“Linc? I said favorite color. Is something wrong?” Aurora asked.
He shook his head. “Sorry. Blue. Yours?
“Yellow.” She laughed as the door opened and Willow stepped back inside.
“Am I interrupting?” she asked, shutting the door.
Linc rose to his feet. “Not at all. We were just getting to know each other. Aurora, would you like to spend the day at the hotel tomorrow? You can meet my assistant and best friend, Jordan. We’ll go shopping or hang out, whatever you prefer.”
She nodded. “Sounds amazing.” She pushed herself up from her seat. “Thank you for looking for me. And not giving up until you found me.”
He stepped over and hugged her as best he could around her big belly. “You’re family.”
He said his goodbyes, they exchanged phone numbers, and he promised to pick her up in the morning. Then he headed back to his hotel, where Jordan would be waiting.
* * *
Jordan heard the lock open and Linc push open the door and walk inside.
“Jordan?” he called out.
“Right here.” She’d stretched out in the sitting room on the sofa with an ottoman in front of her. On the television was an old comedy she’d been trying and failing to pay attention to.
Pushing herself to a sitting position, she pulled a blanket over her lap and waited for him to join her. He walked in, looking drained but also happy, and her heart skipped a beat.
“So how did it go?” she asked. She’d been dying to know the whole time he was gone, alternating between kicking herself for staying back at the hotel and telling herself she’d done the right thing.
He settled into a chair near the couch and smiled. “She’s a great kid. Definitely overwhelmed, with the pregnancy, her life at the moment, and now a new family to wrap her head around. But she seemed open to spending time with me. In fact, I’m picking her up in the morning and bringing her back here so we can all hang out and get to know one another.”
“Oh! That’s so amazing. I’m so happy for you!” She leaned forward in her seat. “Do you think she’ll come back to New York with you?” Jordan knew how important it was to Linc to have his family together.
He rubbed his hands on the top of his jeans, drawing her attention to his strong thighs. “I think it’s possible. If she’s comfortable with us and relaxes a lot. I said we’d stay for a week, and she was good with my decision.”
A week. In this suite with Linc, tortured by their close proximity and all she couldn’t have. Of course, she’d be around him if they were home and in the office, but there was something different about Linc in a suit, hot as he was, and this casually dressed Linc sleeping in the room next to hers. Showering while she imagined him naked, water dripping down his skin. Wearing a bathing suit, his chest bare, muscles flexing as she tried not to shamelessly stare.
“Sounds great!” Her voice came out tight and thready. “I’m looking forward to meeting her.” At least that much was true.
She would enjoy getting to know his new sister, and Jordan wondered what kind of changes Aurora would bring to the Kingston family.
* * *
Linc left the next morning to pick up Aurora. Jordan stayed in the room, getting ready for the day. They were each doing their best to find their normal footing with one another after their incredible night together, and it wasn’t easy. The current awkwardness had never existed before, and he hoped Aurora’s arrival would be the icebreaker he and Jordan needed.
Aurora had been chatty on the ride to the hotel, asking questions about New York, the city, where Linc lived, and whether the rest of the family was as eager to meet her as he’d been. He assured her they were.
Jordan joined them for breakfast at a table in the restaurant located off the main part of the lobby. They approached the table, and Jordan greeted them with a smile. She rose and stepped forward to say hello to Aurora.
As she stood, Linc took in her outfit. A cute ruffled skirt hit above the knee, revealing her long legs, a pop of hot-pink polish looked bold and cute on her toenails, and a white tank top hugged her curves.
He drooled at the sight of her, her hair pulled off her face with a headband, putting his focus on her bright pink lips. He groaned and shook his head, wondering if she was torturing him on purpose or if he was just now noticing every little appealing thing about her.
“Aurora,” Linc said, his hand lightly on her back. “This is Jordan Greene, my … best friend and personal assistant.” He nearly stumbled over the description and couldn’t figure out why when the lines had always been so clear before.
“Jordan, my sister Aurora.”
“I am so happy to meet you,” Jordan said, pulling Aurora into an awkward hug due to the size of her belly.
When Aurora pulled back, she had a wide smile on her face, obviously thrilled with the warm welcome. “Same here.”
“Let’s sit.” Jordan gestured to the chairs and they each settled into one. “I thought you’d be more comfortable indoors with air conditioning than outside in the heat.”
Aurora nodded. “I hate getting hot and sweaty, especially now. I’m so uncomfortable.”
“I can only imagine.” Jordan smiled, and only Linc knew Aurora’s comment had brought up painful memories.
Jordan really had no idea what it was like to carry a baby to term and feel the things his sister now did, and Linc understood Jordan’s unexpressed pain.
“So what does everyone want for breakfast?” Linc asked, determined to lighten the subject.
Aurora opened the bound menu and scanned the page, her eyes widening before slamming the book closed.
Linc shot Jordan a concerned glance, and she gave him a slight shrug.
“Aurora? What are you having?” he asked.
She swallowed hard. “Umm, just a glass of orange juice. I’m not really hungry.”
“But you told me in the car you were starving.”
Jordan cleared her throat. “Well, I am hungry and I can’t decide what I want. If I order pancakes and scrambled eggs, will you share them with me?” she asked Aurora.
His sister’s eyes lit up. “Are you sure?”
“Definitely.” Jordan shut the menu. “Linc? What are you having?”
“A vegetable omelet and bacon,” he said, wondering what he’d missed.
“I’ll be right back,” Aurora said, rising from her seat and heading toward what looked like the restrooms in the back.
Linc glanced at Jordan. “Can you explain?”
She nodded. “The prices on the menu freaked her out, and she didn’t want to order anything.”
He narrowed his gaze, his stomach churning at the possibility Jordan was right. “How did you know what was wrong?”
A soft smile lifted her lips and she leaned forward. “Because I remember the first time you insisted I come with you for lunch to some fancy place you usually went with your family. I took one look at the menu and said I just wanted French fries.”
He stilled, recalling the day clearly. “I believed you,” he said, horrified by his privilege and ignorance.
“You had no reason not to.”
He shook his head, suddenly understanding so much more about Jordan’s take on his life and their different upbringings.