Home is Where the Heart is(50)

“So do you want to go for a walk, man?” Nick queried. “I could probably do with something to eat, even from the cafeteria or a vending machine. I’m that hungry.”

Gabby rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, you’re always thinking of your stomach in times of crisis.”

“It’s not a crisis, and I was going to offer to get you something too.”

“Oh, you were?” Gabby tried to rehash her previous comment by making nice, sending him a sly smile and twirling a strand of her hair she had not straightened around one finger. Only Gabby could make curls look so damn good, though Nick knew not to say that to her face. She didn’t like her curly hair, especially when they had a mind of their own and was shocked to see she hadn’t used a hair straightener, wondering if she’d used it as a ruse to scare away the date he knew she went on tonight.

Nick wasn’t even sure why he cared so much. Gabby had already made it perfectly clear she didn’t feel anything more for him than just friendship.

“Then I will have a banana smoothie, if you don’t mind,” she purred.

Nick nodded his head, and then spoke to Cassie. “Cass, do you want anything?”

She simply shook her head in response. She couldn’t eat anything at the moment; all she wanted was to hear her baby boy was out of surgery and that he was okay.

“Text me if you hear anything,” Jordan told her before the two men walked away. She and Gabby were left with lingering questions about where Jordan and Cassie stood with each other.



Nick and Jordan roamed down the corridor together for some guy talk while they waited to receive news on Jake, leaving Cassie and Gabby in conversation together, wishing at this moment he could be a fly on the wall. Any kind of talk between Cassie and Gabby would have been very interesting to overhear.

On the other hand, he missed not being able to chat to his best mate. It was something the two of them hadn’t really done since high school, unless you counted the night they shared a beer together at the tavern. It was definitely good to catch up with him, even under less-than-great circumstances. Jordan was obviously grateful for everything his friend had done for his family throughout the years. He couldn’t thank him enough.

“So have you talked to your dad recently?” Nick asked him as they rounded another corner of the plainly painted hospital. They had no exact direction in mind. They were simply walking and talking, making up for lost time and passing the minutes and hours until Jake would be out of surgery.

Nick could see his father was a subject Jordan didn’t like to talk about very much. His whole disposition changed in an instant, frown lines showing on his forehead.

“Not since the last time, when I was packing my bags and told him I was leaving to go back to Miami. I’m assuming he knows I decided to stick around here a little longer and get to know my son.”

“So there’s no chance of you actually talking to him again?” Deep down, Nick already knew his answer.

“Not unless my dear old dad plans to apologize for the way he’s taken control of my life for six years. Jake and I are better off without him.”

Nick knew he didn’t really mean that. Jordan wasn’t the kind of man to say something like that and actually mean it. He may have been his father’s son, but he wasn’t so much like his dad to go out of his way to intentionally cut someone out of his life out of spite. He was obviously pissed and just needed to let off a little bit of steam he was holding on to.

It was time to change the subject.

“So...Brielle, she’s gone? Just like that?” Nick snapped his fingers.

“Yep, just like that,” Jordan said with little excitement. He was still quashing all his annoyance about his father.

“I thought things were going well between you guys. What happened?” Nick pressed him for more details, eager to get the dirt on their obviously complicated relationship.

“Nothing happened. That was it. She wanted more from us, but I just couldn’t handle anything more than what we already had. We hooked up occasionally, but that’s all we ever did. I didn’t want to be in an actual relationship with her, and tonight I guess she finally realized why I didn’t want one.”

Nick’s eyebrows rose a little. “Don’t leave me hanging, man. How exactly did she come to this realization?”

Jordan shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. “I guess she saw me and Cassie together and got the impression there was something still between us…like I was in love with her.”

“Are you still in love with Cassie?” Nick couldn’t help but ask. He knew he didn’t know Brielle that well—they had only shared one quick conversation together—but to Nick, she didn’t seem like someone to question her concerns and opinions aloud if she didn’t think there was a little bit of truth to them.