Just One Night (The Kingston Family Book 1)
Just One Night: Chapter 8

“Jordan, hold my calls,” Linc said as he exited his office. “I’ll be holed up in the conference room with Brian. No interruptions.”

“Got it!” She turned her attention back to work.

In the two weeks since she’d slept with Linc again, they’d fallen back into their normal routine, working during the day, occasional dinners together, and yes, he’d taken her to Ocean Prime for lunch as promised, but he’d been a total gentleman. She had a hunch he was letting her deal with her feelings and come to the conclusion he wanted. That they made sense together, at least sexually. Or maybe he was willing to go back to being her best friend. Whatever the reason, she was concentrating on the present.

This weekend was the baby shower Chloe had planned at the country club the Kingston family belonged to. Jordan had never been comfortable at the club during the times she’d been invited to events there, but thankfully she didn’t have to attend often. She wasn’t intimidated by the clothing, handbags, and shoes the women there owned, but they made sure to let her know her designer choices weren’t up to their standards. If not with words, then with a sneer or a distinct way of looking her over and replaceing her lacking. Especially the women in Linc’s family’s social circle.

Although this was a party in a separate room, the rest of the club was open to members, so Jordan was prepared to run into the women who resented her friendship with Linc and always had.

After a morning of work, Jordan decided to eat at her desk today. She wasn’t in the mood to go out. Linc was still meeting in the conference room with Brian and a private investigator who he’d hired to look for Wallace. The man was still missing.

Linc also had upcoming meetings with banks and lenders to cover the money needed for the deal with Beck. Anything not to lose a portion of his beloved company to the man he had long-standing issues with.

She walked to the kitchen, pausing to say hello to Suzanne and some of the other women who worked in the office. After taking her yogurt out of the refrigerator, she returned to her desk to replace a female with long jet-black hair and a fitted dress tapping her foot impatiently in front of Jordan’s desk.

As she drew closer and she saw the woman’s profile, Jordan recognized the visitor. Angelica Winston, Linc’s ex. One Jordan had never gotten along with, not for lack of trying on her part.

Jordan strode around her desk before acknowledging the clearly impatient woman. “Angelica.”

“Jordan. I’ve been waiting,” she said, pursing her red lips in annoyance.

Settling into her seat and placing her lunch on the desk, she met the woman’s gaze. “I wasn’t aware you had an appointment.”

She straightened her shoulders. “I shouldn’t need one. I knocked on his door but he didn’t answer. Just let him know I’m here,” she said.

“Please would be nice,” Jordan muttered. “Linc is in a meeting, and I have no idea when he’ll be out.” Ignoring the woman, Jordan opened her yogurt container and picked up her spoon.

Angelica cleared her throat. “Again, if you would do your job and tell him I’m here, I know he’ll come out to talk to me.”

As she spoke, Linc approached his office from behind her. “Angelica, what are you doing here?” Linc asked, sounding tired from the day he’d already had.

“Linc, I missed you and I wanted to talk. She wouldn’t let you know I was here.”

The woman ought to consider herself fortunate, because without him there, Jordan would have ripped into her about how she wouldn’t do a damn thing for someone so rude.

“Because I told her I didn’t want to be interrupted by anyone.” He shot Jordan a grateful look, which Angelica caught.

Unfortunately the woman didn’t take a hint. “I’m not just anyone. Now that you’re here, we need to talk.” She hooked her arm in his and directed him around Jordan’s desk and to his office. Short of shaking her off, he had no choice but to deal with her.

Maybe Jordan ought to feel bad for him, but he’d chosen to get involved with a stage-five clinger. What did he expect?

He opened the door to his office, and Angelica pushed them inside. Jordan couldn’t help but watch, and as she attempted to shut the door, Linc flung it open again, making his point.

Despite Angelica’s proprietary action, Jordan knew he hadn’t been involved with the woman for a long time, but they had been in an on-again, off-again relationship, and based on his past behavior, Angelica had every right to think she could talk him into another go-round.

“Angelica, stop. No. We need to talk.” Linc sounded pissed.

Jordan cringed at the thought of her touching him, admitting jealousy had crept up on her the minute Linc was alone with the bitch.

“But Linc, it’s been so long. Neither one of us is involved with anyone and we’re good together.” Her nasal whine grated on Jordan’s nerves.

She hated blatantly eavesdropping on what should be a private conversation, but he’d deliberately opened the door. And Jordan wanted to hear what he’d say to the part about him not being involved with anyone.

Though they hadn’t touched each other in two weeks, the possessive streak she hadn’t known about reared its ugly head. About a man she was trying not to get more attached to.

“You don’t know anything about my private life,” Linc said.

“I know more than you think. Your mother had lunch with mine, and she was bemoaning her oldest son still being single. Chloe’s getting married and she’s younger than you. Isn’t it time you started thinking about settling down?”

Jordan pushed aside the yogurt she’d been about to eat, her stomach suddenly churning.

“Not with you. Angelica, listen. You’re right. We had a good run when neither of us was involved with anyone else, but that’s all it was. Two people scratching an itch.”

Jordan winced. Oh, he did not say that to her. Talk about a typically dense man.

“Lincoln!” Angelica wailed. “You can’t mean that. I was giving you space and time to get other women out of your system. I was waiting for you to come around.”

“I’m sorry. Really. But I never led you on. Never told you we had a future.” Linc lowered his voice, compassion in his tone.

“Who is she?” Angelica asked loudly, not caring if she caused a scene at his office.

“Who?” Linc asked.

“If it’s not me you have a future with, then who is it?”

Linc’s groan was a mix of annoyance and frustration. Jordan recognized it well. “No one you need to concern yourself with.”

He hadn’t mentioned Jordan by name, but he didn’t deny there was someone, either.

“Come. I’ll walk you out,” Linc said.

“Don’t touch me. You led me on. I was waiting for you.” Angelica’s voice sounded closer to the door.

“I never gave you any reason to think you should.”

Jordan spun her chair around, picked up her spoon, and managed to eat a spoonful, swiping her mouse to turn on her computer screen and look busy.

Angelica’s heels sounded, and she came storming out of the office and past Jordan’s desk, striding through the office, an angry woman who didn’t care if anyone else knew it.

Wincing, Jordan focused on her lunch, wondering if Linc would come out of his office, whether or not he realized she’d heard it all, and unsure of what she’d say if he did.

Instead he shut the door and remained inside for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

Linc leaned againstthe office door and let out a groan. Jesus Christ. He hadn’t led Angelica on, nor had he given her any indication there would be a future between them. With everything hanging over his head with the business, the last thing he needed was female drama. Another reason he appreciated Jordan. She didn’t do drama. She never had.

Speaking of Jordan, he cringed at the realization she’d overheard his conversation. He wasn’t ready to face her, so he settled in behind his desk to work, but he was distracted by his missing CFO and his need to borrow way too much money for his liking.

When a knock sounded on his door, he was grateful for the distraction. “Come in!”

His sister bounced into the room, obviously in a good mood. Her cheery smile matched her bright pink dress.

“Hey, Chloe.”

She smiled wide. “Hi!” She shut the door behind her and sat down in a chair across from him. “Good time? Bad time?”

“For you? Always a good time.” He let go of his stress and focused on his sister. Rising, he walked around the desk and sat on the edge. “How’s the baby shower planning going?”

Though Aurora had had the baby early, Chloe was going ahead with the shower since it was as much of a way to introduce Aurora as family as it was to celebrate the baby she’d named Leah.

“Great. I have Faith Dare doing the specialty desserts,” she said of Jason Dare’s wife.

Linc had stayed in touch with Braden and Willow, keeping them up to date on Aurora and how she was fitting in here. The Prescotts, it turned out, were part of the interesting Dare family, something he’d learned from Chloe. She’d been curious about the people who’d taken her sister in, then she’d been fascinated by the Dare family tree. Faith was married to Jason Dare, a cousin of Austin’s who lived in New York.

From there Chloe had discovered Faith’s Sweet Treats in the city, and with Willow and Braden coming to the baby shower, Chloe had obviously decided to bring Braden’s family into the mix.

“Sounds like you have everything under control,” he said, glad she was enjoying the preparation.

She nodded. “I definitely do,” she said, suddenly squirming in her seat, a habit left over from when she was a child.

Chloe had a tell and couldn’t lie worth a damn. “Okay, spill it,” Linc said. “What else is on your mind?”

She sighed. “I didn’t want to ask you this sooner because it felt wrong, what with Dad’s surprise passing and it feeling so soon.” She swallowed hard, clearly struggling.

Of all the siblings, Linc knew their father best because they’d worked together, but they hadn’t been close. And Kenneth hadn’t understood his writer or rock star sons. Chloe had looked up to him because he was their father, but as soon as she was old enough to catch on to their mother’s misery, she’d shut their father out, too.

“It’s okay. Whatever it is, you can say it.” Linc didn’t want her to feel she couldn’t come to him.

Twisting her hands in front of her, she forced herself to speak. “Dad was going to walk me down the aisle because it was tradition. But I’m closer to you anyway and now he’s gone.” She glanced up, her eyes watery. “Linc, will you walk me down the aisle?”

He smiled at his baby sister, who was clearly no longer a baby. Although he didn’t think Owen was good enough for her, the wedding was set, and Linc wanted her to be happy. “Of course I will.”

“Thank you!” She popped up from her chair and hugged him, nearly knocking him over in her exuberance.

“Did you think I’d say no?” he asked as she stood up so he could catch his balance.

“No.” She shook her head. “But I know how you feel about Owen.” Looking up at him with those familiar blue eyes, she all but dared him to say something negative about her fiancé.

He drew a deep breath and took a moment to phrase things so she didn’t get hurt. “I just want the right man for you,” he said.

“And Owen is that man. We have a lot of things in common. He makes me feel safe, and unlike Dad, he’s a good man who won’t cheat.”

Chloe seemed so damned certain and sincere, but Linc wasn’t sure. If she was marrying the man for safety’s sake, the tax attorney might fit the bill, but his vibrant sister needed so much more. He hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.

Still, he schooled his features and forced a smile. “If you’re happy, then I’m glad.”

Her shoulders dropped and she relaxed. “So who’s your plus-one for the wedding?” she asked as he lowered himself into his chair.

What a day to ask him when he was still reeling over Angelica’s unexpected visit. “I’ll be coming with Jordan.”

His sister rolled her eyes. “Of course Jordan is coming. She’s invited but who’s your date?”

He looked his sister in the eye and repeated his answer. “Jordan.”

Her eyes opened wide. “You and Jordan?” She shook her head as if she’d misunderstood. “Oh, I get it. You want to fend off all the single ladies. That makes sense. Smart, Linc. Very smart.” She laughed until she saw he was deadly serious. “Whoa. Wait. You and Jordan?” she asked again. “Does she know she’s your date?”

It was Linc’s turn to chuckle. “No, actually, she doesn’t.”

“Linc!”

“She doesn’t know she’s my date to Aurora’s shower either.” He shrugged but he had no plans to explain things to his sister. “I’d appreciate it if you’d let me work things out my own way.”

Chloe nodded. With one hand, she raised her fingers to her mouth and gestured that her lips were sealed.

“Good to know.”

“Okay, I need to get back to work. Behave yourself, Linc. I have a feeling you’re in over your head.” Chloe braced her hands on the desk and leaned in. “Jordan isn’t one of us. Not like you think.”

Narrowing his gaze, he asked, “What in the hell do you mean?”

“Listen.” Chloe sat back down in the chair, and he sensed a lecture coming on. “You and Jordan are best friends and always have been, but you’re a guy. And you don’t see what girls do. The way women in your social circle look at her because her mother was our maid. Jordan has access to you, and people in our world resent her.”

“Again, you mean other women resent her.”

Chloe nodded. “Jordan might dress in designer clothes, and she knows how to hold herself and behave at the club, but nobody sees her as anything other than the help’s daughter.”

Anger filled him at the truth of her statement. “What kind of bullshit is this our world?” he asked with quotes around the words.

Sure, her mother and his father believed they shouldn’t even be friends, but he’d had no idea there were more people who bought into the antiquated notion.

Chloe glanced down, her cheeks flushed. “It’s something insecure bitches use to distinguish themselves from smart, beautiful women like Jordan who make their own way in the world and do it well.”

At least his sister didn’t buy into social class distinctions. What a load of crap, and Linc ground his teeth in frustration.

“Jordan’s mother feels the same way. She’s always telling her she doesn’t belong with me. Not even as my friend.”

Chloe’s expression turned sad. “What about you? If you had to walk into a charity event or the club with Jordan on your arm, knowing what people would think and say, how would you feel?”

“Proud.” He knew the answer without thinking.

His sister’s smile was all the validation he needed. “Then go for it and I’ll be right by your side.” She came around and hugged him again. “Love you, Linc.”

“Love you back. Now go work.”

Chloe walked out and Linc glanced around his office. Chloe had given him a lot to think about when it came to Jordan. So much more made sense to him now. The morning after they’d last been together, he’d walked into the kitchen as she’d been hanging up the phone after a call from her mother.

He’d sensed immediately things had changed. As usual, Tamara had probably filled her head with her negative feelings about their relationship. If Tamara knew he was sleeping with her daughter, she would lose her mind. And Jordan knew it.

On top of that, according to Chloe, Jordan also felt she didn’t fit in. He shook his head at the thought. As if money made a person a decent human being. Jordan was worth ten times more than a dense, shallow woman like Angelica. So was Chloe. Money had nothing to do with it.

One thing was certain, Linc didn’t care what anyone thought.

Now how to convince Jordan?

* * *

Jordan packed herthings up for the day. She hadn’t had a minute alone with Linc. He’d had back-to-back visitors throughout the afternoon, which wasn’t unusual. At the moment, he was on the phone with a potential lender, so she left him a text on his phone letting him know she was leaving and she would see him in the morning.

She headed out and decided to take the subway instead of an Uber or company car, needing the fresh air she’d get as she walked the three blocks to the station. She’d been light-headed this afternoon and a little queasy and had attributed it to only eating half her yogurt for lunch. After listening to Angelica’s play for Linc, she hadn’t felt like eating.

Knowing she was too tired to prep food, she stopped at the grocery store near her apartment and picked up a couple of precooked meals before going home. At least she’d have them for the week. Once home, she put the meals in the fridge and changed into a pair of soft sweats and the tee shirt she’d stolen from Linc. Nobody had to know she slept in it whenever it didn’t need to be washed.

She microwaved and ate the pasta she’d bought and settled herself into her couch, suddenly tired. When her cell rang, it woke her, and a glance at the phone told her she’d fallen asleep for over an hour.

She answered the call, which was her doorman. “Hello?”

“Good evening, Miss Greene. Mr. Kingston is here.”

She really should put him on her permanent list, but she liked the heads-up before anyone came over. It gave her a few minutes to … whatever. Clean up. Look in the mirror. “Send him up, please. Thank you.”

Knowing she didn’t have much time, she chose the look-in-the-mirror option, saw the sleep line on her cheek, and groaned. Just wonderful.

She ran her fingers through her tangled hair and couldn’t do much more before he knocked on her door. She wasn’t surprised he’d shown up. Not after the scene with his ex.

She let him in and shut the door behind him.

“We need to talk,” he said without saying hello first.

She smiled grimly. “If it’s about Angelica, I can live without the details.”

“But I need you to know a few things.” He shrugged off his jacket and laid it over a club chair, making himself at home.

She sighed as he pulled on his tie, releasing the knot and unthreading the ends. He tossed it over his jacket and proceeded to undo the top two buttons on his shirt and roll up his sleeves.

Dammit, why did he have to be so sexy?

“Are you hungry? I picked up a couple of dinners on my way home.”

He shook his head. “I grabbed something first. You don’t need to feed me,” he said, his lips lifting in a wry grin.

“So you had a busy day.” No point beating around the bush, she thought, striding over to her favorite corner of her couch before he could beat her to it.

He settled in right beside her, half facing her, his knee on the couch, touching her thigh.

“Yes, I did. And I want you to know I haven’t been with her in over a year. Frankly I hadn’t been with anyone, because I’ve been over having meaningless sex. Angelica called the night I showed up at your apartment drunk. I was on my way over and I made it clear I wasn’t interested. Obviously she needed me to be harsher than I was, because she didn’t buy it.”

Jordan had to admit she was relieved to hear there hadn’t been anyone else in a while.

“I know she’s a stage-five clinger.” It really was her favorite expression, Jordan mused.

He tipped his head back and laughed. “Great description.”

“It does fit.”

“Chloe’s excited about the baby shower this weekend,” he said.

Jordan smiled. “So is Aurora. She’s nervous about meeting so many strangers, but she’s looking forward to it, too.”

His warm gaze met hers. “Do you talk to her often?”

“Every day, every other day, depends. I check in or she calls. She’s a wonderful girl given all she had to live through. She hasn’t been hardened by life, and she’s open to her new family. It’s been great to see.”

He stretched an arm over the back of the sofa, his fingers running over the skin on her shoulder. A light touch but her entire body tingled, awareness shooting through her veins and her nipples puckering beneath her cotton tee shirt.

“So about the party,” Linc said. “It starts at eleven a.m. I’ll pick you up around ten.”

“Can you fit the huge horse rocker you bought into the back of your SUV?” she asked, grinning. He was such a sucker for buying Aurora and the baby things and having them delivered to the house.

“I already had Max drop it off at the club. Does ten work for you?”

She nodded. “Perfect. I appreciate the ride.” Otherwise she’d have to take an Uber and that wouldn’t be fun at all.

“Jordan.”

At the gruff sound of his voice, she jerked her head up. “What?”

“You don’t thank your date for picking you up to go somewhere.” He gripped her arm in his hand, firmly but without hurting her. “Make no mistake. You’re my date.”

She opened her mouth to argue. To tell him they couldn’t show up and act like a couple in front of his family when nobody had any idea they were dating, let alone had any kind of intimate relationship. Not to mention, they hadn’t had a discussion laying out the parameters of said relationship.

But she couldn’t deny they were involved in a deeper way than they’d been before they’d slept together the first time.

“Linc, we don’t want to give your family the wrong impression.”

His father would roll over in his grave if he walked into the country club with her on his arm. She had no idea what his mother would say. And though Jordan could handle whatever people dished out, she didn’t want to embarrass his family during a day that belonged to Aurora.

“You’re right. And we won’t.” He rose to his feet, leaned over, and pressed his mouth to hers, parting her lips and sucking on her tongue.

She moaned and kissed him back, unable to resist him even when he was his pushy self. By the time he pulled back, she would have agreed to almost anything he’d asked.

“Good night,” he said. “Sweet dreams.” He strode past the chair, grabbing his jacket and tie.

She was still lost in that kiss, wrapped up in his masculine scent, and her head spinning when the door shut behind him.

Dammit! He’d played her. He knew she wouldn’t argue if he kissed her into submission.

She had to replace a way to deal with their new relationship, and she decided here and now it was a temporary thing. She would sleep with him when it suited them, be with him and try to enjoy the time they had, but when it was time to move on, she would let him go. Because their worlds didn’t mix, and that wasn’t something she could change.

As for the shower, they were both invited, so it wasn’t unusual for them to show up together. Or so she convinced herself because she had no other choice.