Drawing in a deep breath through her nose, she just wanted a moment. Just one. To breathe and figure out her next move. A part of her wanted to demand to know what Jordie was saying, the other part of her was scared to know. She knew Jordie, knew what he wanted from the opposite sex, so what the hell was he saying? She just wanted to know, but at the same time, she didn’t. Letting Jordie in again would be a huge mistake. One she couldn’t afford to make.
She needed to just ignore him. Completely shut him out the way he did her. She had a good man who wanted her. She needed to stick with that because Liam wasn’t capable of what Jordie was. He also didn’t make her feel what Jordie did, but that was beside the point. She needed to stay clear of Jordie and try hard to fall for Liam. Her mother would love him, so would her father, she just knew it. She just had to let him in. Stop holding him at arm’s length and enjoy a man who actually wanted her and the things she did. It was so hard to find a man nowadays, and she was getting older. She couldn’t let him go. Not yet. Love grew, it did. And it would for her.
Turning to do damage control, she could not only to see that his face was twisted in confusion but also that he had brought her a bouquet of wild flowers.
Ugh, she didn’t want any more flowers.
Shit, that made her a bitch.
Fuck, she was trying to stop cussing.
Shit!
Shaking away her thoughts, she placed a smile on her face. “Oh! My fave,” she said, coming toward him and taking the flowers. Smelling them, she grinned up at him and then kissed his lips softly. “Thank you.”
She turned, taking them to her desk, where four other bouquets were there to brighten her day. But when her eyes fell to the Snickers that looked out of place, it was what brightened her day. Jordie knew that she loved food. That it was the way to her heart. She actually hated flowers, not that she had told Liam that.
Turning back, she threw him a grin and said, “So I think you’ve filled the quota for flowers this week.”
His brows were together as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I asked you a question,” he said sharply for the very first time.
Her brow rose. “And I’m choosing to ignore it.”
“Why?” he demanded.
“Because I don’t want to talk about it.”
“But I do.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t.”
He gave her a deadpan look and then asked, “So I’m just supposed to ignore the fact that my teammate told me to fuck off for no reason at all, while you stood there almost in tears?”
Kacey nodded. “Exactly. If you want to chase after him and ask him why he said that to you, be my guest, but my issues with Jordie are off-limits.”
“Why?” he asked again. “Do you two have history?”
Letting her head fall back, she sucked in a deep breath and then let it out. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, I think you need to start talking because I’m upset. I feel like you’re hiding something from me, and I don’t like that,” he said impatiently. But didn’t he know that that sentence would have meant so much more if he’d added a few curse words?
She snapped her head back up and glared. “I don’t have to talk about anything I don’t want to talk about.”
He held her gaze, his beautifully sharp, angled face in such twisted confusion. This was the first time she had seen him upset. He was kind of cute. Like a mad little puppy.
“That’s unfair,” he said, his voice calming a bit. “I just want to know the truth. I don’t need details, but when I ask a question, I expect it to be answered. I’d do the same for you. Out of respect.”
She shoved her hands in her pockets and looked away, annoyed. She didn’t want to do this. She knew she was being a bitch because of what Jordie said. But also, if she didn’t want to share about her and Jordie, why did she have to? Liam wasn’t her daddy, but the way he was looking at her, like she did owe him a damn answer, made her realize that this was the way he operated. That if she wanted this to work, she’d have to bend a bit. He was the guy she was hoping would be her forever. The more she looked at him though, the more she knew Jordie was right.
But she wouldn’t let him win. This would work. Liam was her forever.
Ugh, that didn’t even sound right.
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Yes.”
He held her gaze. “You and Jordie?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”