Wrong (Breaking the Rules) (16 page)

“Try this one,” Andi instructed, dropping a red heap of silky material over the dressing room door. She’d made me try on at least fifteen different dresses and I was getting bored. This gala was way out of my comfort zone, but it was a necessary part of my job.

Slipping it up over my hips and then shoulders, I admired how I looked. The material hugged every curve, making me look more voluptuous than I had ever seen myself to be. The neckline was low but not slutty. None of the other dresses had caught my eye. In fact, I really didn’t care what I wore. But now that I saw myself in this red beauty, I knew it was the one.

Spinning to see the back, I reminded myself I was going to be there for work, not socializing, even if Jordan did call it a date. He was going to be rudely awakened when I wasn’t by his side the whole time.

There was something certifiably wrong with me when it came to Jordan. This great, hot-as-hell guy was completely into me and I just felt the need to push him away.

Mostly, I wanted to slow things down. After the mugging, I started piecing together some ideas that maybe Cole was the perpetrator. It was strangely coincidental that the day after Daddy told me about Cole’s vendetta I was robbed by a really large guy who could have fit his profile. It would have seemed like a fluke had the guy taken Jordan’s wallet too. Since he had only been interested in my purse, which housed identification that would prove who I was, the signs pointed to him.

“How does it look?” Andi asked from the other side, interrupting my thoughts.

“I need you to zip me up, but I actually think it looks nice.” Unlocking the door, I pushed it open for her to come inside. When she saw me, she gasped as her eyes perused my body.

“Nice? Cut the crap, Pepper. You look gorgeous! Jordan is going to shit himself when he sees you in that dress!”

I frowned at the mention of his name, but she was too busy checking me out to notice. Hurrying over to me, she zipped up the dress. We looked into the mirror together, and I actually felt sexy for once in my life.

“Andi, let me use your phone. I’m going to ask my mom if I can borrow some of her jewelry. She is forever going to fancy events, and I bet she’ll have something to go with this.”

She handed it over to me, and I smiled at my reflection as it rang. The dress went all the way to the floor, so I would need to wear high heels. I bet Andi had something I could use.

“Andi darling, how are you?” my mother breezily asked into the phone.

“Mom, it’s me, Pepper. I’m calling from Andi’s phone. Mine is being replaced.”

“Hi, sweetie. Everything okay?” she asked, concern lacing her voice.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I was wondering if I could borrow some jewelry for the gala Thursday night. Andi and I just found the perfect dress, but it just needs a little something extra to complete the look.”

“Why of course, darling. Will you have a date?” she questioned in a hopeful tone that made me feel guilty for not ever trying to date after the Cole incident.

“Actually, I do have a date. We’re sort of casually seeing each other, but he’s a good guy. You and Daddy would like him. I think everyone likes him.” I hadn’t meant to tell her about Jordan, but I wanted to make her proud.

“Oh my God, Elizabeth! This is exciting news. You must bring him for dinner tomorrow evening. We’ll rifle through my jewelry then. Text me a picture so I can pull some pieces that might work.” She was talking excitedly, and I wasn’t about to correct her for calling me Elizabeth. If anyone could get away with calling me that, it would be Mom.

“I’ll ask him. I can’t promise that he won’t be busy, but we’ll see. See you tomorrow, Mom. Love you.”

“Love you too, hon.”

After I hung up, I handed the phone back to Andi so she could take a picture to send to Mom.

“Let’s get this bought and run by the apartment to drop it off. The margaritas at dinner were great, but I want to have some more drinks with my best friend. We need to catch up. I need to hear more about you and Jordan,” she said eagerly.

I rolled my eyes because I didn’t know how to explain how I felt about things right now. “Fine, whatever. Do you have shoes that will go with this?” I was trying to change the subject about Jordan.

“Pepper, does the desert have sand?” she laughed as she unzipped my dress. When my dress fell to the floor, her eyes skittered over me.

“You’re worse than a man, Andi,” I declared, pulling my jeans back on.

“What? A woman can appreciate another woman’s beauty. Pepper, you have a rocking body that nobody ever gets to see. I bet Jordan can’t get enough of you. You definitely were born to be a Victoria’s Secret model. Ooh, maybe Olive can get you the hookup into the industry,” she teased, wagging her eyebrows at me.

“I’d die a thousand brutal deaths before I even considered the possibility of ever doing that.”

Giggling, she slapped me on the ass and left the dressing room. God, she was such weirdo sometimes.

After our workout and dinner, I drove us over to Dempsey’s. We both wanted to catch up with our friend Ian, and I needed a drink.

“Jackson, Jordan!” Ian called from the bar as we walked inside.

“What’s up, man?” I patted him on the back when he walked up to me.

“Another slow Monday. I’m going to have to figure out a way to bring more business in otherwise I’ll have to close on Monday nights.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out, man.”

While Ian took off to get us some drinks, Jackson and I sat down at a corner booth.

“So what’s up with you and Pepper?” Jackson finally asked. I’d hoped he had been too preoccupied with gushing about Andi to bring light to my relationship with Pepper.

“Honestly, I don’t know what the fuck’s up with her. Ever since she woke up this morning, she’s been avoiding me. I think she’s still in shock from yesterday’s mugging. Jackie, she’s amazing in bed, but with her, it’s more than that. She’s a mystery to me, and I want to discover everything about her. Every time I take a step forward with her, I feel like she takes two steps back. All I do is fucking chase her,” I told him in frustration.

“From what Andi tells me, she’s very inexperienced. Maybe you just need to be patient with her. Is she even worth the chase? She’s been nothing but a bitch to me,” Jackson clipped out in a tone that was meant to piss me off.

“Don’t fuck with me, dude. Of course she’s worth the chase. She’s all I can think about. I just wish I could convince her to trust me. Pepper likes to put up walls, and it pisses me off that she puts them up for me too. I thought after we finally made love, she would have dropped them. At least with me.”

Jackson started laughing, and I glared back at him.

“What the hell, man? What’s so funny? I’m fucking pouring my heart out here and you’re laughing your ass off,” I huffed.

“Well, for one, you sound like a sissy. ‘We made love, blah, blah, blah.’ Second, she’s walking over here with Andi and she has her signature bitch face on.”

I whipped around in the booth as the girls walked up. Andi flew into the booth on Jackson’s side, practically mauling him. Those two needed to get a room.

Stepping up from the booth, I pulled Pepper into a hug. She remained tense and didn’t hug me back.

What the fuck is her deal?

“Please, sit down. How was the dress shopping? I see you got a new purse. Looks nice.”

She gave me a tight smile and reluctantly scooted into the booth. I glanced over at Ian, who nodded, letting me know that he’d bring them a drink as well.

Finally pulling her lips from Jackson, Andi spoke to me.

“Jordan, you are going to die when you see Pepper in that dress. I almost went lesbian on her because she looked so hot!” Jackson grabbed Andi’s thigh, making her squeal. He was jealous of a fucking girl. My brother had issues.

“I’m sure she will be breathtakingly beautiful,” I assured Andi.

Pepper tensed beside me, and it took everything in me not to snatch her hand into mine.

Ian set our drinks down, but a crowd of about ten people walked in at that moment so he didn’t get to hang around.

“Where’s Olive?” Jackson asked the girls.

Pepper remained silent and withdrawn so Andi answered.

“She didn’t feel like going out. Poor girl doesn’t handle social settings well. For my birthday on Wednesday, we figured we’ll do something at the apartment so Olive can be a part of it. Of course, both of you guys are invited. I’m even going to invite Bray.” Jackson grumbled something and rolled his eyes. She continued. “I’m going to invite Bray because Dr. Sweeney thinks he and Jackson could benefit from attempting to be friends or, at the very least, friendly.”

I nodded my head, agreeing with her. We were stuck with Bray for a year by contract. He already was proving himself with the few big clients he’d landed recently. It would only help our company to have a strong architect like Bray. Jackson needed to get over himself. I certainly couldn’t handle them getting into pissing matches every time I turned around. The air had been pretty thick with tension today as those two had avoided each other as much as possible for guys who had side-by-side offices. It was incredibly awkward for everyone, especially Andi.

“I didn’t realize your birthday was Wednesday, Andi. Of course I’ll be there,” I promised, garnering a huge grin from her.

Pepper sighed loudly, and I snapped my head to her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jackson practically sucking off Andi’s face.

“Okay, what’s going on? Last night we were fine and this morning we’re not. You’ve successfully managed to avoid me all day, and I’m sitting here dumbfounded as to why. Did I do something to upset you?” My voice was a little on the pathetic side.

For the briefest of seconds, I saw it. Her telltale chin quiver. I thought she was going to bite her lip to stop it, but instead, she pressed them into a tight line.

“Jordan, it’s nothing. Maybe we just need to slow things down.” Her face was telling me that she was serious, but her eyes alluded to the fact that she didn’t quite believe what she was saying.

Interrupting us from our stare down, Andi spoke to us.

“Um, Jackson just texted George to come get us. We’re going to his place. He missed me. Jordan, can you take Pepper home?” she questioned, face flushed.