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She knew her cousin had to be full of speculation about her appearance on Jordan’s arm at the wedding. Plus, this was no longer simply one amorous encounter with Jordan that she’d told him to swear to take to the grave. Any last shred of professional distance was gone. She and Jordan had done the deed, and short of amnesia, she was never likely to forget that night—in all its pyrotechnic glory.
As if on cue, Marisa said, “So how is Jordan these days?”
Sera made herself shrug nonchalantly. “He’s been recovering nicely.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Her cousin looked amused. “He seems to be in great shape. Enough to attend a wedding.”
With you as his date. The unspoken words hung in the air.
“I went with him because it got me out of giving Jordan the cooking lesson that his mom suggested,” Sera blurted and then could have bitten off her tongue. There was no need to clarify why she’d been with Jordan, and being defensive definitely made it seem like a date. Her face heated.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Will you stop saying that?”
Marisa smiled. “Please. The guy’s been tracking you with his eyes.”
Sera felt a hot wave of embarrassment. “I didn’t even want to be his physical therapist. I tried to get myself out of it.”
“Yeah, but the attraction was so strong, maybe you were just afraid to go there.”
Sera bit her lip. Afraid. She hadn’t given more than a passing thought to Neil in...it was probably a new record. Instead, her mind—and heart—had been consumed by Jordan. She supposed it was all a sign of how far she’d come since her bad breakup. Sure, she’d had boyfriends before, but nothing serious until Neil—or so she’d thought. But her relationship with Neil had been skating on the surface in comparison to the depths she’d plunged into with Jordan.
Jordan had wrung every emotion out of her—annoyance, exasperation, nervousness, need, hunger, joy, pleasure. It was like living life in an explosion of color, especially in bed.
Just then, another shopper came by, and Sera and Marisa separated in order to let the older woman through with her cart. Sera took the opportunity to glance at her watch to try to extricate herself from this tricky conversation. If she lingered, she expected more gentle probing and teasing.
But her cousin just winked at her. “Keep me posted.”
Sera rolled her eyes. “Right.”
Saying goodbye to Marisa with a promise to catch up another time, she headed to the checkout line.
Minutes later, after she’d loaded the groceries into her car and had gotten behind the wheel, her cell phone rang. Noticing it was from Dante, she turned off the ignition and took the call.
After a brief exchange, during which Sera wondered why Dante was calling, her brother asked, “How are things going with you and Jordan?”
“Great.” The trending topic of the day: #JordanandSera.
Dante cleared his throat. “Just be careful.”
“Don’t worry,” she replied, hoping to keep this conversation light, “I promise not to let him break a bone on all that physical-therapy equipment.” She hadn’t confided in her brother about her true relationship status with Jordan these days, so she wondered what her brother was getting at. Unless Mia had been loose-lipped, despite her promise to button it? Sera tightened her hold on her cell. “Is there anything you’re not telling me?”
“No. Yes. I heard you went as his date to a family wedding.”
“I did. He needed one. He’s injured...and not getting around much.” It wasn’t a total lie, but she added quickly, “I didn’t mention it to you or Mom because it was casual.” And I didn’t want you to make too much of it.
There was a pause. “I know I’m going to regret this, but my loyalty to my little sister is bigger—”
“Than what?”
“I ran into Jordan at the Puck & Shoot.”
Sera forced nonchalance. “And so? He was flirting with Angus?”
“You know Angus has been married fifty years.”
“Thirty-five.”
