Fall Into Me (Heart of Stone #2)

"We're going in style, girl. I'll have Jensen honk when we get there," I joked.

"Some date you are," Jordan said with a chuckle. "Okay, I'll be ready in two. See you then!"

I reread Tristan's text to me, focusing on the words Can't wait to see you. Love you and wishing he was there next to me as I lay on my bed. I understood now how I'd fallen in love with him the first time. He was like an addiction I never wanted to quit. My spare moments were filled with thoughts of him—how my heart raced when he kissed me, how my stomach did somersaults at the merest touch of his fingers on my body, how his beautiful brown eyes said so much even when he said nothing.

In just this short time, he'd become my everything. I couldn't imagine life without him.

I rolled over to run my hand across where he'd laid the night before, fantasizing about the way we'd made love, his hands so powerful as he held me in place while he thrust into me, so completely in control of every moment of our fucking.

Even now, with him miles away, just the thought our lovemaking caused a need in the pit of my abdomen, and I squeezed my legs together to feel the sweet ache the desire for him created in me.

I grabbed my phone again and texted once more before I got up to get dressed. Just the thought of you makes me wish you were here in bed with me. When you get home I'm going to show you how much I missed you.

He didn't text back immediately, so I got into the shower. By the time I finished and had touched up my makeup, he had texted back but only a brief message. Miss you. You have no idea how much.

Something in those words sounded so lonely as I read them, so I called him but got no answer. I tried again as I dressed, but still no answer. Hopefully, he'd be home when I got back, but just in case he'd had a terrible day, I wrote him a letter and slipped it under his bedroom door.

I found Rogers in the dining room looking as surly as ever. "I'd like to go to Jordan's. Can you tell Jensen?"

He looked at me as if he were looking through me, and I repeated my question, which only seemed to irritate him. "As you wish, miss," he said sharply as he walked past me out the dining room door.

I stood in that spot unsure of whether I should wait or follow him and wishing Tristan was there to deal with his butler. Maybe there was a good reason he was always so short with him. As I wondered what Rogers had against me, he returned with Jensen, who was always much nicer.

"Miss, I'm ready to go as soon as you are," he said with a nod and a hint of a smile.

Shooting Rogers a nasty look, I thanked Jensen and followed him to the Town Car. "We need to pick up Jordan at her place and then we're going to go out for dinner. We're not going to make it a late night, though, so you won't have to be out too late."

Jensen closed the car door behind me and slid into the driver's seat. "It's fine, miss. I'm available for as long as you need."

"Thank you, Jensen. I appreciate you driving me and Jordan around."

As Jensen pulled through the gate at the bottom of the driveway, he looked back at me in the rearview mirror. "It's my job, miss. Mr. Stone expects me to drive you wherever you need to go."

The mood between us was suddenly awkward, and after I told him what restaurant I'd chosen and we stopped at the ATM, I leaned back against the leather seat to wait silently until we reached Brooklyn. Jensen got us there in no time and as I'd promised, I had him blow the horn, over his polite protests that he'd be happy to escort me to the building's front door to get her.

Jordan popped her head in the back driver's side door and scrunched up her face. "Honking? What am I? Some cheap high school girl?"

"Get in! We're on a mission for great food and chocolate martinis!" I squealed.

She sat down in the seat and as we drove off, she looked at me and smiled. "I never get tired of seeing you this happy. Do you know that?"

"I guess what you always say is right. Good things do happen to good people."

I never got tired of being that happy, to be honest. Everything in my life had changed so much, and at the center of it was the reason for all that happiness. Tristan. I slipped my phone out of my bag and checked for new messages. Nothing.

Jordan leaned against me and stared over my shoulder. "Didn't you just leave Mr. Tall, Dark, and Gorgeous?"

I elbowed her gently in the arm. "He's out of town. I was just hoping he'd text me again."

"So, while the cat's away the mice will play, huh?" she joked singsong. "Where are we mice heading to tonight?"

Putting my phone away, I turned toward her in my seat. "I thought we could try The Channel. I heard it was great, and it's supposed to be a great club too."

She looked down at her black dress and back up at me. "I'm not sure I'm dressed for that place, Nina. I feel like your poor country cousin."

"That's ridiculous! You look incredible, as always. You've always had much better style than I have, no matter how much you spend or don't spend."

"I just don't want you to look bad," she said quietly. "I mean, now that you're with Tristan..."

I stopped her with my hand on her arm. "Jordan, my being with Tristan has nothing to do with what clothes we should wear. Well, it does for me since he bought most of mine, but we're still the same two girls we've been since we met that day in college."

She laughed at my admission that my clothes were all bought and paid for. "So you're a happily kept woman now? Whatever that's like, it looks good on you."

"How did Justin take you bowing out of this week's wrestling matches?" I asked, eager to change the subject.

Rolling her eyes, she said, "He said he was fine with it, but something in his voice said he wasn't, so I promised him I'd stop by his place before I go home."

"And you tease me about checking for texts? Sounds like someone else is crazy about a guy too."

She jabbed me in the arm with her fingers, tickling me until I giggled. "No more of that. This is a girl's night out, so let's get this party started!"

Jordan and I were like two peas in a pod, as we'd always been, and dinner was a great time. We laughed ourselves to tears as she told me about her third grade students and their very demanding letters to their parents about what gifts they wanted for Christmas.

I took a sip of my chocolate martini as Jordan's laughter ebbed away. She looked at me intently, as if she was studying me. "What? What is it?"

"You look so different tonight drinking that martini and wearing that dress I know cost a fortune, but even though the outside seems to have changed, you're still the same old Nina. I like that even with all the changes you've been through that you're still you."

"Of course I'm still me. Who else would I be?" I asked, unsure of what she meant.

She took a gulp of her beer and shrugged. "Well, you're basically Mrs. Tristan Stone, aren't you? That might change someone." Looking down at my left hand, she got a confused look on her face. "Why aren't you wearing the engagement ring he gave you? Aren't you still planning to marry him?"

I didn't know what to say to that. I wasn't wearing the ring because I wasn't sure he still wanted to marry me. I believed with all my heart that he loved me just as much as he said he did before the accident, but he hadn't mentioned our engagement or any plans to marry me since we'd rekindled our relationship, and I didn't want to pressure him. I was happy with the way things were going between us and didn't want to ruin it.

Instead of telling her this, though, I fibbed and hoped she wouldn't see right through me. "Of course, but since the accident I've lost a little weight so it doesn't fit right."

"Good. I don't want to hear you two are breaking up or anything stupid like that. I know things must be pretty strange since you don't remember him from before yet, but if any two people are supposed to be together, it's you and Tristan."

"No need to worry about us. I promise. What about you and Justin?"

Jordan sighed deeply and smirked. "We're doing fine, but it's not like you two. We're just average people in a regular relationship. No bells and whistles. Just comfortable."

Quickly, she stood from the table and looked around. "I need to find the ladies' room. Be right back."

I knew Jordan well enough to know she was uncomfortable about me asking about Justin. Her tone said boring instead of comfortable, but I didn't think I should press the issue. In my eyes, Jordan was anything but regular and average. She deserved a man who set her heart racing and turned her world upside down in the best ways. My heart was sad at the news that she didn't believe he was that only a few months into the relationship.

She returned in just a few minutes wearing a smile from ear to ear. Grabbing my arm, she squealed, "Oh my God! Nina, I just saw the most gorgeous man, and I swear he was checking me out too. Brown hair, the darkest blue eyes I've ever seen, and a body to die for!"

I looked around for this perfect specimen of man but didn't see anyone. She sat down and while she gushed about her sexy mystery man, I joked, "Um, weren't you just saying you have a boyfriend? I think his name is Justin or something like that."

"I know. I know. Justin is nice and everything, but this guy was stunning. And I think he was into me too. Well, enough of my mystery man. I can't wait to hang out with you and Tristan on New Year's Eve. We're going to have such a good time, especially compared to last year. You don't remember what we did last New Year's Eve, do you?" she asked with a giggle.