’s get into something comfortable and talk about it downstairs. We’ll figure everything out.”

“We have to.”

So much was at stake. There were lines they needed to talk about, options to explore.

But none of it seemed impossible if they went through it all together.

25

JORDAN

Jordan opened the front door for Alicia and stepped to the side. “What did you think about the toy drive?”

“I can’t believe people donated that many presents.”

Jordan held onto the collar of her coat as Alicia slipped her arms out of it. “People get generous around Christmastime.”

Alicia scoffed. “Not everywhere. Christmas events are notoriously the worst in the entertainment industry. It’s all big lavish parties to see who can outshine everyone else with their money.”

Remembering that Alicia’s life was completely different from ninety-nine percent of everyone else’s was becoming tougher and tougher. He’d only known her to exist in this quiet world with his family in his hometown, and the hours of interviews he’d watched seemed somehow removed from reality.

Alicia flopped onto her back on the couch and sighed. “I’m out of shape. Workouts are going to kick my butt when tour prep starts.”

Jordan lifted her feet and sat on the other end of the couch, resting her feet back onto his lap. “We could work out sometime. I’m off my regular routine too.”

Alicia steepled her fingers in front of her lips. “Tell me more. The idea of watching you lift weights fascinates me.”

A low chuckle rumbled from his chest as he rested his arm on the back of the couch. “You like what you see, buttercup?”

---