Jordin was stunned by the look of loathing on his face. It was clear that he held a lot of resentment against the woman who had abandoned him. She swallowed hard before saying, “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be,” he uttered. “I’m not.”
She stared, wordlessly. Jordin could not believe he was talking about his mother like that. At one time, the two shared a very close relationship.
“I know it sounds harsh, but I see no point in pretending.”
Jordin wanted to ask what happened after he left Charleston, but had a feeling this was not the right time. They would have the chance to have that conversation in time.
Finally, she said, “I’m just happy you decided to come back home, Ethan.”
“It was not my original intent,” he confessed. “But now that I’m here...seeing you again...it’s all good.”
“Deep down, I always believed that you would return,” Jordin stated.
As their eyes met, she felt a cold shock run through her.
“To be honest, I vowed never to return to this place.”
“This is just more evidence that I’m always right,” she responded, wanting to lighten the mood.
Ethan chuckled. “That statement proves just how wrong you are.”
“You have always been a sore loser.”
They both laughed.
Jordin glanced down at her watch. “Ethan, I need to get to court, but I wanted to come by and see you.”
“I’m glad that you did. It’s good to see you.”
Ethan walked her out of the building and to her car. He handed her a business card. “Text me your phone number.”
“Definitely,” she responded with a smile. “I’m thrilled you’re back.”
Jordin stared with longing at him before getting in and turning the key in the ignition.
Ethan’s really back. Jordin had to see him for herself before she actually believed it. His return was an answer to her prayers.
Upon her arrival at the courthouse minutes later, Jordin parked her car, and then texted her cell and home numbers to Ethan. She anticipated hearing from him within a few days. The prolonged anticipation was almost unbearable.
Ethan’s obvious resentment of his mother was still at the forefront of Jordin’s mind. She shared a close relationship with her family, although she understood that his situation, like many others was a different experience. It was one of the reasons she chose to specialize in family law. She also volunteered at a women’s shelter twice a week and offered pro bono services to families who could not afford legal fees. She worked to keep as many families together as possible.
Her heart ached over Ethan’s pain. Jordin could not fully comprehend how a mother could just abandon her child like that. When they were younger, Ethan once told her that he suspected his mother’s boyfriend, Rob, was a drug dealer. Like Ethan, Jordin did not care for him and had no idea why Lydia was so in love with someone like Rob. He was controlling, possessive and verbally abusive to both Lydia and Ethan.
Jordin often wondered if Lydia was still with Rob, and if their life together was worth the price of abandoning her own child. It was obvious that Ethan was still angry with her for leaving him.
I would probably be just as angry if I were in his shoes, she thought. Despite his feelings, Ethan had decided to return home, and for that, Jordin was ecstatic.
* * *
The scent of Jordin was beyond description. The connection was still alive and sizzling between them. It had not been shattered by time apart.
He needed to get a grip, Ethan scolded silently, but it was hard to do because the floral perfume Jordin wore still lingered in the air, although she had already left his office.
She was no longer the gangly teenage girl he remembered; she had grown into a beautiful woman. Her walk still had a sunny cheerfulness. Ethan had always loved how Jordin’s features became animated whenever she discussed a subject she was passionate about. She had become more stylish and glamorous in her choice of clothing—a huge difference from the teenage girl with an obsession for Bedazzled denim jeans and T-shirts.
“You just missed your mother’s call,” the receptionist announced when he returned to his office.
“If she calls me back, just take a message,” he stated without emotion.
Lydia Holbrooke was the main reason Ethan briefly considered not relocating to Charleston, but he put aside his personal feelings in favor of a smart business decision. Besides, at the time, Ethan had no idea where she was. Resentment over her abandonment still filled his heart.
Ethan leaned back in his chair and let out a frustrated growl. Lydia being back in Charleston was indifferent to him. One thing for sure, he was not about to let her sabotage everything he had worked for in his life.
He was the result of his mother’s affair with a man who was engaged to another woman.
Despite Lydia’s pregnancy, his father’s fiancée decided to go through with the wedding, although she made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with Ethan. He and his mother were close until she met Rob Calloway. Rob was possessive and jealous. He didn’t want Lydia to spend time with her own child.
His mother always warned him of the dangers of drugs and alcohol, which Ethan considered hypocritical on her part because the man she was so in love with sold drugs for a living. In the end, she and Rob were arrested in Maryland for transporting drugs across state lines. His mother went to prison while he had to move to North Carolina to live with the father he barely knew.
His stepmother made it obvious that she was not happy with him being in her home. She did not want him around his siblings. His father apologized before sending him away to attend a military academy in Virginia.
He spent most of his holidays with the families of school friends, vowing never to return where he was clearly not welcomed. Ethan swallowed hard, forcing down the bitterness that threatened to spill out.
He leaned back in his chair to think. Ethan remained that way for a few moments, and then sat up. Instead of thinking of the past, his time would be better spent focusing on the future of his company.
* * *
Jordin hummed as she prepared a simple dinner of meat loaf and mashed potatoes. She checked her phone several times, hoping that Ethan had tried to contact her.
After she finished eating, Jordin cleaned up the kitchen before settling down for the evening. She felt a wave of disappointment that she had not heard from Ethan. It was clear that he wasn’t as eager to talk to her as she had imagined he would be. Jordin sighed, clasped her hands together and stared at them.
He had seemed happy enough to see her, however.
Jordin considered calling Ethan, but she had already made the initial contact—the ball was now in Ethan’s court.
She had always believed that Ethan had feelings toward her, although those emotions never bloomed into anything more than friendship. He hadn’t changed all that much outside of the huge chip on his shoulder. Jordin had done her best to put Ethan out of her mind over the years, but he held a permanent spot in her heart.
Her sister’s suggestion that he was possibly involved with someone came back to haunt her. Jordin could not imagine their friendship coming to an end because of his relationship with another woman. The idea of Ethan in love with anyone but her filled her with jealousy. Jordin had always believed he would come back to Charleston—back to her.