I smiled, taking the bouquet when he offered it to me and inhaling the sweet scent. It was a beautiful gathering of Michaelmas daisies, all in rich purples and mauves, with little pops of yellow Goldenrod surrounding them.
“They’re beautiful,” I said.
Jordan smiled, reaching down to take the bouquet from me and setting it on the table. Then, he grabbed both of my hands, pulled me to stand, and without a single hesitation, pressed his lips to mine.
It was a soft and sweet kiss, his hands cradling me to him as he inhaled me like it was his first breath since he’d dropped me off back at the stadium after two o’clock this morning.
My breath was deep and long, too, and I melted into his touch, into that kiss, into the sweet feeling of having a man hold me and want me and bring me flowers.
But then my anxiety poked me hard in the ribs, and I pulled back quickly.
Checking inside to make sure Paige hadn’t seen us, I quickly put space between me and Jordan, blushing as I gestured for him to sit.
“Uh, we should talk.”
Jordan smirked, but sat in the chair that was a bit too small for his six-foot-whatever frame, anyway. He crossed one ankle over the opposite knee and folded his hands over his abdomen, kicking back in a relaxed fashion. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s talk.”
I frowned. “Do you have to do that?”
“Do what?”
“That,” I said, waving my hand at him as I took the seat opposite where he sat. “Look all effortlessly handsome and casually relaxed.”
He chuckled. “I am relaxed. I’m happy to see you,” he said easily. “Should I not be?”
I frowned again, a deep sigh leaving my chest as I leaned my elbows on the table. I stared at my hands as I spoke. “Look… last night was…” Amazing. Incredible. The best sex of my life. “Fun. But, I think we should talk about what we do from here.”
I chanced a glance at Jordan, who cocked a brow.
“So… we should just keep this between us, I think. I’m sure you agree. With our jobs and everything… well, it’s complicated. Plus, there’s Randy…” I didn’t elaborate there. “And I think we both know it’s nothing serious, and we can have fun without anyone knowing, right? So…” I swallowed, because the more I talked, the more Jordan’s smirk climbed. “Yeah. Casual.”
I waited, and Jordan tilted his head to the side, assessing me before he leaned over the table toward me. His hands reached for mine, and they covered mine completely, his thumbs smoothing the skin on my wrist as his eyes found mine.
“Sydney, while our first time together being in the back of my Bronco might not insinuate it, I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy,” he said, licking his lips as a soft sort of laugh came from his nose. “I don’t know how to do the whole casual hook-up thing.”
I sighed. “That makes two of us.”
His smile grew a little at that, but then he was serious, his hands squeezing where he held mine. “This isn’t a keep it on the down low, let’s just have sex and not tell anyone kind of thing for me. I like you, Sydney. And I told you this last night — I want to get to know you. I want to date you.” Jordan’s eyes were sincere when he tipped my chin up so I’d look at him again. “If you’re mine, you’re mine. And I’m going to make sure everyone knows it.”
My stupid heart shattered into a million butterflies, each one of them tickling my ribs as they fluttered about. But I herded them all back into their cage, brows bending together as I squeezed Jordan’s hands in return.
“As much as I want to say the same, I think we both know this is more complicated than that.”
“How so?”
“Well, for starters, I have a kid — a kid who just survived the divorce of her parents.” I shook my head. “I’m not ready to tell her about us, because I don’t think she’s ready to hear it. Especially because she’s grown so close to you in her own way, and I don’t want her to worry about that being broken.”
Jordan frowned, but nodded. “That’s fair.”
“And,” I continued. “You’re my boss. And before you even make the argument that neither of us signed a contract saying we wouldn’t date,” I said, holding up my finger to halt where he’d started to speak. “It doesn’t matter. The fact still remains that I’m your employee, and the first female on this staff, and if word got around that we were intimate, I would be judged for it, and you would not be.”
The more I talked, the more Jordan scowled — but it wasn’t in anger, rather in a deep, unsatisfying understanding.