A Better Man(65)

The awkward silence on the plane was deafening and he scrambled to figure out what to say, what to do, and how the hell to make this work.

The only thing in his favor was Lucy-­a careful, brilliant woman who no longer made rash decisions despite the fact that she'd taken a leap of faith with him. Having her in his corner gave him a lot more confidence in the situation than he'd have if he was handling it alone.

For over an hour Nicki had sat silently with her arms folded and looking out the window. Lucy had kept herself busy reading a book about character traits. Maybe she was trying to find a way to figure him out.

He couldn't believe she'd agreed to come, but he was beyond grateful. Helping out with his sister while he was at practice would be a huge relief. And since he planned to have them both attend the games, he wouldn't worry about them.

But that wasn't his only reason for wanting Lucy along.

Last night they'd jumped a hurdle when she'd opened up and talked to him about her marriage. He'd appreciated that she trusted him enough to share. That confidence had made him like her even more. He didn't want to be gone for a few days, weeks, or longer and put a dent in what could be developing between them.

As if she could feel him watching her, Lucy looked up. She pushed her glasses up her nose and smiled. A hot arrow of lust shot through him. Why he found that simple gesture so sexy he had no idea. But it made him realize he was probably in deeper than he'd initially thought.

She deserved to have a man treat her like a queen. A man who'd love her and make her his top priority.

Could he be that man?

He didn't know.

But the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to be.

She smiled again, and, not that he didn't love his sister, but he suddenly wished he and Lucy were alone. He could teach her a hell of a lot about the art of seduction at thirty thousand feet.

"Are we almost there?" the baby dragon asked. 

"Almost," he said. "Think by the time we land you can find a smile?"

She flashed him the most forced, scary-­looking grin he'd ever seen.

"Well, that's a start."

Across from him Lucy took his cue, put her book aside, and leaned in to engage Nicki in a conversation about the upcoming prom. It took a few minutes before Nicki warmed up to the discussion. When she finally did, she amazingly still managed to flash him the death glare.

All he could do right now was close his eyes, wish the jet had booze on board, and pray all the way to North Carolina.

Lucy followed Jordan and Nicole into Jordan's high-­rise apartment. While the place was nice, with everything in rich dark wood, black leather, and granite, it wasn't overly extravagant like she'd expected. She'd have thought he lived like a spoiled superstar in a huge house with useless rooms he never bothered to visit. He certainly portrayed that image when the paparazzi captured him leaving a celebrity event or fancy restaurant with a gorgeous blonde on his arm.

The furnishings were definitely masculine, so it seemed almost comical to imagine him standing in a Home Goods store selecting the delicate rose and lily centerpiece in the middle of the big black dining table or the modern pieces of art and mirrors on the walls. The fact that the place was spotless led her to believe he had help come in and clean.

"I only have two bedrooms," he announced as he parked Lucy's suitcase by the sofa. "Nicki, I'll put you in the one down here."

Lucy followed as he led his sister down the hall and into a nice-­sized room with a queen-­sized bed and a private bath. Again, the room had a masculine flair, but Lucy didn't think Nicole would mind. She might protest loudly, but Lucy couldn't help thinking the young girl was more than a little excited that her big brother had seen fit to bring her along.

"It has a smart TV with every cable channel you can think of." He tossed her bag on the bed. "If there's something specific you want to watch, just order it on Netflix."

"Whatever." Nicole rolled her eyes.

"Yeah." He sighed.

As Lucy followed him back out into the hall, she wished she could resolve the reason for Nicole's anger. No doubt the girl was complex. Alarmingly, it seemed the girl couldn't push past her anger enough to be able to grieve the loss of her parents. Maybe Jordan was right. Maybe with a little time together, Lucy could at least begin to understand.

"I'll put you in my room," Jordan said to Lucy, grabbing her bag from the living room floor.

"But where would you sleep?"

"On the sofa."

"Don't be silly. I can't push you out of your bed. You have to be at the top of your game over the next couple of days."

When they reached his room-­the epitome of black leather manliness-­he stopped and turned toward her. The way his lips curled up at the corners and the glimmer in his eyes sent a rush of warmth from her heart down through her core. She barely resisted a lusty shudder.