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“How about I give you a call tomorrow night?”
She broke into a smile. “I look forward to talking to you then.” Ethan glanced over at Jadin and added, “It’s good seeing you again.”
“Same here,” she responded.
Ethan gave Jordin a quick hug, and then hugged her sister before leaving them to enjoy their shopping.
“You were right,” Jadin stated. “Ethan is very handsome and so muscular.”
“I told you...”
“He seems a little distant though.”
“Really?” Jordin asked. “I don’t think so.”
“Be careful, sis.”
“I don’t know why you and Dad dislike Ethan so much. He’s never done anything to anyone in our family.”
“I can’t speak for our father, but I personally have nothing against the man,” Jadin stated. “I just know that your feelings run pretty deep where he is concerned and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“That’s just it, Jadin. I don’t have anything to worry about where Ethan is concerned. He is a good person.”
“I don’t doubt that. I’m just not sure he cares for you as much as you care for him.”
Jordin eyed her sister. “I know what I’m doing.”
“I hope so,” Jadin replied. “I really hope so.”
Her sister never took the time to really get to know him when they were younger. She decided to change the subject by saying, “I’m picking up Amya and Kai this evening.”
“Oooh. I haven’t seen them in a couple of weeks.”
“Why don’t you come by tonight?” Jordin suggested. “We can make it a real girls’ night.”
“Michael will be back today. We’re going to have dinner together. If it’s not too late afterward, I’ll try to swing by to see them.”
Jadin and Michael had dated in law school. While she did not care for the man personally, Jordin was careful not to interfere in her sister’s relationship. She only wished her sister would give her the same respect.
* * *
Ethan pulled up to a stoplight and waited patiently for the light to change. He felt guilty. He should’ve called Jordin by now, but he kept putting it off. He hated avoiding her, but for now, Ethan felt it was for the best.
He felt the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Ethan glanced out the window, his eyes landing on a pretty woman sitting in the car next to him. She smiled at him and gave a little wave.
He returned her smile out of politeness.
The light changed and Ethan was on his way. He harbored no regret at not getting her name and number. He had no time for romantic relationships.
Ethan pulled into a parking space fifteen minutes later. He got out of the car, grabbed a stack of documents and headed to the entrance of his new gym.
The manager was in his office when Ethan walked inside.
“Hey, Walter,” he greeted. “I wanted to touch base with you about the grand opening. Here are copies of the new ads coming out this week.”
Walter scanned through the pages. “Nice...”
“Are the showers fully installed?” Ethan questioned.
“All of the bathrooms and showers are all ready to go. The childcare center is almost complete. The painters should be here later today.”
“Looks like everything is right on schedule.”
Walter nodded. “The uniforms are due to arrive tomorrow.”
“What about the member T-shirts? When are they supposed to come in?”
“By the end of the week. I spoke to Allen and he can send us some if we need them sooner.”
Allen was the gym manager in Virginia. Ethan met him when he was a trainer at another company. Allen was the first employee Ethan hired to work at his first gym. He became a manager three years later.
Ethan left the gym two hours later to meet Chandler at a restaurant for dinner.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into moving back to Charleston,” he stated after they were seated in a booth with a view of the waterfront. “You know when I left this town—I vowed never to return.”
He and Chandler had been best friends since kindergarten. Ethan had corresponded with him a few times over the years, but they had talked more frequently in the past six months.
“This is about business,” Chandler responded. “You have to admit that your new facility is the talk of the town right now.”
“I could have continued running my company from Virginia.”
“It was time for you to come home, Ethan. You and I both know it. You have a lot of unfinished business here.”
“We’ll see.”
Chandler laid down his menu. “Is your house going to be ready on time?”
Ethan nodded.
“What do you think of the office space?” Chandler asked. “The moment I saw the property listed, I felt like it was perfect for you.”
Ethan chuckled. “You know me well. The building is perfect. I did find it interesting that my office is so close to the DuGrandpre location.”
Chandler did not respond, but also did not bother to hide his amusement. “Have you spoken with Jordin yet?”
“As a matter of fact, she came to see me at my office last week,” Ethan said. “You didn’t have anything to do with that little meeting, did you? How did Jordin know where my office was located in the first place?”
Shrugging, Chandler responded, “I haven’t spoken to Jordin in months.”
“How about Ryker?”
Chandler grinned. “Well, I did run into him and his wife one evening.”
“And you told Ryker I was back, right? I knew that Jordin and I would eventually run into one another but I didn’t think it would be so soon. I wasn’t prepared.”
“Sounds like fate intervened.”
Ethan shook his head no. “Not in the way you’re thinking, Chandler. I can’t deny that it was good to see her, but things are different between us now.”
“In what way?”
“In every way that matters,” Ethan stated. “Truth is that she’s always been out of my league. I was just too stupid to realize it back then. No matter how much money I have, I will never be good enough for Etienne DuGrandpre’s daughter. Her father tolerated our friendship, but I got the feeling that he did not want our relationship going further than that.”
“That may have been true back then, Ethan,” Chandler responded. “Jordin’s old enough to make her own decisions. I don’t think you should give up on her so easily. I know how much you care for her.”
Ethan shrugged in nonchalance. “Her father never cared much for me though. Anyway, I’ve got too much baggage, Chandler.”
“I don’t think she’d allow her parents to pick her husband. Jordin’s much too independent for that.”
“I don’t know...” Ethan uttered. He scanned his menu, trying to decide on what he wanted to eat.
His mind traveled back to Jordin. One of the qualities that attracted Ethan to Jordin was her genuine smile, which seemed prominently on display at all times. Her once shoulder-length hair was in a short bob. She wore no makeup outside of lipstick. Still, he found her incredibly sexy.
* * *
“How was your weekend with the girls?” Jadin inquired on Monday morning. “I couldn’t come by because Michael and I had a serious conversation about our relationship.”
“We had such a great time,” Jordin responded as she prepared a cup of hot tea. “Kai and Amya missed you though.”
Jadin poured coffee into a black mug. “I’ll have to see if I can set up a movie date with them or something.”
“I’m sure they would love it.”
Jordin picked up a plate containing fresh fruit and a bagel. “The more time I spend with those little girls, the more I want to have children of my own. I can’t wait to be a mother.”
“You’d definitely be good at it,” her sister responded.
She studied her sister’s face. There was a hint of sadness behind Jadin’s eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“I know you, sis,” Jordin stated. “You mentioned that you and Michael talked—is everything good between you two?”
“He’s been offered a job with a large law firm in Beverly Hills.”
She met her sister’s gaze. “Is he going to take it?”
Jadin nodded. “He wants me to go with him.”
“What did you say?” Jordin couldn’t imagine her sister being thousands of miles away from her, but she would never try to stand in the way of Jadin’s happiness.
“I told him that I couldn’t. I could never do that to Dad. He’s always drilled the importance of the DuGrandpre legacy.”
“Dad also wants you to be happy, Jadin. I’m sure he would understand.”
“I’m not moving to California,” she stated. “Michael understands my reasons why and while he isn’t fond of the choice I made—he understands why I can’t go.”
“Yet you seem somewhat sad.”
“I love Michael and I’m really going to miss him.”
“Well, at least you can visit him.”
She shook her head sadly. “I told him that I thought it was best to just be friends. I don’t want Michael to feel obligated in trying to maintain a long-distance relationship.”
“You just said that you love Michael,” Jordin stated. “Why would you break up with him?” Deep down, she was thrilled because she suspected he was nothing more than a ladies’ man. Jadin wanted to get married, but he always used the excuse that he wasn’t ready.
“It’s for the best, sis.”
“For you or him?”
Jadin met her sister’s gaze. “For both of us. We are DuGrandpres, Jordin. Our grandfather started this company from the ground up here in Charleston. I am proud of our duty to make sure his legacy is carried on. You remember how upset Granddad and Uncle Jacques got when Aubrie decided to become a chef?”
“Her father eventually accepted her decision,” Jordin pointed out. “Granddad is still not happy about it though.”
“Deep down, Uncle Jacques is not completely okay with it either.”
She had to agree. It really hurt her uncle when his only daughter chose not to follow in her family’s footsteps. Jordin glimpsed the longing in her sister’s eyes. She knew that as much as Jadin wanted to be with Michael, she would never choose him over her family.
Despite her mixed feelings where Michael was concerned, Jordin did not necessarily agree with Jadin’s unwavering loyalty to the family. It was time for her sister to selfishly consider her future with the man she loved. “Think of your own happiness for once.”
“I always thought that you didn’t care much for Michael,” Jadin stated, “yet you are telling me to follow him to California.”
“I don’t believe he’s the man for you,” Jordin explained. “However, it is not my right to stand in the way of your happily-ever-after.”
Jadin met her gaze. “I suppose you would like for me to do the same where you’re concerned. Right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ethan.”
“This isn’t about me or Ethan, Jadin. We are talking about you and Michael.”
“So if Ethan wanted you to leave the firm—would you?”
“I would consider his request,” Jordin confessed.
