Page 19 of Not Over You
Ohhhhh.
Jordan spied the insignia ring on Dale’s pinky. He also seemed to have a similar air of superiority about him that Rhett and Ethan both had. Particularly, Rhett.
The lightbulb came on. Widdle Whet was Dale’s baby boy.
“He’s your son, isn’t he?” Jordan said, having remained quiet until now.
“Who the hell are you?” Dale asked, his chest puffing up, shoulders going back. “How do we know you aren’t the mastermind behind all of this?”
Rolling his eyes, Jordan reached into his pocket and pulled out his badge. “Constable Jordan Lassiter with the Esquimalt RCMP. But nice try.”
“He’s my step-son,” Dale corrected. “But he wouldn’t do something like this.” He didn’t even sound convinced. He knew his step-son was a bad seed and had probably been forced to give him and his shit-stain of a friend a job.
“You’re free to go,” Officer Hunt said to Rayma and Jordan, handing them both her cards. “Let me know if you have any questions. And I have your numbers, so we’ll be in touch.”
They both nodded, then like no time had passed at all Jordan’s hand fell to the small of Rayma’s back and he escorted her out of the office to the waiting taxi.
They climbed in and she rattled off her address, the same address he’d driven her home to that first Christmas when they met. The night it all started. The night he met the woman he thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with.
Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Decemberfouryearsago…
“So, that was a pretty great first date,” Rayma said, trying to hide her smile, but failing at it as Jordan followed her down the path toward her front door. “But I have to wonder, have you set the barimpossiblyhigh for the next one? Are you just setting yourself up to fail, or do you have something even more epic planned for the next date?”
He shrugged. “You’ll just have to agree to another date to find out.”
Her lips twisted. “So I have to confirm before I know whether I’m going to be blown away or disappointed? At least give me a hint.” She put the key in the lock and opened her door, stepping inside and holding the door open so he could enter.
He didn’t.
She tilted her head to the side in curiosity. “You’re… not… coming… in?”
He shook his head.
“But I …”
“How old are you, Rayma?”
Her brows knitted together. “Twenty. Why? How old are you?”
“Twenty-five.”
“So, is that like a deal-breaker or something? I might onlybetwenty but I’ve been told I have an old soul. I’ve also seen shit, man, and that shit has aged me. So technically, in life experience, I’m probably older than you are.”
“I don’t doubt it,” he said, rolling his lips inward to temper his smile. “And no, the age thing doesn’t bother me. However, I have done the casual hookup thing, one-night stands, sleeping together on the first date, and fuck-buddy thing, and I’m not looking for that anymore. I’m looking for something real.”
The line of her long sexy throat moved. “So …”
“So I want to do things differently this time. I told you I want to do this right—”
“You said that when you dropped me off after Christmas. I thought that just meant you wanted to buy me dinner and take me to the movies before you tossed me to my back and made me wake the neighbors.”
God, she was a ballbuster. And his dick was very intrigued by her description of tossing her to her back and waking the neighbors, but he promised himself he would do it differently with Rayma. Not only because he was tired of meaningless hookups, but also because he knew of several giant muscly men and their scary as fuck wives—all of Rayma’s family—who would have no qualms roasting Jordan’s nuts over an open fire if he hurt Rayma in any way. “I want to really get to know you first,” he finally said. “Find out what makes you tick.”
“Orgasms make me tick.” She made a cute harrumph sound and plopped one hand on her hip. “Don’t you think that it’s just a waste of our time if we get to know each other, like each other but then the sex is terrible? Shouldn’t we make sure the sex isbangin’before we invest so much time in all the other stuff?”