Confessions of a Heartbreaker (30 page)

She continues to descend the staircase until she's at the very last step and I don't even realize that I've somehow managed to make my way to her until we're standing just a few inches apart. Until I can inhale the minty smell of her toothpaste and the citrusy scent of her shampoo.

God, has it been at least five minutes yet?

More like two or three.

But I can't seem to help myself any longer because without a single word, I lean over until my lips are sliding slowly across hers. Her soft sigh of pleasure feathers lightly across my lips as her arms slide over my shoulders before hooking behind my neck. Then she pulls me just a bit closer. My tongue slips into her mouth for just a few breathless strokes before I finally pull away until I'm leaning my forehead against hers. Yep, so, so very kissable.

This girl has definitely turned out to be my kryptonite.

"Morning, Sunshine. You ready to go?"

Because, yeah, I am
so
ready to go. So ready to get this date started.

"You still haven't told me where we're going." Her eyes sparkle as she murmurs the words against my lips.

"That's because it's a surprise," I whisper back.

"What kind of surprise starts at eight o'clock in the morning?"

"The completely amazing kind." Even though it's the last thing I want to do, I untangle her arms from around my neck until I'm holding both of her hands in my own. Then I step away because I definitely don't want Ms. Fisk or Jordan's parents walking in on us.

Can you say-
awkward
?

I bet you can.

She cocks her head to the side in the cutest way imaginable. "Not even a small hint?"

I can't resist smiling. "Nope, not even a teeny tiny one."

Damn but this girl is adorable. Is it totally cheesy to say that she had me at hello? Of course it is. Because we all know that she didn't exactly say hello, now did she. More like told me I was a walking STD. Yeah, good times alright. My lips curl up at the corners as that memory rolls through my head.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have kind of a maniacal smile?"

I force the grin from my lips. "Nope, not even once."

"Well, you do."

With our hands still clasped together, she steps closer until her perfectly perky breasts are pressed rather tantalizingly against my chest and it takes every shred of willpower I have not to groan. Not to mention keep my hands off her. I think my brain just went on the fritz again.

Then she leans even closer. "Am I going to be safe with you today?"

"As safe as you want to be," I murmur back.

She smiles slowly before stepping away just as her aunt saunters (yeah, she is totally sauntering- man this woman is killing me!) back into the foyer. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but, I'm still stunned by this rather peculiar transformation of hers. I can't help but think that I could have done a hell of a lot better in her class if I'd been taught by this hotter version of Ms. Fisk.

Damn but I can't believe I actually just thought that.

"So, Parker, where exactly are you taking Jordan today and when can we expect her back? She still has some packing to finish up before she leaves tomorrow morning." Narrowing her eyes, she looks more like the Ms. Fisk I love to bitch and complain about. "And she's to be returned in precisely the same condition that she left this house in," her eyebrow hikes up about an inch before she continues, "
if you know what I mean
."

Jordan snorts as if her aunt's words are nothing more than a joke. Unfortunately my balls shrivel just a little bit because I know
exactly
what she means. And she's not kidding around either.

Damn, how uncomfortable is this conversation turning out to be?

Pretty damn uncomfortable.

"Uhhh..." Yeah, that's the best I've got to offer right now because visions of her actually chopping my off my nuts are flashing through my head. And it's not a pretty sight either.

Her other brow joins the first one as she silently awaits my response.

I nod my head toward the empty living room. "Could I, ah, possibly speak with you privately in the other room?"

Ms. Fisk's eyes narrow yet again and I suddenly wonder if she's going to boot my ass from the house pronto. I wouldn't put it past her either. Newly transformed or not. She's still a pretty scary chick. Well, she scares me anyway. And yeah, I'm man enough to admit it.

Privately to myself.

For just a moment she considers my words before spinning on her heel and stalking into the living room. Jordan watches me through narrowed eyes as well.

Talk about creepy (not to mention disconcerting) similarities.

Without a word, I follow Ms. Fisk into the huge room now devoid of furniture. Even the paintings have been removed from the walls. And it slams into me once again that she's really leaving. Our time together is quickly slipping away.

"So what exactly couldn't you tell me in front of Jordan?"

I suddenly realize that if she doesn't like what I'm about to say, she'll happily pull the plug on today’s excursion. She'll ruin the last chance we have to spend time together. And I can't allow that to happen.

"I've planned the whole day out, Ms. Fisk. It's a surprise and I don't want to ruin it for her. I swear on my life that I'll take good care of her." Then I say quietly, "I promise." And I mean it. There's nothing I wouldn't do for that girl.

She searches my eyes for a long drawn out moment that has me holding my breath, practically choking on it before she finally asks, "When will you be back?"

"Around nine or so." Am I pushing it by wanting to spend a solid thirteen hours with her? Maybe, but I'm feeling greedy.

"You'll be gone for the whole day?"

Something tenses inside me again. "That's the plan, Ms. Fisk."

Her tongue slides slowly over her teeth before she mutters, "I want your cell phone number. And I want Jordan to check in with me at least three times throughout the day."

"Done," I agree quickly. Because, let's face it, I would pretty much agree to just about anything right now.

She holds my gaze again before saying quietly, "Don't hurt her, Parker, she's been hurt enough already."

Without thinking, I murmur, "After today, I'm pretty sure I'm the one who's going to be hurting."

Her eyes drift slowly back to her niece who stands watching us from the foyer with a small frown marring her gorgeous face. "I think you're both going to be nursing broken hearts come the morning."

My eyes slide to Jordan as our gazes cling.

I think she might just be right about that.  My heart already seems to be fracturing inside my chest.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Eleven reasons I'm totally crazy about Jordan Whitnall... and why I'm going to miss her like crazy when she leaves me in her dust.

Reason number one- I love the way her hand fits so perfectly in my larger one.
Even though my hand is large and hers is small and delicate, we just seem to fit together like the pieces of a puzzle.  Honestly, I just love touching her.
Period.
It's seriously that simple. Even if it's just her hand. That's how far and hard (no pun intended) I've fallen for this chick.

The entire time we've been sitting in the front seat of my truck, I've had her hand secured firmly within my own. She doesn't seem to mind. I may have to let her go at the end of the night, but for now she's mine. I think she feels the same as I do because she's holding on for dear life just like I am.

"You're really not going to tell me what we're doing, are you?"

My eyes slide very quickly to hers before finding the road once again. "Nope. Not a chance."

"So, are we chucking it all and making a run for the border?"

I can hear the teasing tone of her words but beneath it there's just a shade of seriousness. Again my eyes slide back to hers. "I’m game if you are."  I think I would actually do it if that’s what she wanted.  God but I don’t want to let go of her.  Not ever.

She doesn't say anything for a long moment before whispering, "I doubt we'd get very far before a search party dragged us back to reality."

"Yeah, not to mention that the border we're closest to is Illinois. We could always turn around and head to Canada. I'm up for a little road trip that will eventually end in extradition," I say jokingly but my words fall flat.

Averting her face, she stares quietly out the window before finally asking, "Is it much further?"

"Nah, about twenty more minutes." All I want is for her to enjoy the day I've planned. I don't want either one of us to dwell on what tomorrow will bring.

After about ten minutes I maneuver the truck onto a two lane country road that winds its way through the pines and tall oaks as they spear their way up into the deep blue sky.

She sighs as her eyes take in the view. "It’s really gorgeous out here."

Even though the trees have lost all their foliage, there's still something beautiful about being surrounded by nature. You can almost imagine what it looked like hundreds of years ago. Tranquil. Serene. A place where a dude can just be alone with all his jacked up thoughts. Surprisingly deep, I know. Sometimes that's just how I roll. Without thinking, I bring her fingers to my lips before pressing a gentle kiss against her knuckles.

Reason number two- I love the way her silky skin feels against my lips.
Even if it’s just her knuckles...

I seriously can't get enough of this girl. And it's been that way ever since the very beginning.

Before I know it, I'm pulling off the country road onto a narrow gravel one. The trees hug both sides of the road. FYI- if you stick your hand out the window, you'd be able to grab a handful of tree branches as they whip past. But I'd strongly advise against that because it hurts like a major you-know-what. Especially doing around thirty.

Jordan straightens in her seat but I still don't release her hand.

"Sooo, you've brought me out to the woods for the day, huh?"

My look is pretty cagey at this point because I know that the whole not-knowing-thing is driving her bat shit crazy. "Sort of but not exactly."

She tilts her head towards me before her eyes narrow.

Which rather strangely reminds me of Ms. Fisk...

"You're loving this, aren't you?"

A slow smile spreads its way across my face. "Oh yeah."

Finally the deeply wooded landscape opens up to reveal a gray clapboard cottage sitting against the vibrant blue backdrop of Lake Michigan.

I hear her sudden gasp of surprise and as unmanly as it is to actually admit this (even privately to myself), something flutters unexpectedly inside my chest. Yeah, it's totally true. Making this girl happy makes
me
happy. I've definitely crossed over to the dark side.  There's no turning back now.

And I don’t even want to.

With a smile tilting the edges of her lips upward, Jordan leans forward as if trying to take it all in. Excitement and awe dance in her greenish-gold eyes. Even though it's mid-November, the weather isn't freezing cold or rainy or even snowy. Because at this time of year, it definitely could be. So I'm grateful that we have this gorgeous day ahead of us. The sun is bright and the sky is a deep cloudless blue.

Because I need today to be perfect.

It has to be a day she'll never forget.  I want this date with me to be the one she uses to compare all other future dates to.  Something twists painfully in the pit of my gut with that thought.

"Is this place yours?" Her eyes are wide, sweeping over the landscape, still taking everything in.

I park the truck in the drive before we both get out. "Yeah, it's been in our family for a couple generations now."

"I can't get over how beautiful it is with all the trees and water." Then she says a little more wistfully, "I love the water."

Yep, knew that. I'd tucked that little nugget away in the back of my mind. Since this place is only an hour and a half from our house, I come out here whenever I want to be alone or when I just want to feel closer to my grandparents who are gone...

In Florida.

As I survey the rolling blue waves of the lake, I realize that I've never brought a girl out here before. I've never actually wanted to share this place with anyone else. I mean sure, I've brought Max and a few other guys out here.

But never a girl.

I mean, why the hell would I do that?

Which brings me to reason number three- I seriously enjoy spending time with her.

Okay, I'm going to qualify that statement with- I actually enjoy spending time conversing (feel free to have a heart attack) with her and not getting horizontal (no need to be redundant with the whole heart attack comment, is there?). And it's not that I don't want to get horizontal with her because I do. Oh, you know I do but that's kind of taken a backseat to just wanting to spend time with her.