A Better Man(93)

Jordan ripped all that control to shreds.

Not in a nasty way by any means. He did it with sweet talk, compassion, and a whole lot of hotness. She didn't fool herself for one minute, though. When it came to Jordan Kincade, she wanted to lose control. She liked the way he made her feel safe, cared for, even sexy. Until he'd come along she'd never felt sexy. Never felt beautiful. Never in her life would she have thought he'd beg her to give them a chance.

Lifting the wineglass to her lips, she paused the Oozma Kappa Party Central from the Monsters University DVD to find a snack that wouldn't bypass her breasts and go straight to her thighs or hips. She had to step over Ziggy, who'd stretched out at her feet.

The doorbell rang and she stopped midway to the kitchen, wondering who could possibly be at her door at this time of night.

She looked down at her plaid pajama bottoms and baggy white T-­shirt and prayed to God it wasn't Jordan. He'd seen her looking bad enough. And then she remembered the avocado mask on her face. Wonderful. No time to go wash it off, she went to the door, nudging tail-­wagging Ziggy aside with her foot.

A Kincade stood there, but not Jordan.

"Nicole? What are you doing here?"

The teen stood there wearing a PINK hoodie, jeans, and Ugg boots, hugging herself against the cool night air. 

"Come in," Lucy said, and then she remembered. "Excuse the mask. I wasn't expecting company."

Ziggy did his usual happy dance and Nicole rewarded him with an affectionate stroke of her hand over the top of his head.

"I'm sorry to bother you."

"You're not. Have a seat. Would you like something to drink? Maybe something hot since its cold outside?"

"No thank you." She sat down on the edge of the sofa like she was ready to run.

Lucy could see Nicole's hands were shaking, and her concern ignited.

"I probably should have gone to my brothers. But . . . I really thought you'd be the one who could help the most."

Lucy sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Honey, what's wrong? You're trembling."

"It's Jordan."

Oh dear. What did the man do now?

"Earlier when he came to talk to me I told him I didn't want to go to college and that I wanted to go to Nashville to be a musician."

"And he got upset?" The news made Lucy sad because she knew how far Nicole could go with the right education. But she also realized that college wasn't right for everyone.

"Well, yes. He told me how dangerous and risky it was. And he tried to tell me how hard it would be. But he didn't yell. Although he looked like he might when I told him I wasn't planning on going alone."

"Going with someone else didn't make him feel any better?"

Nicole scrunched her nose. "I kind of made him think it would be a guy."

"Oh."

"And then I told him something I haven't shared with anyone else. I told him the reason I've been so . . . angry."

As much as Lucy wanted to ask about the problem, it was none of her business. If Nicole wanted her to know she'd tell her. "And what did he say?"

"He said he'd made a decision and family comes first." Nicole squeezed her eyes shut for a second, when she opened them the blue was swimming in tears. "Ms. Diamond, I think he's going to quit hockey, and it's all my fault."

"Oh, honey." Lucy pulled her into a hug even as she wanted to go find Jordan and ask him what he was up to. "If he does quit after this season it's not your fault. Your brother's a big boy who knows what he wants. Even if it doesn't make sense to anyone else."

"No. I think he's going to quit right now because of what I told him. I should have kept my mouth shut. I'd never dream of asking him to quit. It's what he does. It's what he loves. I could see that when I watched him play. I could see it at the meet-­and-­greet when he was with his fans. I don't want him to stop doing what he loves because of me. I couldn't live with that."

"That's a heavy burden for you to bear. And, sweetie, you've been through enough lately." Lucy pushed a lock of hair off Nicole's forehead. "Did he actually say he was going to quit?"

Nicole shook her head. "He didn't have to. I could see it in his eyes and it was heavily implied. The determination on his face pretty much confirmed it."

"Then you're right, he can't quit." The thought of the man not doing what he loved twisted Lucy's stomach up in knots.



       
         
       
        

"I know. That's why I came to you. To see if you could try and talk some sense into him."