Chapter One
Jordan Anderson had always been a confident individual. She tried to stay in tune with herself: mind, body and spirit. Tried being the operative word. Every pecan-colored curve, every jet-black coil of hair and every morning prayer was a lesson in appreciating life for the gift it was. She had no time for the foolish or foolhardy and made that abundantly clear in both friendship and romance. Her home was a haven of Zen and her store, Mother Earth, May I , was a mecca for the nature-centric consumer. Surrounded by almond oil, jasmine blossoms and Egyptian cotton, she was totally at peace with how her life was constructed. Peace and structure were her keys for success—without them she was the proverbial leaf in the wind. And flying by the seat of her pants had always ended up in disaster for her.
She’d even had the same two best friends for the last fifteen years and was fine with that. In fact, one of them was getting married in six weeks. But as much as she loved Audra Lang, being her maid of honor was getting on Jordan’s last inch of nerve. Leaning against the trunk of Audra’s, brand new Audi A8, Jordan absently flicked her cigarette, listening to Audra’s angry words filter outside.
“I told you the cake tasting was today, Michael! Do you want me to do this by myself? Uh huh…uh huh… Well, you and my father can damn well marry each other for all I care because apparently your security meeting is more import— No! No ! I will not calm down! I’m uncomfortable, pregnant and waiting in a hot-ass car in the middle of DC, with Jordan, ready to taste a cake that’s gonna make me sick any damn way…”
Jordan absently scrolled through her text messages waiting for the storm to die down. Normally, Audra was the most even-tempered, logical woman she knew, almost to the point of being cautious, but hormones and a pending wedding had been taking her to hell and back for the last several weeks.
After placing her cell phone back in her purse and finishing her cigarette (her remaining vice from her college days), Jordan tapped on the tinted window to mouth you ready ? Audra waved her back into the car after tossing her phone into the back seat in disgust.
Jordan slid in, looked back at the phone and asked cheekily, “Trouble in paradise?”
“He’s an asshole. I’m marrying an insensitive asshole,” Audra stated, staring blindly at the front door of D’amore Bakery.
Jordan chuckled at the absurdity of Audra’s comment. Everyone who knew them knew Michael Sinchester would level a country for Audra without a second thought. She was just an emotional wreck, and planning a society wedding during the first trimester of her pregnancy was an absolutely wretched idea.
“I told you to just go to a justice of the peace, Audie. You can do all this fanciness later. It’s not going to make one bit of difference to Michael. He’d marry you in my mechanic’s garage if he had to,” Jordan consoled.
“That’s not the point. He wanted this whirlwind romance, dammit. Now he’s got me and every bit of my stubborn streak. He’s said, and I quote, ‘my child is not entering the world a bastard’ so we pushed up the date up. I said fine but I’m doing it right the first time. I’m also not going to walk down the aisle looking like I’m carrying a bread basket in the front of my dress,” Audra snapped.
“Bread basket? Really?” teased Jordan. “How about a watermelon? A small bag of laundry? Maybe a honeydew?”
Audra looked over at her dearest girlfriend. “You know you’re certifiable, right?”
“Yeah, they’ve said that,” answered Jordan. “So is he going to be able to get out of his meeting with your dad, or are we on our own?”
“Doubtful. I thought retirement was going to be a time when Dad was going to relax and enjoy life, not consult for Michael’s security firm. Between him, Michael, and Riordan you’d think the world was on the brink of war every damn
Jordan Anderson had always been a confident individual. She tried to stay in tune with herself: mind, body and spirit. Tried being the operative word. Every pecan-colored curve, every jet-black coil of hair and every morning prayer was a lesson in appreciating life for the gift it was. She had no time for the foolish or foolhardy and made that abundantly clear in both friendship and romance. Her home was a haven of Zen and her store, Mother Earth, May I , was a mecca for the nature-centric consumer. Surrounded by almond oil, jasmine blossoms and Egyptian cotton, she was totally at peace with how her life was constructed. Peace and structure were her keys for success—without them she was the proverbial leaf in the wind. And flying by the seat of her pants had always ended up in disaster for her.
She’d even had the same two best friends for the last fifteen years and was fine with that. In fact, one of them was getting married in six weeks. But as much as she loved Audra Lang, being her maid of honor was getting on Jordan’s last inch of nerve. Leaning against the trunk of Audra’s, brand new Audi A8, Jordan absently flicked her cigarette, listening to Audra’s angry words filter outside.
“I told you the cake tasting was today, Michael! Do you want me to do this by myself? Uh huh…uh huh… Well, you and my father can damn well marry each other for all I care because apparently your security meeting is more import— No! No ! I will not calm down! I’m uncomfortable, pregnant and waiting in a hot-ass car in the middle of DC, with Jordan, ready to taste a cake that’s gonna make me sick any damn way…”
Jordan absently scrolled through her text messages waiting for the storm to die down. Normally, Audra was the most even-tempered, logical woman she knew, almost to the point of being cautious, but hormones and a pending wedding had been taking her to hell and back for the last several weeks.
After placing her cell phone back in her purse and finishing her cigarette (her remaining vice from her college days), Jordan tapped on the tinted window to mouth you ready ? Audra waved her back into the car after tossing her phone into the back seat in disgust.
Jordan slid in, looked back at the phone and asked cheekily, “Trouble in paradise?”
“He’s an asshole. I’m marrying an insensitive asshole,” Audra stated, staring blindly at the front door of D’amore Bakery.
Jordan chuckled at the absurdity of Audra’s comment. Everyone who knew them knew Michael Sinchester would level a country for Audra without a second thought. She was just an emotional wreck, and planning a society wedding during the first trimester of her pregnancy was an absolutely wretched idea.
“I told you to just go to a justice of the peace, Audie. You can do all this fanciness later. It’s not going to make one bit of difference to Michael. He’d marry you in my mechanic’s garage if he had to,” Jordan consoled.
“That’s not the point. He wanted this whirlwind romance, dammit. Now he’s got me and every bit of my stubborn streak. He’s said, and I quote, ‘my child is not entering the world a bastard’ so we pushed up the date up. I said fine but I’m doing it right the first time. I’m also not going to walk down the aisle looking like I’m carrying a bread basket in the front of my dress,” Audra snapped.
“Bread basket? Really?” teased Jordan. “How about a watermelon? A small bag of laundry? Maybe a honeydew?”
Audra looked over at her dearest girlfriend. “You know you’re certifiable, right?”
“Yeah, they’ve said that,” answered Jordan. “So is he going to be able to get out of his meeting with your dad, or are we on our own?”
“Doubtful. I thought retirement was going to be a time when Dad was going to relax and enjoy life, not consult for Michael’s security firm. Between him, Michael, and Riordan you’d think the world was on the brink of war every damn
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