“You’re going back to Miami?”
Brielle nodded her head. “I am. I can’t stay here. I’m not cut out for the small town life. It isn’t really for me. You only have to look at my clothes to see that. People here dress differently than me; even you dress differently than you do in Miami.” She giggled.
Well, at least she could laugh about it now.
“And besides,” she continued, “you’re meant to be here with your family. Cassie and Jake need you more than I do. I think tonight, I finally realized something.”
“What’s that?” Jordan was half-afraid of the answer.
“I realized you’ll never truly see yourself in a relationship with anybody else unless it’s with Cassie, because I think—no, I know—you’re still in love with her. And maybe I don’t have the right to make you admit you still have strong feelings for your ex-girlfriend, but deep down, I do want a happily ever after relationship with the man of my dreams. I used to think there could be more to us than friends with benefits, but now I understand you and I will never be what I had hoped we would be. I don’t want to be the one to stand in the way of two people being together as much as I think you truly belong with Cassie, if there is still a chance of the two of you making it work.”
Jordan never realized how profound and frank Brielle could really be, but for her, it felt good to get it off her chest. She didn’t want to be with Jordan if he didn’t completely believe in the relationship, or if he knew his heart lay with someone else.
“When are you leaving?”
“I thought I might go back to the motel and pack my things to leave tonight. There’s really nothing keeping me here.”
“Do you need a lift back to the motel?”
“No, thanks,” Brielle said, shaking her head. “I’ve already called for a taxi to come and get me, which should be here soon. You should be here for your son; he needs you right now. It was really nice to share a part of your world with you for the short time that I have known you. You’re a good man, Jordan. You’re one of the best men that I know, because you always try to do the right thing by people and see the best in everyone.”
Brielle leaned up and kissed Jordan softly and sweetly on his cheek one last time, whispering final words to him. “For the record, I am rooting for you and Cassie to be together; otherwise, I wouldn’t be walking away from any chance we might have at being a couple. I hope you both realize just how much you should be together again.”
As she walked away from Jordan, she briefly craned her head around to give him one last smile and wave in his direction. Then just like that, she was gone, leaving Jordan to wonder and question whether she really was right or not—were he and Cassie really destined to be together forever and always?
Jordan aimlessly roamed the grounds of the hospital, randomly searching for a solution to his dilemma and praying to the man upstairs that he would help lead him in the right direction of where his life was supposed to be. By the time he returned to the waiting area where Cassie was, Nick and Gabby had since come back to the hospital with an overnight bag containing some of Jake’s belongings he would need once he was out of surgery.
Cassie was now awake and looking at Jordan as he walked toward them. After she had woken up from her light slumber to find that she was sitting all alone with coffee beside her, she began to wonder where he and Brielle went. Now she saw him, but Brielle wasn’t with him.
“Hey, man! Where did you get to?” Nick gave Jordan a friendly slap on the back.
“Just out for a walk. This hospital and the whole waiting thing were doing my head in.”
“Yeah, I hear that,” Nick agreed with his friend, looking around for his date and noticing she was absent. “Where’s Brielle?”
At the mention of the surprise visitor, Cassie and Gabby stayed firmly seated on their chairs as Cassie continued to finish the last few mouthfuls of her coffee. She didn’t want to seem eager to know the same thing Nick asked Jordan, but at the same time, she was also curious of the response he’d give Nick.
“Uh, it’s not going to work out between Brielle and me. She’s on her way back to Miami.”
Jordan looked in Cassie’s direction, and at the same time, Cassie chose to look up at him, their eyes meeting. Jordan’s piercing dark brown eyes seemed almost able to see right through her. He cleared his throat and started to roll up his sleeves around his elbows in an effort to seem casual and be more comfortable.
Nick stood back from the two of them, carefully surveying the awkward glances they were giving each other. If only they could really see how their smoldering looks toward each other could be seen as searing sexual tension between them. He wondered whether or not feelings had been rekindled between his best friends. He figured it couldn’t happen to nicer of people, but after everything had happened between Jordan and Cassie, he also wondered if it was going to be the right move or not. What if it was something that shouldn’t happen and should stay hidden in the past, instead of risking his friends’ feelings being hurt or betrayed?