Page 34 of Necessary Roughness

“It is,” Jordan said. She probably wasn’t visiting to do the lawn, either. He’d kissed her, but he’d invited another woman over tonight? Why?

Jordan turned to walk to the front door, listening to the clicking sound of the woman’s heels on the pavement. She knew it was ridiculous, but she felt less than glamorous in her work clothes and rubber-soled shoes.

The front door opened before Jordan’s foot hit the doorstep. Tanner’s hair was damp but styled. He looked like a walking ad for a high-end men’s store. She hadn’t seen him dressed in street clothes since she met him. She took a breath so she could say something snarky to him, and her mouth went dry. He smelled like woods—the fresh scent of evergreens after rain. His eyes were silver gray and inscrutable as one side of his mouth quirked into a smile.

“Jordan. Nice to see you could find your way home.”

“Home?” the woman next to her squeaked.

“Not really,” Jordan managed to say. “I’m just staying here.”

“You tell yourself that,” he said, but his eyes sparkled with knowing laughter. “Tabitha, c’mon in.”

He stepped back slightly and gestured for the two women to enter the house. Jordan made rapid progress to the staircase that led downstairs, but not fast enough to miss Tabitha’s question.

“Who’s she?”

“I left the front door unlocked one night, and she wandered in.”

“Do you have a habit of allowing strangers to move into your house?”

“I’m a risk-taker,” he assured Tabitha.

Jordan managed to not barf all over the staircase as she took the stairs at a rapid rate. She needed to change and get herself a glass of wine. Maybe she should bring the bottle.

He was such a—she didn’t know what he was, but she’d come up with something. She should have stuck around, introduced herself, and tried to figure out what the hell he was up to. If she wasn’t so chicken, she would have marched upstairs this morning to figure out what he was up to last night. Who knew? It wouldn’t be the first time in her life that she was mystified by male behavior. Truthfully, she shouldn’t get her panties in a wad over Tanner in the first place. She could worry about finding a guy when things were a bit more settled for her. She had a good job, she had interests beyond watching bad reality TV, and she could manage her own life.

She pulled on an oversize T-shirt and a pair of yoga pants. Maybe she should go for a run. She could sweat the memory of how he smelled out of her system, and the coast would be clear for Tanner and Tabitha’s date, if that’s what he was doing.

Sadie stuck her nose inside Jordan’s palm and snuffled a bit as she dropped her leash on the floor by Jordan’s feet.

“Should we go for a walk, Sadie? How about a glass of wine first?” Sadie gave a short hop on her front paws. “I know I should walk you first and skip the glass of wine, but it’s been a bad day.” Jordan reached into the fridge for the wine she’d opened last night and grabbed a glass from the open shelves over the bar. “Want some water?”

Sadie gave her a soft woof and settled down next to the chaise lounge on the porch outside the downstairs media room. Jordan filled a bowl with water and put it down next to the dog, who lapped from it as she settled herself into the lounger.

She had intended to spend the evening looking for available apartment rentals online, but right now, all she wanted to do was brood. The day wasn’t awesome to begin with, but it had taken a real nosedive in the past fifteen minutes or so. She took a sip of wine as she stared out onto blue water and bluer skies. Sadie nudged her trailing hand. She felt stress draining away as she looked at the view. Everything was great until she heard a high-pitched giggle from upstairs and the woman she now knew as Tabitha said, “I can’t believe how big your biceps are.”

Jordan wasn’t sure she’d ever giggled over a guy’s biceps before. She had to deal with people’s bodies as part of her job, but damn. Sadie glanced up at the upstairs deck like she was in pain.

She heard Tanner’s low, sensual voice. “Thanks, I think. So how about dinner? I have a couple of great rib eye steaks and one of those prawn things from Metropolitan Grill.”

“I’m sure I could find something to eat there,” Tabitha said.

“Oh, we’re not going there,” Tanner said. “I’m kind of on house arrest.”

“House arrest?” Tabitha said. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not a criminal or anything. I ordered some food because going out is still tough for me right now. My buddy’s a chef and gave me a clue on how to grill up a couple of steaks.”

“I’m sure they’re great, but I’m a vegetarian.”

“Do you eat seafood?” Tanner said. “How about some prawns instead?”

“No thanks,” she said. “My diet is primarily plant-based. I should have mentioned that earlier.”

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s see if we can find something else you might like to eat.” Jordan could hear him moving around on his crutches. “Let’s go look in the refrigerator and see if there’s anything that you might enjoy. If not, I can order what you’d like and have it delivered.”

“Thanks for offering,” Tabitha said.

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