Home is Where the Heart is (3 page)

“It’s no trouble. I was coming in the door when I saw your spill. It was the least I could do, given it was probably partly my doing anyway…I think people were rushing over to greet me.” Jordan grimaced. He figured he would keep the fact he was watching her through the window of the tavern to himself. Cassie didn’t need to know she was still in his thoughts, and he only came in here because he saw she was inside.

Oh, crap!
Cassie thought. There was the same smile that had always made her heart grind to a stop and burst into a million different pieces. His smirk would tug on her heartstrings at its sudden appearance; he always knew she was putty in his hands when he’d break it out. She could never resist his sweet and handsome face, especially when his dark brown eyes showed their slight twinkle in her direction.

Time had definitely been good to him. His caramel skin was almost impeccable, despite the tiny bit of black growth showing on his chin, around his jawline, and on his cheeks. The tattoos inked onto his forearms made Cassie wonder why he felt the need to cover his gorgeous skin in permanent ink—not that the tattoos didn’t make him über-sexy and appealing to her right now. He was still just as swoon-worthy and handsome as she remembered him being—maybe even more.

“You haven’t changed,” he murmured softly. “I can still make you fall at my feet.” He drew out his words and let them linger as his chocolate-brown eyes burned into her skin. It felt like they would leave a mark once he disappeared.

And there was that charm she was drawn to in the first place. Yep, he definitely had not changed at all.

“I honestly didn’t even see you come in, but I…um, heard you were back…and about your dad. Is he okay?” Cassie tried to sound as unpretentious as she could possibly be, despite the fact she detested his father. The feeling of dislike wasn’t one-sided either. Jordan’s father never approved of their relationship to begin with, and Cassie always got the impression he thought she was holding his son back from achieving and furthering his dream of playing football professionally. At least his father could be happy knowing she wasn’t a part of his son’s life anymore. His dream of playing football as a career had finally turned into a reality for him.

Jordan tucked a hand into the front pocket of his dark-colored jeans. “He’ll be fine. The doctor said he would be able to come home from hospital in a couple of days. He just needs to learn how to take life easier, and his diet needs to change slightly, but he’ll get there eventually.”

“How long are you back?” Cassie let the words slip right out. She needed to know how long his presence would last, disrupting the life she had built for herself since he had been gone.

Jordan shrugged. “A little while, I don’t know yet. Football isn’t in season right now, so I’ve got some free time on my hands. I guess I’ll see how well my Dad recovers; he doesn’t make a very good patient. Being back home also gives me the opportunity to catch up with people I’ve been thinking about and looking forward to seeing again since I left town.”

Do you mean me?
Just thinking he was talking about her gave Cassie butterflies, and made her heart beat a little faster. She had a good life as it was; she didn’t need her ex-boyfriend waltzing back into town and completely turning her world upside-down.

Cassie could only hope he wouldn’t feel the need to insist they see each other again while he was here. She didn’t know if her heart would be able to handle being around him again; although, she knew it was a long shot she wouldn’t run into Jordan again somewhere. Yellow Valley was too small to not see somebody around town.

“Yeah, how long has it been since you were last here?” Cassie asked him out of curiosity of what his response would be; even though she already knew the answer, she pretended not to.

His head tilted to the side as his eyes continued to drill into her. “I don’t know; it’s been a while. Maybe six years ago, when I left—I guess I just never found the right time to come home again.”

Cassie couldn’t help but see a sparkle in his alluringly dark eyes and knew her question had been answered, and she was sure her cheeks were bright red against her pale skin, feeling herself flush. She was definitely the complete opposite of Jordan, compared to his naturally dark tan complexion. You wouldn’t see him blush.

It’s not right for me now, but you’re always putting yourself first,
Cassie could have said, but didn’t. She let those words pass by without mention.

“So, are you leaving already?” He sounded almost disappointed when he asked, like he was hoping their conversation could continue some more. He didn’t have the authority to make her stay any longer than she needed to. She couldn’t be with him and reminisce their glory days—not tonight, and not ever. Those moments were simple compared to her life now.

Cassie had been naive to think she and Jordan could actually make it work after high school—that his aspirations of playing football wouldn’t get in the way of their relationship. Cassie knew love was overrated. She wouldn’t let herself be drawn back into his intoxicating affection all over again. She had changed. She had a life that didn’t include him.

Cassie nodded her head. “I am. I’ve got somewhere else I need to be.” She would just leave it at that. He didn’t need to know where she was going. Her life was her business, and he wasn’t a part of it anymore. She didn’t owe him any kind of explanation. If explanations were being thrown into the equation, then she deserved one from him, or at the very least, an apology for the way he broke her heart.

But she wasn’t going to dwell on what had already happened. She laid that to rest a long time ago and planned on leaving it there, concentrating on the present toward a brighter future instead. She would simply leave him with the impression she had a life that didn’t revolve around Jordan, just as he had built a life in Miami without her.

Cassie turned her gaze back toward the bar’s counter, spying Gabby and Nick perched at the bar, their backs facing her as they seemed to be enthralled with some kind of intent discussion with each other. She made a quick memo to herself to get the scoop from Nick tomorrow morning when he came to her house to help her out. Cassie was secretly hoping Nick and Gabby would realize they liked each other more than friends and get together. They were polar-opposites, but utterly perfect for each other, and really, Cassie knew it couldn’t happen to two better people than her best friends. If nothing good would happen in her love life, then at least she could be happy for her friends and live vicariously through them.

“Gabby and Nick are still at the bar if you were interested in catching up with them. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you,” Cassie said, even though she wasn’t sure how true her words really were. She didn’t know how much of a warm reception Jordan would be given from Gabby—if any at all—even though there was a time during their sophomore year of high school when people, including Cassie, assumed Jordan and Gabby would be the ones to form a romantic relationship. Needless to say, people were definitely surprised to learn of Jordan and Cassie’s relationship status when they first started dating. Gabby was definitely on Team Cassie if teams were being chosen, which they weren’t.

Cassie swore she saw Jordan scowl a little, and then a cock-sure grin was sent in her direction. “Um, okay then.” His tone of voice was half-muffled, hidden behind his hand as he swiped it down his face.

And just like that, Cassie was walking away from Jordan. A small part of her was hoping she wouldn’t need to make light, uncomfortable conversation with him again during his stay…but she knew the chances of running into her ex-boyfriend again were very high.

Jordan watched his former girlfriend walk away from him, and he realized Cassie could still give him the same feelings he used to get every time she walked into a room.

Damn! She’s still as stunning as ever—maybe even more, now that she was older.
Butterflies were beginning to form in the pit of his stomach, the kind of butterflies he got each time he stepped out onto a football field before every game. This was different to those moments though, because when he was on the field, he always aimed to be in the zone and play the best game of his life using tactics he practiced with the rest of his team over and over again. No, this wasn’t like one of those times. With Cassie, Jordan couldn’t plan one of his calculated moves like he did when he was playing football.

There was a time long ago when he could figure Cassie out in a split second, like when she had a problem and simply didn’t want to talk to anyone about what she was feeling. He would know exactly what she was thinking, and he alone could easily bring her out of her funk. Too much had happened between them to go back and change what he should have done differently. He couldn’t change the past. What was done was done. He couldn’t go back and undo all the mistakes he had made, even though he wished he could.

Only now, even for a fleeting moment, Jordan realized Cassie could still make his heart flutter, but did she feel the same way? He really didn’t know anymore, and that was what scared him the most—not knowing. And even if she wanted to cut him right out of her life, he couldn’t let her. Not yet, especially when he wasn’t completely over her and what they used to have. He owed it to himself to at least try to earn her respect and get back to that happy place they used to be. As hard as he knew it was going to be, Jordan was going to give it a damn good try.

Once home from her eventful night out and safely inside the door, Cassie sent the babysitter off on her merry way as she kicked her black wedges to the side of the entryway. She then proceeded to make her way down the hallway toward another part of the house, stopping outside the bedroom across the hall from her own—her son’s. For five years, Jake’s been the most important piece of her life, and she really couldn’t envision life without him in it, nor did she even want to imagine what her life would’ve been like if Jordan hadn’t given her the most precious gift she’d ever received.

She stepped in, watching him sleep as she ran a hand over his head of wild curls he obviously got from his father when Jordan was a child. If only Jordan knew he even existed.

At whatever cost, and for however long Jordan remained in town, Cassie was determined to make damn sure her son was protected from any lateral damage caused by a secret as big as discovering one had fathered a child without knowledge was. She had to, because Jake was her everything. Cassie wasn’t going to allow her son’s heart to break the same way she had been hurt before he was born.