Page 183 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

He waved a hand. “No worries.”

A coy smile curved her lips as she crossed her arms and sat back in her seat. “So, how did Piper like the necklace?” A month ago, Jordan called saying he was in town. He asked if he could stop by her house and grab his mother’s necklace to give to Piper. Addie was at work but gave him the okay to get them from Pops.

When Jordan’s mother Maxine died, Jordan gave Addie her jewelry. At the time, Addie and Jordan were dating, so it seemed logical that he would give her his mother’s jewelry. Then they broke up and Jordan married Piper. Addie asked Jordan if he wanted to give the jewelry to Piper, but Jordan declined saying that even though the situation had changed, his mother thought the world of Addie and would still want her to have the items.

“I haven’t given Piper the necklace yet. I wanted to wait until we were on our cruise.”

“Good idea. I’m glad I didn’t say anything to her.”

“Me too. It would’ve ruined the surprise.”

Addie made a zipping motion with her lips. “No worries. Your secret’s safe with me.”

Jordan scooted back his chair and stood. “Can we go now? To get the earrings? Maybe we can stop by Steinway’s and grab the bracelet too?”

“Sorry, I can’t leave. I have a group of executives arriving shortly.”

“Is Wallace home? I can just stop by?—”

She winced. “No, sorry, Pops is out of town. Corbin and Delaney are expecting their baby any minute. Pops went to check on them.”

“Oh.” Disappointment settled over Jordan’s features.

“You can take my key and get into the house. The jewelry box is in the top drawer of the dresser in the closet.” She reached for her purse and fished for her keys.

“That would be great.”

“Just leave the key under the mat after you’re done.” She removed it from her keyring and handed it to him.

“Thanks.”

“Would you like for me to call Mr. Steinway and tell him that you want to pick up the bracelet?” She made a face. “That is, if he’s finished repairing it.”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

She also stood. They embraced as he kissed her on the cheek.

“It was good seeing you, Addie.”

“Good seeing you too. Have fun on your cruise.” Was it her imagination, or did she detect a note of despondency in his voice?

Her phone buzzed. She reached to retrieve it, but in the process, accidentally knocked over her purse, sending the contents spilling out. “Dang it!” she muttered.

She bent down to pick up the items. Jordan squatted down and helped her put them back into her purse. Her cheeks flushed over how messy her purse was—popcorn kernels had fallen into her purse at a movie she’d attended a week prior and there were scraps of paper and gum wrappers. To her dismay, there was even a tampon. She grabbed it and shoved it into her purse. “Sorry, you had to see all that,” she laughed nervously as they stood.

Jordan’s features went rigid, fear flashing in his eyes as he looked past her.

She turned to see what he was looking at. The terrace was crowded with people, making it impossible to tell what had jolted him.

“Thanks for everything,” he mumbled, walking away so fast that he was nearly jogging.

Addie sat down to finish her sandwich, her mind replaying Jordan’s strange behavior. Then she remembered she was supposed to call Mr. Steinway about the bracelet. She’d lose her head if it weren’t attached.

She was reaching for her phone when she heard gasps, followed by murmurs.

“Someone’s been hit,” she heard a woman say.

Her heart in her throat, Addie ran through the foyer and out the front doors. She clutched her chest, holding her breath when she saw a group of people encircling a person on the ground. She caught sight of a brown shoe and blue dress pants—what Jordan had been wearing. Dread screamed through her as she stepped closer. It took a second for her mind to register that the broken man on the ground was Jordan. She rushed to his side. His head was covered in blood, his hand cradling his ribs.

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