Read Online Finding Forever by Michele Shriver - Free Book Online
Authors: Michele Shriver
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the roses, and Jordan opened it with a trembling hand to remove the card inside.
Your move.
Chapter 8
Her move.
Jordan wasn’t well-versed in the rules of chess or the rules of dating, so she had no idea what a proper, strategic move would be in response to the roses Jake sent. She also didn’t believe in reading tea leaves, horoscopes, or tarot cards, so they wouldn’t be any help, either.
Ultimately, she decided to follow Jen’s advice, which was to consider her gut instinct and then take the exact opposite course of action. As a result, Jordan found herself pacing her condo at eleven o’clock in Saturday morning , waiting for Jake to arrive.
Jordan’s gut instinct was to make no move. Her secretary likened that to being paralyzed with fear, which wasn’t far from the truth. Who would blame her, though?
Jordan’s father left when she was six, never bothering to look back. Good riddance, Jordan decided. She’d had her mom, they’d had each other, what else did they need? Except Jaclyn was gone now, leaving Jordan with no family, unless she counted a grumpy cat.
The departure of her father began a pattern of men leaving her, though to be completely honest, it wasn’t like Jordan ever had them. She simply deluded herself into th inking something might be there; the most notable example being Matt Finney. She’d jeopardized her friendship with Beth over him, only to have him tell her he figured she’d be hot in bed, but little else. That marked the turning point when Jordan stopped believing in love and happily ever after.
She settled for an arrangement with Carl that was borne out of convenience but seemed to suit them both. If neither of them wanted more from it than the other was willing to give, then there was no chance of being hurt. It wasn’t fulfi lling, but it was at least risk-free. Then Jake showed up in Grande Valley and sent the order of Jordan’s life into chaos with his disarming smile and yellow roses, and she started to dream again.
He said he wanted to get to know her better, so naturally her first inclination was to shut him out. The opposite of that was to let him in, so Jordan made her move and invited Jake to spend the day with her. By sunset, he’d know enough about her to either follow the path of those before him and run, or he’d want to come back for more. Either way, the next move would be his.
On her third pace of the entryway, her phone rang, and Jordan lunged for it, hurriedly tapping the screen.
“I’m outside Fort Knox,” Jake said. “I assume there’s some security code that opens the gates?”
Of course, in all her nervous excitement, Jordan had forgotten to give him the access code to her gated condominium community. “Three-two-six-eight to get in,” she said. “Then I’m number nine.”
“My favorite number.” Jake chuckled. “On my way.”
A minute later, the doorbell rang. Jordan opened the door to find Jake standing there, wearing khaki cargo shorts and a blue polo shirt. She allowed herself the brief indulgence of checking out his legs. “Hi. Sorry about the security code.”
“No problem.” He took off his sunglasses and slid them onto the neck of his shirt. “Is all that necessary, though?”
“Maybe not. This is the nice part of town. But you never know,” Jordan said. “Do you want a quick tour of the place before we go?”
“Maybe later. Where are we going, anyway?” Jake asked. “You were pretty vague in your call. You just said to dress casual.”
“Lunch.” Jordan grabbed her purse from the table in the entryway. “I’m taking you to one of Grande Valley’s most famous restaurants, so the more casual the better.” As much as Jordan liked well-dressed men, this time she’d decided to prepare him a little for the place she was taking him to. She didn’t know if they even allowed ties.
***
Jake followed Jordan’s driving directions and ended up a lot closer to the international border than he expected—or
Your move.
Chapter 8
Her move.
Jordan wasn’t well-versed in the rules of chess or the rules of dating, so she had no idea what a proper, strategic move would be in response to the roses Jake sent. She also didn’t believe in reading tea leaves, horoscopes, or tarot cards, so they wouldn’t be any help, either.
Ultimately, she decided to follow Jen’s advice, which was to consider her gut instinct and then take the exact opposite course of action. As a result, Jordan found herself pacing her condo at eleven o’clock in Saturday morning , waiting for Jake to arrive.
Jordan’s gut instinct was to make no move. Her secretary likened that to being paralyzed with fear, which wasn’t far from the truth. Who would blame her, though?
Jordan’s father left when she was six, never bothering to look back. Good riddance, Jordan decided. She’d had her mom, they’d had each other, what else did they need? Except Jaclyn was gone now, leaving Jordan with no family, unless she counted a grumpy cat.
The departure of her father began a pattern of men leaving her, though to be completely honest, it wasn’t like Jordan ever had them. She simply deluded herself into th inking something might be there; the most notable example being Matt Finney. She’d jeopardized her friendship with Beth over him, only to have him tell her he figured she’d be hot in bed, but little else. That marked the turning point when Jordan stopped believing in love and happily ever after.
She settled for an arrangement with Carl that was borne out of convenience but seemed to suit them both. If neither of them wanted more from it than the other was willing to give, then there was no chance of being hurt. It wasn’t fulfi lling, but it was at least risk-free. Then Jake showed up in Grande Valley and sent the order of Jordan’s life into chaos with his disarming smile and yellow roses, and she started to dream again.
He said he wanted to get to know her better, so naturally her first inclination was to shut him out. The opposite of that was to let him in, so Jordan made her move and invited Jake to spend the day with her. By sunset, he’d know enough about her to either follow the path of those before him and run, or he’d want to come back for more. Either way, the next move would be his.
On her third pace of the entryway, her phone rang, and Jordan lunged for it, hurriedly tapping the screen.
“I’m outside Fort Knox,” Jake said. “I assume there’s some security code that opens the gates?”
Of course, in all her nervous excitement, Jordan had forgotten to give him the access code to her gated condominium community. “Three-two-six-eight to get in,” she said. “Then I’m number nine.”
“My favorite number.” Jake chuckled. “On my way.”
A minute later, the doorbell rang. Jordan opened the door to find Jake standing there, wearing khaki cargo shorts and a blue polo shirt. She allowed herself the brief indulgence of checking out his legs. “Hi. Sorry about the security code.”
“No problem.” He took off his sunglasses and slid them onto the neck of his shirt. “Is all that necessary, though?”
“Maybe not. This is the nice part of town. But you never know,” Jordan said. “Do you want a quick tour of the place before we go?”
“Maybe later. Where are we going, anyway?” Jake asked. “You were pretty vague in your call. You just said to dress casual.”
“Lunch.” Jordan grabbed her purse from the table in the entryway. “I’m taking you to one of Grande Valley’s most famous restaurants, so the more casual the better.” As much as Jordan liked well-dressed men, this time she’d decided to prepare him a little for the place she was taking him to. She didn’t know if they even allowed ties.
***
Jake followed Jordan’s driving directions and ended up a lot closer to the international border than he expected—or
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