Trouble(37)

Jordan looks at me with confused sympathy on his face.

I look at him until I can no longer bear it. I hate sympathy.

Turning my face, I stare out of the window.

“Okay.” He exhales. “I’ll start with public records.”

“Sure,” I mumble. My hands feel fidgety, so I wrap them around my stomach, which is turning over.

I can feel myself coming undone.

“What was your mom’s name again?”

“Anna Monroe.”

More typing from him. More fear and panic from me.

I don’t think I’m ready for this. My legs are itching to take me out of here.

I need to leave. I need food. I need to be alone.

Jordan exhales a loud breath, bringing my attention to him. His brow is all scrunched up in thought. He looks really adorable. And suddenly all of my attention is on him.

“I checked your mom’s name against Colorado and New Mexico with us been so close to there, I thought it worth a try, and it’s brought up ten Anna Monroe’s. None in Durango. But three are in neighboring towns. One in Montrose. One in Gunnington. And the other in Farmington, New Mexico which is only an hour away. So I think they are the best to start with.”

He places his phone down on the table and runs his hand through his hair, meeting my eyes, which are fixed on him.

Seeing the warmth in his maple eyes sets my heart beating like a kick drum.

“We can download the full reports on them, addresses and the like. I’ll do it when we get back to the hotel.”

I like how he thinks of things I wouldn’t. I would never have thought to check New Mexico.

Fear aside, I’m so glad he’s helping me. I think I’ll locate her much quicker with his help.

“Thank you for doing this for me.”

“Seriously, stop thanking me. I only do things because I want to. And I want to help you, okay?”

No one has ever spoken to me or treated me like he does. Like I’m a person who matters. That I count for something.

It makes my heart feel warm and alive in a way it never has before.

I’ve known Jordan for such a short time, but that time just feels irrelevant when I’m sitting here with him.

It’s scary. But a good scary.

I like it. I like him.

“Okay.” I smile.





Chapter Nine





Jordan





I told Mia that I’m cleaned up from the person I used to be. That I’m responsible now. Yeah, right. I don’t gamble anymore, but…

If she knew the reason why I’d stopped gambling, she would think I was the lowest of the low.

I try to be responsible, try to keep out of trouble, but it just seems to follow me everywhere I go. Or maybe I just attract it.

No maybe about it. I absolutely do.

Even after everything that has happened, I still bring shit to my dad’s door.

I hook up with a married woman, thinking solely with my dick, and the pissed off husband shows up at the hotel.

I was beyond relieved that Dad was out when he turned up. Even though he found out about it later, I was glad he was out of the loop. I don’t want him getting into any more shit because of me. He’s already lost so much at my hands.

Not that he’d ever say that. He would never blame me a day in his life. Dad never makes me feel like a disappointment, but I know I am.

Thankfully, the angry husband fiasco didn’t culminate into a kick-off—and that was thanks to Beth and her ability to calm angry men down.

But I can’t keep doing shit like that.

Problem is, I don’t know how to be good. Gambling’s out of the question, so women it is. I need to keep my mind busy when I get the urge for the tables, which is often.

Fucking helps with that. So I fuck often.

I just have to be careful of the women I choose to screw as I don’t want anything I do coming back on my dad.

So, definitely no married ones. And no guests at the hotel – meaning no Mia Monroe.

My list of reasons to stay away from her just keeps growing.

She’s a guest at the hotel. She has more baggage than JFK. But mainly, because she is too damn good for someone like me.

Nothing good could come of Mia wrapped around me. Well, something good would come of it—pun totally intended—but after the physical high, reality would bring me crashing back down to earth.

She deserves better than I could ever give her.

And I’m doing well, I think. I’ve been around her for a good while now. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, it’s been less than a day in her company. But trust me, this is some kind of fucking record that I haven’t tried to hit on her.

My only slip up was in the car earlier when I flirted with her. But that was nothing compared to how I usually go for it.

I just couldn’t resist. And the look on her face … so goddamn cute. Her cheeks turned pink, and she looked surprised and embarrassed. You’d think no one had ever flirted with her before, but looking like she does, I find that very hard to believe.