Her breath caught, but she didn’t turn her head. “Jordan…”
I slid my hand along the rail, covering hers. “Can you see yourself here, Sandy? Coming for dinner, spending time with me?”
For a moment, we stared at the view. Listened to the muted sound of laughter coming from down below.
Finally, she turned her head and met my eyes. “I would come and spend time with you anywhere, Jordan. If you’re asking if I like this place, then the answer is yes. If you’re asking if maybe one day, I would do those things you just described—” she let out a quivering sigh “—the answer is yes. One day I would.”
Then she turned, kissed my cheek, and walked back inside.
Sandy
Back at the office, I had trouble concentrating. It was an odd feeling for me. Usually, I was able to turn off my thoughts about anything but the office and only focus on the task at hand.
But not since returning from the condo visit. When I stepped back into the condo, leaving Jordan outside, I felt the stares of all the partners. Jordan followed me, standing close, his hand settling into the small of my back.
“I think I’ve seen enough. I need to do some thinking now.”
I traveled back to the office with Jordan, but he remained quiet, other than thanking me for coming with him. When we arrived at the office, he received a message on his phone.
“I have a real estate agent coming over tonight to look at the house. She was recommended by Bentley.”
“All right.”
“May I call you once she leaves?”
I slipped my hand into his. “Yes.”
Before the doors opened, he bent down and kissed me on the cheek.
“Thank you.”
I still felt the warmth of his lips.
Jordan sat with the boys, leaving Bentley’s office with a sheaf of papers. He winked at me as he went by, and I smiled as I dealt with one of the many people Bentley needed to call back. His impromptu outing had caused some glitches in his schedule, but I knew I would smooth it all out quickly for him. He would have to work late today—a rare occurrence now. It used to be he was the first in the office and the last to go, but once Emmy became part of his life, that changed. Since Addi was born, he rarely was in the office past six. He was always anxious to get home to his girls.
I shook my head and focused my attention on the work in front of me. The rest of the afternoon sped by, and I left the office with Bentley, who insisted on Frank driving me home. In the car, he was quiet, staring out the window.
The car pulled up in front of my house, but before I could get out, Bentley spoke.
“Sandy.”
I turned to him, my hand on the door handle.
“All kidding aside, you know we want what is best for you, right?”
“I know,” I assured him.
“Jordan seems very attentive.”
“He is.” I let go of the handle and turned to him. “This is still very new. I don’t know if it will go anywhere. I don’t know if I’m ready for it to go anywhere. But I do know this. Jordan makes me smile. He makes me feel lighter. Less alone. I feel more like Sandy when I’m with him, if that makes any sense.”
“It does. I’m more me with Emmy than I am with anyone else.”
I squeezed his hand. “Yes.”
“He watches you. Today, I saw how important your opinion was to him. How it would factor in his decision. I think his feelings already run deep.”
“I know. He’s been upfront with me.”
“How do you feel about that?”
I sighed, contemplating his words for a moment. “Happy. Anxious. Safe. Worried. Scared. Incredulous.”
“That’s a lot of feelings.”
“That’s called being a woman, Bentley.”
He leaned forward, gathering my hands in his. “You deserve to be happy, Sandy. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
“Max loved you, and he hated the thought of you being alone. He would want you to be happy and cared for.” His blue eyes were intense as he stared at me. “I know what alone is like, Sandy. You have so much to give. So much love. You deserve to have that given back to you.”
I blinked at the sudden moisture in my eyes. “Is that your way of giving me your blessing?”
He smiled. “That’s my way of saying grab happiness, Sandy. Look forward, not behind you.”
“Sometimes easier said than done.”
“Your past made you the woman you are. Let the future benefit from that.”
I swallowed. “At times, I worry it’s too soon.”
“What you and Max shared was special and rare. But with a heart as big as yours, you can love again.” Bentley tilted his head. “Loving again isn’t a betrayal to Max, Sandy. It’s a tribute. It shows how well he loved you.”
“When did you get so smart?” I asked.
He bent close and kissed my cheek. “I learned from you.”
I sat at my table, staring into the glass of wine I had poured. I pushed away my plate, the sandwich I had made not tempting me at all. But I didn’t feel like cooking. Or eating.
I picked up the wine and headed toward the living room. My doorbell echoing in the emptiness of the house startled me. I looked at the screen of my phone, surprised, but pleased, to see Jordan on my doorstep.
I opened the door, smiling. “Hello. I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
He hesitated. “Is it all right that I came over? I know I said I would call—”
I cut him off with a wave of my hand. “Of course. Come in.”
He strode in, stopping to kiss my cheek, his lips brushing my skin, leaving a trail of warmth.
I took his coat, got him a glass of wine, and sat next to him on the sofa. “Did you have dinner?” I asked.
“I had a sandwich.”
I laughed. “Me too.” I indicated the file in his hand. “What’s that?”
“This is what I came here to talk about.” He faced me fully on the sofa. “I need your unbiased advice, Sandy.”
I tilted my head to the side. “I’m not sure how unbiased I can be about you anymore, Jordan,” I confessed.
He smiled and closed the space between us to drop a kiss on my mouth. “I like hearing that, but I think you can be in this case.”
I squared my shoulders. “Okay, hit me.”
He opened the file and spread out the documents. “This is the asking price the real estate agent has suggested.”
I read the large number. “Given the market, that seems right.”
He chuckled. “I bought the house for less than two hundred grand thirty years ago. I never imagined it would be valued at over ten times that price one day.”
“Toronto is hot. And it’s a large house with a yard in a great neighborhood. It’s hardly surprising.”
He set another document on top. “This is the price Bentley gave me for the condo.”
I glanced at the amount, noting he had chosen the larger one with three bedrooms. It had been my favorite as well. “That’s in line with what he gave to Maddox and Reid.”
“But they’re partners, Sandy. I’m not a partner. This is well below market value.”