Mid Life Love: At Last (32 page)

“Jordan.” The sound of my name coming from his mouth feels like a warning. With one word, he’s letting me know that he’s not moving until he gets what he wants.

The smartass in me gears up for battle. “Alex,” I return, mimicking his tone. He leans in closer, our chests practically touching now. I start to feel lightheaded, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the line of questioning or the fact that he’s so close to me.

“What happened?” He’s persistent, not going to let this go and I know that I need to put some distance between us. I don’t like how he manages me. He creeps under my skin. It’s unwelcome and unfamiliar. I’m good at holding people at bay, keeping my emotions on lockdown. But he gets to me in a way that no one has before. I figure the best line of defense is to give him something.

“Fine! I was embarrassed, alright,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I’m not exactly thrilled that you had to see me all sloppy drunk.”

He picks up a strand of my hair and gives it a gentle tug. “You weren’t sloppy.”

“I was trashed,” I reply with another roll of my eyes. “You don’t have to make it sound better than what it was.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He chuckles.

“I’m sorry that I left you there. It was childish.”

He looks away, just for a moment, like he’s trying to carefully choose what he wants to say next. He looks back at me with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “You can make it up to me.”

“How?” I question, dragging out the word and squinting my eyes at him.

“Breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” I ask, sounding confused.

“Yes. Tomorrow morning, nine o’ clock, Laura’s Café.”

I can tell by the tone in his voice that it’s not a request, but I try to get out of it anyway. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t have a choice.” I knew that was coming. Alex doesn’t strike me as the type to just walk away when he wants something and, evidently, breakfast with me is what he currently wants. “I’ll see you there, princess.” He leans in, placing a kiss on my forehead before walking away and leaving me to wonder what the hell just happened.