Wright with Benefits, page 12
She cried into my shoulder and didn’t fight my hold on her as all of her grief finally released her.
When she finally stopped crying, we jogged to the country club and stepped into the lobby. We were drowned rats, but the staff hurriedly brought over towels and blankets to dry us off.
Annie took a seat next to the fireplace and stared off into it like it had the answers to the universe. I left her there, only coming to her side to pass her tea. The last thing I wanted was for her to get sick. She was dealing with enough.
Twenty minutes later, the rain finally let up, and the country club staff offered to drive us to my house in a golf cart. It was a quick drive back, and after I got Annie inside, I came outside with a hefty tip for everyone involved. The college student looked like she was going to fall over as she thanked me profusely.
I waved her off and then came back inside to find Annie staring blankly around the house.
“Come on,” I said gently.
After stripping us both out of our sodden clothes, I directed her into a steamy shower, washing her clean of the hospital and rain and the entire day. She tipped her head back into the spray and sighed. Some of the heartache seemed to loosen from her shoulders. When we stepped out, I bundled her in fluffy white towels and got her into bed.
“Jordan,” she whispered.
“Yeah?” I asked as she finally lay back against the pillow and closed her eyes.
“Thank you for taking care of me.”
“Of course.”
I bent down and kissed her forehead. She was out almost instantly, and I hoped she stayed that way for a while. She needed a solid eight or nine hours of sleep to feel even partially human after this.
I changed into jeans and a sweater and then headed down the hall to my at-home office. Though I practically lived at the office, I liked having an office in my house for emergencies. Like right now. Usually, I used it for late-night working or weekends.
When I reached the office, sinking into the black leather chair I loved, I called Morgan.
“Jordan, how can I help you?”
“I’m not coming in today.”
Morgan was silent for a minute. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Sick? Bleeding out?”
I laughed softly. “Nothing. None of that. I just have to take care of some things here. I’ll still be working from home, but I won’t be as available as normal.”
“I’m concerned. I don’t think you’ve taken a day off in three years, Jordan.”
I sighed, realizing I was going to have to give her something. This was unusual for me. And I wouldn’t put it past Morgan to come over here and find out if I was really okay. She was that kind of boss. Really, the best kind.
“It’s not me. Annie…she had a rough shift at the hospital. I don’t feel comfortable leaving her.”
Morgan softened immediately. “I’m so sorry. Is she going to be okay? Anything I can do?”
“She’ll be okay. She just needs some time.”
“Give her my best.”
“I will. Thanks, Mor.”
We hung up the phone, and I got to work.
“Hey,” a voice said hoarsely from the doorway.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. I’d been in so deep on the soccer complex project that I didn’t even hear footsteps. I glanced up at Annie, who looked a wreck but…settled. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
She shrugged. “I’ve been better. What are you doing here? It’s three in the afternoon. Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I called out.”
She blinked. “What?”
“I told Morgan that I couldn’t come in. I hope you don’t mind that I told her you were having a rough day. She worries.”
“It’s fine,” she said softly. “But…you called out of work? You never do that.”
“No. I don’t think I’ve called out of work…ever. Yeah, maybe ever.”
Her mouth opened slightly. “Then, why did you do it today?”
“I was worried about you. I knew that you were going to be sleeping…or at least, I hoped you would sleep. But I wanted to be here in case you needed me.”
“That’s very considerate.” She fidgeted with her claddagh ring, turning it around and around. “I guess I should go. I haven’t eaten or anything, and I have work and…”
“How about this?” I said, pushing away from my desk and coming to stand before her. “How about we go to Rosa’s and get some margaritas and queso? Tacos are good recovery food.”
She looked at me to see if there was a catch to it. “I don’t know how to say no to that.”
I laughed. “Then don’t.”
“Okay. Margs and queso and tacos it is.”
I tried to keep a self-satisfied smile off of my face as she darted back into the bedroom to change. I absolutely wanted to make sure that she was okay. I was worried about her. But taking her out for Mexican was definitely a date. Whether she wanted to admit it or not.
She came back out in distressed jeans and a sweater. Her red hair pulled back into a messy bun. No makeup. She was stunning. “All right. I’m ready.”
We took my Tesla to the restaurant, which was completely dead. Most people had already eaten lunch, and it wasn’t quite time for dinner. It was more like breakfast for Annie, but she accepted the frozen margarita with extra salt on the rim and extra limes with a smile. We ate our weight in queso and chips before tacos even arrived.
“I appreciate this,” she said, just a little bit tipsy from our second margarita.
“Mexican food?”
She laughed gingerly, as if it still hurt to move her face like that. “For Mexican food and the run and the shower and taking the day off—all of it. I know that I don’t really deserve any of this from you.”
“Oh?”
She flinched. “Well, what went down at Walkers and then that picture I sent you.” She looked up at me hesitantly. “It was supposed to go to Jennifer. And it didn’t mean anything. I mean, Cord, the guy in the picture, and I…nothing happened.”
“That’s good to hear,” I admitted. “I thought you might have sent it as a reminder of the line you had drawn.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t…” She sighed heavily and took another sip of her margarita. “I’m not seeing anyone else.”
“Right, because you’re leaving in a few months.”
“Right,” she muttered. “That reason. And also…because of you.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Annie, are you saying that we’re dating?”
“No!” she said automatically.
I laughed. “We’re just exclusive and friends with benefits?”
“Well,” she said, her face turning red, “I’m not seeing anyone else.”
“Me either,” I told her and took her hand across the table. She looked down at it for a second and then twined our fingers together. “What are you doing Sunday?”
She scrunched up her face. “I don’t know. Maybe working?”
“Still overnights?”
She nodded. “For the foreseeable future.”
“Jensen is throwing a Super Bowl party because the Chiefs are playing, and everyone in this town loves Patrick Mahomes since he went to Texas Tech. Do you have any interest in going?”
“Sutton mentioned it. I was planning to go if I didn’t have to work. I think I can make it.”
“I could pick you up before the game,” I offered.
I waited for her to see it as the date it was. Like she should have seen that this was. But she didn’t back down from it or say any of the things I’d expected.
“Okay. That’d be great.”
“Sounds good,” I told her with a wide smile.
I’d won this round. And she didn’t even know we were playing.
But when we finished, I paid for the entire check, and she only protested a little. I’d call it a win.
21
Annie
“You’re spending an awfully long time on your hair and makeup for a Super Bowl party,” Jennifer said.
She leaned against the bathroom door on the thankfully new hardwood floor. All remnants of the terrible flood were now gone.
“I just want to look nice.”
“Because it’s a date?”
“No,” I grumbled.
“But Jordan is picking you up instead of you just going with me?”
“Well…yes,” I admitted.
“Okay. So…it’s a date.”
“It’s not,” I cried, throwing a tube of lipstick at her.
She laughed and darted away. “I’m glad that y’all reconciled. You seem happier despite the crazier hours and stuff. When do you leave for your Seattle interview?”
“Next weekend,” I said with a grin. “I’m so excited.”
Seattle was my dream city. I’d always wanted to visit, and their emergency medicine residency was top of the line. I knew that I’d get only the best if I went there. Unfortunately, it hadn’t fit into my interview schedule until the very last weekend. So, I’d been bouncing off the walls all winter with excitement to go there.
The doorbell rang.
Jennifer winked. “I’ll get it. It’s probably your date.”
“It’s not a date!” I called after her.
It wasn’t. Right?
I fluffed my hair and pursed my freshly painted lips. Okay, so maybe I was going overboard. That line I’d drawn in the sand was still there, but it was blurry…like someone had stepped on it.
After what had happened at the hospital earlier this week, I couldn’t get over how Jordan had taken care of me. Not just going for a run and letting me sleep at his house, but also all the little things that he hadn’t had to do. Like getting me into the shower and calling out of work and insisting on taking me for margaritas. For not judging me for what I’d gone through and not giving me looks of deep pity, which I had never been able to stand. Just…being there.
And now, I didn’t know where we stood. We weren’t simply friends with benefits. Not after last week. But we weren’t dating either.
I was leaving. In a few short months, I was leaving. I couldn’t fall for Jordan Wright in the meantime.
“Annie, Jordan’s here!” Jennifer called.
I straightened my Chiefs jersey, grabbed my purse and jacket, and then headed out to the living room. “Hey!”
He turned his attention to me, and it suddenly felt like I was standing in the sun. His smile was so bright. His eyes on mine, looking me up and down. That gleam in his eyes that said he wouldn’t mind taking me back into my room and undressing me.
“Hey, you ready to go?” he asked, sliding his hands into the pockets of his slacks.
Because, of course, he was wearing slacks. Blue dress pants at that with a white button-up tucked in and sleeves rolled up.
“I should have bought you a jersey.”
He gave me an incredulous look. “Not really my style.”
“Obviously,” I said with a laugh, mock straightening his nonexistent tie. “You’re just missing a tie.”
He swatted me away playfully. “Hey. This is dressed down.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure it is.” I looked back to Jennifer with a smile. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”
“Oh no!” she said, wide-eyed and emphatic. “I have some edits to finish and feed Cado and Bakey again.”
“Cado and Bakey?” Jordan asked.
“Don’t bother,” I said with a laugh.
“I didn’t think you could have pets.”
“Oh, we don’t have pets,” Jennifer said easily.
“They’re stray cats. She named them Avocado and Bacon. She also feeds them and pretends that she doesn’t like them.”
“I don’t! I’m not even a cat person.”
Jordan looked between us in confusion. “You’re not supposed to feed stray cats.”
“I don’t want them to starve.” Jennifer rolled her eyes. “You know what? Never mind. Have fun at the party. I’ll see you later.”
I suppressed my laugh and waved at my roomie. She was doing her best to not interfere on our “date.” She really wanted us to end up together. And I just wanted her to kick Ashleigh Sinclair out of the picture and take back Julian, but this was Jennifer. So, I didn’t know if that was ever going to happen.
We waved good-bye and headed outside. I was surprised to see Jordan had the truck today and not his Tesla. I raised an eyebrow.
He just shrugged. “It’s growing on me.”
“Texas.”
He agreed, “Texas.”
Jordan had a Top 40 station playing as we drove over to Jensen’s mansion on the south side of town. Despite my nerves, things seemed completely normal with Jordan. Maybe this wasn’t a date after all, and I was overreacting to how we’d been together this week. We were probably going to have to discuss this eventually, but I sure hoped it could last a little longer. I was leaving for Seattle soon and then Match Day and then I’d be gone. We had so little time, which was why I hadn’t wanted to do anything in the first place.
All of that swirling through my head made me jittery. My leg was bouncing in time with the music, and I kept stealing glances in his direction. So much for subtlety.
Jordan reached across the seat and put his hand on my leg. “What are you thinking about?”
Us. But I didn’t say that. The last thing I wanted was to broach that topic right now. Even though it hung in the air between us.
“Sorry,” I said instead, deflecting.
He shot me a look like he knew exactly what I was thinking and then left his hand on my leg. I bit my lip and let him draw lazy circles into my skin. Because, of course, I’d worn a jean miniskirt with my jersey and boots. It was impractical for the weather, but it was cute as hell. And now, it had the added benefit of Jordan’s hand on my leg with nothing between us.
Jordan didn’t push the matter, thankfully. We parked on the street near Jensen’s house. Cars lined the road in both directions, and we were lucky to find a spot Jordan could expertly parallel park into. Even in his huge truck.
“That was impressive,” I told him as we headed to the house together.
He shrugged. “Vancouver. There’s not a lot of parking, and you get used to it.”
I hadn’t really thought about that fact as I followed my dreams to a bigger city. Maybe I could take public transit and not have to drive much.
I knocked on the door, and Emery’s smiling face appeared first and her pregnant belly second.
“Ahhh, Em,” I gushed. “Look at you.”
Jensen and Emery had been married for more than three years now, and this was their first kid. She was due this spring and was glowing.
She put her hand on her stomach. “I know. I keep growing.”
I laughed as she let us inside. “You look incredible. Like the cutest pregnant person ever. Don’t let Sutton hear me say that.”
Emery shook her head with a grin. “Well, thanks. Heidi keeps reminding me that I’ll bounce back fast or whatever. She did.” She rolled her eyes about her cheery best friend, who was married to Landon, and had a two-year-old son, Holden. “Of course, Heidi is a freak of nature.”
“I can hear you!” Heidi called from a room over.
“That was the plan!” Emery yelled back. She winked at me and Jordan. “The rest of the Wrights have the pregame bullshit on in the living room. Feel free to go forth and listen to their antagonism.”
“We can hear you!” Jensen called from the living room.
She grinned from ear to ear. “Again, that was the plan, babe.”
Jensen stepped out of the living room and came over to his wife. He pressed a kiss against her lips. “You know I love you.”
“You’d better, or we’d be having a discussion about this.” She gestured to her oversized belly.
He shot her that insufferable, impossible Wright smile that I knew all too well. Then he kissed her again, long and deep. I flushed. It was almost embarrassing, witnessing their love.
“I’m open to discussion,” he said. “Maybe another one?”
She groaned. “Can’t I pop this one out first before we talk about more?”
“I love you, Emery Robinson Wright.”
She cracked. “I love you, too.”
Jensen stuck his hand out to shake Jordan’s as Sutton darted into the entranceway. She pulled me into a hug.
“So glad you made it,” she said, glancing over her shoulder.
“Me too. What are you looking at?”
She laughed. “I, uh…just escaped the kids.”
I shook my head. “Escaped?”
“I need a minute to breathe, all right?” she said with a smile.
Her eyes were still on her kids, who were being entertained by Holden and Emery’s sister, Kimber’s, kids—Lilyanne and Bethany. Jensen’s son from his first marriage, Colton, was currently trying to ignore all of them. He was twelve and veering into those impossible teenage years. Though Lilyanne was only two years younger, he was apparently already in that I’m too cool stage. He was shaping up to look just like his dad. Lord, help the middle school girls.
I followed Sutton into the kitchen and grabbed a Coke from the fridge. I tried to smother a yawn. The overnights were not my friend. I still had to work tonight at midnight, and my brain was not firing on all cylinders.
“So,” Sutton said expectantly.
“So?”
“You and Jordan?”
“Oh yeah, I don’t know.” I took a sip of my Coke, so I didn’t have to say more.
“You showed up together,” Sutton prodded.
“They sure did,” Morgan said, entering the kitchen. “And they’ve been having lunch together for weeks.”
I nearly choked on my drink. “How do you know that?”
Morgan eyed me skeptically. “I’m the CEO and his boss. Who do you think he had to call out to this week?”
“He called out of work?” Sutton asked.
“To spend the day with her,” Morgan crooned.
I held my hands up. “It wasn’t like that, and I don’t need the Wright sisters ganging up on me.”
“We’re not ganging up,” Sutton said. “We’re just excited that you’re dating our cousin.”
