Falling for the Backup
Page 2
Looking at the beautiful redhead, though, he couldn’t help but think that maybe now he could find what he had lost. He stared down at the floor and took an unsteady breath in as she practically fell into the seat beside him.
Glancing over at her, he noticed she was busy putting away her ticket. She was wearing a long pale-pink dress that did wonders for her skin and also showed off a pair of very impressive br**sts. Jordan could see that her freckles were everywhere. He wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss her shoulder, then, freckle by freckle, play connect the dots with his tongue. Man, he had to get ahold of himself.
She must have felt the power of his stare, because she glanced over at him. Her light-green eyes held his as she smiled, and suddenly Jordan wasn’t sure how much room he had left in his pants. He felt as light-headed as an awkward teenager. As he sputtered to say something, he jerked his hand up, bumping into her Starbucks coffee cup, and the next thing he knew, coffee was all over her lap and her.
Shit.
Aynslee Shaw was having a rough day.
She wasn’t supposed to leave Buffalo until tomorrow but a call from her landlord informed her that a water main had burst in her beautiful Victorian home and her basement was flooded. She only wished she could have seen her niece get married this afternoon. True that she would probably be divorced in no time, but it stung that Lane had gotten married before her.
Hell, everyone had.
Four of her sisters as well as her two brothers were now married. Aynslee and her younger sister Quinn were the only ones left. Quinn was seventeen. She had time. But Aynslee was thirty-one, and her insane Irish family took every opportunity to remind her of her single status. Even though she was going home to face a massive mess, she was more than ready to leave the constant questioning behind.
When was she going to settle down? Find a man? Have a baby?
It wasn’t that Aynslee didn’t want those things—she did. It was just hard to find someone when she was busy with her new job and adjusting to a new town. After going to college in Knoxville, she’d worked in that city for the last seven years, teaching third grade at a nice private school. Aynslee had thought life was perfect. She had a beautiful condo, a well-paying job, and she had Dan McGee, her boyfriend since her senior year in college. They were happy, and things were great. She was sure they would marry eventually. Then suddenly it all felt wrong. She didn’t love Dan the way she had when they’d first started to date, and after Aynslee told him this, Dan said that he felt the same way.
They parted on good terms, but after Dan left, Aynslee didn’t love Knoxville the way she had before. Her mother had begged her to come home, but she preferred being away—it took a lot of patience to handle her big family. She knew, though, that she needed a change. She checked out the job opportunities in other cities before deciding to look for something in Nashville. A week after applying to New Life Christian Private School, Aynslee learned she had gotten the job. Ecstatic with her good fortune, she packed up her life and made the three-hour trip to Nashville. She moved in to her little house and was beyond happy with how great everything had turned out for the last nine months. Things seemed to be unfolding nicely for her. Aynslee quickly became friends with the other third-grade teachers at New Life, as they all had so much in common. Soon her colleagues began to set her up on blind dates, and although the dates were fine, there was no one she wanted to see a second time. She didn’t know what it was, but she’d decided she couldn’t settle for average after Dan. She wanted that burning love, the one that she would feel from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, and if she had to wait for it, then she would. Her eggs could survive for a little while longer, despite what her mother said.
After a week of her crazy family, Aynslee had been ready to change out of her bridesmaid’s dress and rush to the airport so she could get home. But that would have been too easy. When she went to change, her suitcase was nowhere to be found. She soon learned from Quinn that Aunt Fern must have “accidentally” taken her suitcase.
Fantastic.
So now she was stuck wearing the stupid pink bridesmaid’s dress, her boobs on display for God and everyone to see, while her feet ached in the stripper shoes that Lane wanted all of her bridesmaids to wear. With each painful step she took, the more she cursed herself for making the trip to Buffalo in the first place. She should have just stayed home and given some stupid excuse as to why she and her made-up boyfriend couldn’t attend. Good Lord, her cousin had five other bridesmaids to round out the wedding album, so one less would not have been missed. The only thing that kept Aynslee from balling up into a fetal position on the airplane seat and crying her eyes out was her cup of caramel macchiato from Starbucks. Thank God for Starbucks. Thank God for the sexy hottie it looked like she was going to be sitting next to on the flight.
Hello, sex on legs.
She had never been attracted to someone as suddenly as she was at that moment. He held her gaze for maybe a second before he looked down to situate his yellow neck pillow. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him as she put her laptop case up in the overhead bin, making sure to grab her Kindle and her own blue neck pillow. She knew for a fact that reading the new Kristan Higgins would never happen on this trip, especially with Mr. Sex sitting right beside her. But she had to act as if she was doing something, or she’d more than likely stare at him the whole flight back. Not that that didn’t sound like fun.
Exhausted from the day, Aynslee practically fell into the seat beside him. She crossed her legs and rested her coffee on the seat beside her knee as she buckled her seat belt. Letting out a breath, she looked over, hoping to lock eyes with him. Thankfully, he did look over at her, but as her luck would have it, she didn’t receive a nice smile or a hello. Instead, she got a lap full of her hot coffee.
Glancing over at her, he noticed she was busy putting away her ticket. She was wearing a long pale-pink dress that did wonders for her skin and also showed off a pair of very impressive br**sts. Jordan could see that her freckles were everywhere. He wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss her shoulder, then, freckle by freckle, play connect the dots with his tongue. Man, he had to get ahold of himself.
She must have felt the power of his stare, because she glanced over at him. Her light-green eyes held his as she smiled, and suddenly Jordan wasn’t sure how much room he had left in his pants. He felt as light-headed as an awkward teenager. As he sputtered to say something, he jerked his hand up, bumping into her Starbucks coffee cup, and the next thing he knew, coffee was all over her lap and her.
Shit.
Aynslee Shaw was having a rough day.
She wasn’t supposed to leave Buffalo until tomorrow but a call from her landlord informed her that a water main had burst in her beautiful Victorian home and her basement was flooded. She only wished she could have seen her niece get married this afternoon. True that she would probably be divorced in no time, but it stung that Lane had gotten married before her.
Hell, everyone had.
Four of her sisters as well as her two brothers were now married. Aynslee and her younger sister Quinn were the only ones left. Quinn was seventeen. She had time. But Aynslee was thirty-one, and her insane Irish family took every opportunity to remind her of her single status. Even though she was going home to face a massive mess, she was more than ready to leave the constant questioning behind.
When was she going to settle down? Find a man? Have a baby?
It wasn’t that Aynslee didn’t want those things—she did. It was just hard to find someone when she was busy with her new job and adjusting to a new town. After going to college in Knoxville, she’d worked in that city for the last seven years, teaching third grade at a nice private school. Aynslee had thought life was perfect. She had a beautiful condo, a well-paying job, and she had Dan McGee, her boyfriend since her senior year in college. They were happy, and things were great. She was sure they would marry eventually. Then suddenly it all felt wrong. She didn’t love Dan the way she had when they’d first started to date, and after Aynslee told him this, Dan said that he felt the same way.
They parted on good terms, but after Dan left, Aynslee didn’t love Knoxville the way she had before. Her mother had begged her to come home, but she preferred being away—it took a lot of patience to handle her big family. She knew, though, that she needed a change. She checked out the job opportunities in other cities before deciding to look for something in Nashville. A week after applying to New Life Christian Private School, Aynslee learned she had gotten the job. Ecstatic with her good fortune, she packed up her life and made the three-hour trip to Nashville. She moved in to her little house and was beyond happy with how great everything had turned out for the last nine months. Things seemed to be unfolding nicely for her. Aynslee quickly became friends with the other third-grade teachers at New Life, as they all had so much in common. Soon her colleagues began to set her up on blind dates, and although the dates were fine, there was no one she wanted to see a second time. She didn’t know what it was, but she’d decided she couldn’t settle for average after Dan. She wanted that burning love, the one that she would feel from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, and if she had to wait for it, then she would. Her eggs could survive for a little while longer, despite what her mother said.
After a week of her crazy family, Aynslee had been ready to change out of her bridesmaid’s dress and rush to the airport so she could get home. But that would have been too easy. When she went to change, her suitcase was nowhere to be found. She soon learned from Quinn that Aunt Fern must have “accidentally” taken her suitcase.
Fantastic.
So now she was stuck wearing the stupid pink bridesmaid’s dress, her boobs on display for God and everyone to see, while her feet ached in the stripper shoes that Lane wanted all of her bridesmaids to wear. With each painful step she took, the more she cursed herself for making the trip to Buffalo in the first place. She should have just stayed home and given some stupid excuse as to why she and her made-up boyfriend couldn’t attend. Good Lord, her cousin had five other bridesmaids to round out the wedding album, so one less would not have been missed. The only thing that kept Aynslee from balling up into a fetal position on the airplane seat and crying her eyes out was her cup of caramel macchiato from Starbucks. Thank God for Starbucks. Thank God for the sexy hottie it looked like she was going to be sitting next to on the flight.
Hello, sex on legs.
She had never been attracted to someone as suddenly as she was at that moment. He held her gaze for maybe a second before he looked down to situate his yellow neck pillow. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him as she put her laptop case up in the overhead bin, making sure to grab her Kindle and her own blue neck pillow. She knew for a fact that reading the new Kristan Higgins would never happen on this trip, especially with Mr. Sex sitting right beside her. But she had to act as if she was doing something, or she’d more than likely stare at him the whole flight back. Not that that didn’t sound like fun.
Exhausted from the day, Aynslee practically fell into the seat beside him. She crossed her legs and rested her coffee on the seat beside her knee as she buckled her seat belt. Letting out a breath, she looked over, hoping to lock eyes with him. Thankfully, he did look over at her, but as her luck would have it, she didn’t receive a nice smile or a hello. Instead, she got a lap full of her hot coffee.
