Read Finding Forever for Free Online

Miss?” he asked Jordan.
    “Diet Coke.” She nodded in the direction of Jake’s drink. “I hope you didn’t settle for that on my account.”
    “No, I just...”
    She shook her head. “Don’t.” She looked up at the waiter. “Bring him a beer,” she said. “And we’ll have a large pepperoni. Breadsticks, too.”
    “You got it,” the waiter said before sauntering off.
    “Jordan, what are you doing?” Jake stared at her.
    “Ordering dinner. And a beer for you.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m sure you want one.”
    He did, yes. He just hadn’t ordered one out of respect for her. Now it looked like that was somehow the wrong choice. Would he ever get it right with her? “Yes, but...”
    “Be yourself, Jake,” she said. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to do something different on account of me. This is never going to work out if you do.”
    He arched an eyebrow up. “What’s never going to work out?” A few days ago, she ordered him out of her life. Now she acted like she wanted him in. Women. Jake doubted he’d ever figure them out.
    ***
    The waiter returned with their drinks, giving Jordan a chance to catch her breath and try to organize her thoughts. What the hell was wrong with her? She was supposed to come here, recite her prepared list of reasons why Jake should forget about her, then make a quiet exit with her dignity still intact.
    Instead, she took one look at him and started flirting. I like a well-dressed man? She sounded like something out of one of those soap operas Jake used to star in. It was the eyes, Jordan decided. His eyes were the color of storm clouds, and they’d always left her with a lingering curiosity about what lurked behind them. Danger, or the quiet calm that followed a storm?
    “What do you want from me, Jake?” She sipped Diet Coke from a straw. “Because from where I’m sitting, it’s hard to figure out. I’m older than you and I come with a heck of a lot of baggage.” Did she dare to let herself hope that maybe Jake was different from other men, who seemed to only want one thing and then lost interest once they got it?
    Jake looked at her, then at the beer bottle, then back at her. Probably wondering if he should drink it, she decided. If he ignored it and reached for the Coke, she’d add it as one more reason why all of this was a bad idea. She made him too self-conscious.
    He picked up the beer and took a drink. “How old are you, anyway?”
    It was a question that could irritate a woman, but since she was the one that put age out there, Jordan really couldn’t be offended. “Thirty-eight.”
    Jake nodded. “I’m thirty-four, so not much difference. Besides, I’ve had the poor judgment of dating a twenty-year old. It’s not a mistake I intend to repeat,” he said. “As for baggage, we all carry some with us. I’m pretty sure yours is designer, at least.”
    His face broke out in a devilish grin, causing Jordan to laugh. “Would you expect anything less?” she asked.
    “From you, never.” He tipped the bottle to his lips. “I want to get to know you better, Jordan. It’s as simple as that.”
    He called it simple. To her, it was anything but. “Why? What have I ever given you that was so memorable as to make you want to know me?”
    “Are you serious?” Jake asked.
    Before Jordan could answer, their dinner arrived. Grateful for the distraction, she reached for a slice of pizza and set it on her plate, then sprinkled parmesan on it.
    When their server asked if they needed anything else, Jake waved him away.
    “I’ll take your silence as a ‘yes.’” Jake grabbed his own slice, but didn’t take a bite.  “Fine. You always intrigued me. You had a body that didn’t stop, and the face to match, yet you disarmed me with the things you said. You still do. In a town full of shallow, you actually seemed deep. And you seemed to give a crap what happened to me, which is more than I can say for a lot of folks.” He took a bite of