She nodded and stepped away, straightening her shoulders. “I agree. You’re a good man and I’m proud of you, Linc.” She touched his cheek with her hand. “Call me and let me know how it goes.”
“I will, Mom. Thanks.” He let out a relieved breath. He wasn’t worried about his siblings, especially since their mother was now on board with him bringing Aurora home and making sure she had the money she needed to start the life she should always have had.
He said goodbye and settled back in his car, pulling out his phone, which had buzzed in his pocket a few times while he was with his mother.
Texts were waiting for him.
Jordan: Private plane booked. Flight plan filed. Takeoff at seven a.m.
Jordan: Sanctuary Suite booked at W Hotel in South Beach. I still think it’s unnecessary. Scale down and I’ll stay in a regular room.
Jordan: I booked us for a week. Can always extend.
Jordan: Rental car taken care of as well.
He grinned at her professional perfection and typed back.
Linc: Check on the plane. No dice on scaling down. You’ll stay in the suite’s extra room. My driver will pick you up for the ride to the airport. Don’t mention the words Uber or taxi.
Jordan: Fine.
Linc: That’s no way to talk to your boss.
Jordan: No, but it’s how I talk to my best friend. Later. I have work to do.
With a smile still on his face, he headed back to the office to go over paperwork on the Central Park deal.
* * *
Jordan packed a bag, not worrying about stuffing everything in a carry-on. If Linc was going to take the corporate jet, she could bring a big bag if she wanted to. Though she’d been with Linc on the plane before when they traveled for business, she’d never gotten used to the luxury.
She zipped her suitcase and set it by the front door, then she grabbed her favorite blazer and slipped it on. Her cell rang, the screen flashing the concierge number downstairs. She picked up and asked the morning person manning the desk to tell Linc’s driver she’d be right down.
She locked up her apartment and headed downstairs to find the driver standing by the open car door.
“Hi, Max,” she said.
“Good morning, Ms. Greene.” He inclined his head, his silvery gray hair slicked back with gel. He’d been working for the Kingston family for as long as she could remember. “Nice day for a flight,” he said.
The sun shone above them and clear skies meant no turbulence. “Yes, and I’m grateful.”
He took the handle to her luggage and walked around the back of the town car to put the suitcase in the trunk as she climbed into the back seat, where Linc waited. In no time, Max had settled in the front, and they were off to the airport.
“Good morning, sunshine.” Linc faced her, eyes covered in aviators that only added to his sex appeal.
Since their kiss, she couldn’t deny her attraction to him was stronger than ever. “Good morning.”
She took in his white dress shirt, standard wear for him, but today his sleeves were rolled up, revealing his muscular forearms. Thanks to a dedicated workout schedule, he was well-built and solid.
And the scent of his woodsy cologne? Oh, she liked how good he smelled. In fact, she wanted to bury her face in his neck and savor him up close and personal. Again.
She swallowed hard and ignored her body’s reaction, happy her light blazer covered her now perky nipples.
“I’m dying for a cup of coffee,” she said, smiling as if everything were normal. Before she’d kissed him, she’d put these thoughts so far into the back of her mind they hadn’t impacted her daily.
Now though, every time she saw Linc, something about him turned her on.
“We can get some coffee on the plane.”
Coffee. Right. She forced her mind back to the mundane and nodded. “I would have had a cup this morning, but I was running late.”
“That’s not like you,” he said, looking at her with concern in his eyes.
She shrugged. “I didn’t know what to pack.”
Because she was staying in the suite with Linc. First she went back and forth over what nightclothes to put in the suitcase, and then she couldn’t decide if she needed a nice dress. Were they going anywhere, or did he plan to hang out with his sister? In the end, Jordan had packed everything she could think of.
He chuckled. “Now you sound like Chloe.”
“Are you saying indecision is a female thing?” she challenged him, because she was hungry, uncaffeinated, and irritated with herself for the sudden attraction she felt for her best friend.
He held up his hands. “Whoa. I’m kidding.”
“Sorry. I think I just need a nap on the plane.” She was about to lean back and close her eyes when her cell rang. A glance at the screen showed Mom, and she let out a groan.
“Something wrong?” Linc glanced over as she sent the call to voicemail.
“No, it’s my mother and I don’t want to take the call.” She stuffed her phone back into her purse.
He raised an eyebrow and then it obviously dawned on him. “She’s not happy we’re going out of town together,” he guessed.
Jordan sighed. “That would be an understatement.” Although she and her mom had a great relationship, the one thing they disagreed about was her relationship with Linc.
“And she hates our close friendship.”
“Also an understatement,” she muttered.
“And your father? How does he feel about our friendship?” Linc asked.
She sighed. “At least he doesn’t concern himself with things that aren’t his business. To him, I have a great job and a good life, and those things make him happy.”
Her dad, Patrick, was an electrician who’d worked for the same company for years until he opened his own business. He had job security and he was happy. He let his wife ramble about her feelings, but he didn’t take sides.
“As for my mother, don’t get me wrong, she thinks you’re a great guy. She also thinks about things like station in life.” With a shrug, she said, “Me working for you makes sense to her. Our friendship? Not so much.”
He winced. “God, she reminds me of my father. At least in how she thinks money defines people. But it only matters what we think. And I know you’re good for me.”
Reaching out, he grasped her hand and held it tight, something he often did. Touching her hand, her back. All things she’d never allowed herself to notice before.
She smiled at him. “You’re good for me, too. Now let’s not discuss our parents’ old-fashioned views.” Even if they made some sense to her, too. “Let’s talk about your plans for once we arrive in Florida.”
He began tapping his foot against the floor of the car. “I want to go to the offices of Dare Nation.” Before she could ask about the office or why he’d want to go there, he explained.
“When I first found out about the paychecks, I hired a PI. He found Tiffany Michaels, the woman my father had been paying. She told him her daughter had gone to foster care after her mother died. Tiffany didn’t know anything more,” he said, his disgust obvious in his tone. “And after Aurora aged out of the system, any record of her disappeared. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, they got a hit on her name, a paycheck she cashed working for a place called Dare Nation.”