Home is Where the Heart is(6)

Cassie nodded her head. “I am. I’ve got somewhere else I need to be.” She would just leave it at that. He didn’t need to know where she was going. Her life was her business, and he wasn’t a part of it anymore. She didn’t owe him any kind of explanation. If explanations were being thrown into the equation, then she deserved one from him, or at the very least, an apology for the way he broke her heart.

But she wasn’t going to dwell on what had already happened. She laid that to rest a long time ago and planned on leaving it there, concentrating on the present toward a brighter future instead. She would simply leave him with the impression she had a life that didn’t revolve around Jordan, just as he had built a life in Miami without her.

Cassie turned her gaze back toward the bar’s counter, spying Gabby and Nick perched at the bar, their backs facing her as they seemed to be enthralled with some kind of intent discussion with each other. She made a quick memo to herself to get the scoop from Nick tomorrow morning when he came to her house to help her out. Cassie was secretly hoping Nick and Gabby would realize they liked each other more than friends and get together. They were polar-opposites, but utterly perfect for each other, and really, Cassie knew it couldn’t happen to two better people than her best friends. If nothing good would happen in her love life, then at least she could be happy for her friends and live vicariously through them.

“Gabby and Nick are still at the bar if you were interested in catching up with them. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you,” Cassie said, even though she wasn’t sure how true her words really were. She didn’t know how much of a warm reception Jordan would be given from Gabby—if any at all—even though there was a time during their sophomore year of high school when people, including Cassie, assumed Jordan and Gabby would be the ones to form a romantic relationship. Needless to say, people were definitely surprised to learn of Jordan and Cassie’s relationship status when they first started dating. Gabby was definitely on Team Cassie if teams were being chosen, which they weren’t.

Cassie swore she saw Jordan scowl a little, and then a cock-sure grin was sent in her direction. “Um, okay then.” His tone of voice was half-muffled, hidden behind his hand as he swiped it down his face.

And just like that, Cassie was walking away from Jordan. A small part of her was hoping she wouldn’t need to make light, uncomfortable conversation with him again during his stay…but she knew the chances of running into her ex-boyfriend again were very high.



Jordan watched his former girlfriend walk away from him, and he realized Cassie could still give him the same feelings he used to get every time she walked into a room.

Damn! She’s still as stunning as ever—maybe even more, now that she was older. Butterflies were beginning to form in the pit of his stomach, the kind of butterflies he got each time he stepped out onto a football field before every game. This was different to those moments though, because when he was on the field, he always aimed to be in the zone and play the best game of his life using tactics he practiced with the rest of his team over and over again. No, this wasn’t like one of those times. With Cassie, Jordan couldn’t plan one of his calculated moves like he did when he was playing football.

There was a time long ago when he could figure Cassie out in a split second, like when she had a problem and simply didn’t want to talk to anyone about what she was feeling. He would know exactly what she was thinking, and he alone could easily bring her out of her funk. Too much had happened between them to go back and change what he should have done differently. He couldn’t change the past. What was done was done. He couldn’t go back and undo all the mistakes he had made, even though he wished he could.

Only now, even for a fleeting moment, Jordan realized Cassie could still make his heart flutter, but did she feel the same way? He really didn’t know anymore, and that was what scared him the most—not knowing. And even if she wanted to cut him right out of her life, he couldn’t let her. Not yet, especially when he wasn’t completely over her and what they used to have. He owed it to himself to at least try to earn her respect and get back to that happy place they used to be. As hard as he knew it was going to be, Jordan was going to give it a damn good try.



Once home from her eventful night out and safely inside the door, Cassie sent the babysitter off on her merry way as she kicked her black wedges to the side of the entryway. She then proceeded to make her way down the hallway toward another part of the house, stopping outside the bedroom across the hall from her own—her son’s. For five years, Jake’s been the most important piece of her life, and she really couldn’t envision life without him in it, nor did she even want to imagine what her life would’ve been like if Jordan hadn’t given her the most precious gift she’d ever received.