Wright with Benefits (Wright Series #8) - K.A. Linde Page 0,54

was finally free.”

I stared at him in shock. “But…we didn’t date.”

“No, you hated me for so long because of Missy, which was definitely a mistake on my part. I didn’t know that before I moved there. I was just chasing that feeling.” He shrugged. “I wanted to be there for my family anyway. So, it worked out.”

“Did you want to date me all this time?” I asked softly. A thought I had never considered.

My heart was pounding. This was revelatory. Surely, Jordan Wright hadn’t been…waiting for me.

“Yes.”

I sank into the chair across from him, my hand going to my mouth. “Why didn’t you…do anything before this?”

He chuckled derisively and held his hand out. “I did. Multiple times. You turned me down, and then you started avoiding me.”

I flashed back to when he’d first moved to town. How he tried to put the whole bringing his girlfriend to the wedding thing behind us. He did try to ask me out, and I laughed in his face. He did it again, and I was sure he was being an ass. Making fun of me or something. That he was purposefully cruel. And then I had started avoiding him. It had been easier.

“Wait…you were for real when you first moved here? I thought you were joking!”

He shook his head. “I was serious. I was interested in you.”

“Wow.”

I was still processing when he came to stand before me. He held his hand out, pulling me up.

“The past is the past. We can’t make up for the last three years when we were both technically too busy to be dating anyway. So, why don’t we go out and enjoy the rainy day while we can?”

I nodded. “I’d like that.”

We set out from the Four Seasons and straight to Pike Place Market. I convinced someone to take a picture of us posed in front of the famous red sign. Then we wandered through the market stalls. We watched people throwing fish at the Fish Market and drank coffee at a local spot.

By the time we got back that night, I was exhausted, brimming with excitement and freezing from the perpetual rain. Jordan stripped my clothes off and tugged me into the shower as soon as we got back.

From there, we tumbled straight into the enormous bed, and I lost myself in this amazing guy. The one who had wanted me from the beginning. Who had put up with the friends with benefits scenario. And who had done all of this as soon as I was finally his.

On our one-night stand, I’d fallen for Jordan Wright. And now, I was pretty sure I was in love with him.

25

Jordan

When Annie got ready to go to the hospital for her tour and interview, I was still in bed. We’d been up way too long. Probably later than we should have been, all things considered. Even though I should have gone for a run and checked in at work, I lounged lazily in bed.

“Jordan!” Annie called from the bathroom.

I leaned up on my elbows at the concern in her voice. “Yeah?”

She ran back inside. “Have you seen my claddagh ring?”

“Uh, no. Where did you last have it?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I had it in the car on the way here because I was playing with it. I don’t remember after that.”

“I’m sure it’s here.”

I hopped out of bed and started a meticulous search of the suite. It was large enough that it could be anywhere. But it could be on the plane or at the market or the coffee shop, too. She was already panicking though, so I didn’t say any of that.

“Any luck?” she asked, her voice laced with hysteria.

“No.”

“I think I had it before the shower. I remember taking it off and leaving it by the sink.” Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at the sink. “What if it fell down the drain? I’ve had that since I was eighteen.”

“It’s okay, Annie. We’ll find it.”

“I don’t want to go to my interview without it.”

“I know you don’t, but you don’t need it either,” I said, taking her by the shoulders and forcing her to look at me.

She bit her lip. “I’ve had it forever. My parents gave it to me at high school graduation.”

“Hey, listen, you’re an amazing doctor, and you’re going to kill this interview. A ring isn’t going to change that.”

She nodded slowly, swiping at the tears on her cheeks. “You’re right. You’re right. I don’t have time for this. Can