Home is Where the Heart is by Christie Mack Page B

with. All heartbreak aside, she didn’t want to see him hurting like this. She did feel sympathetic at the fact that he had missed out on the first five years of his son’s life. Cassie knew part of this was her fault. She could have tried standing up to his father and doing what was morally right and confessing all to Jordan about the child they shared together, but she guessed she thought by keeping him out of the loop, she too was protecting his dream. Jordan had been her first love and at the time of their relationship, the naïve part of Cassie had thought she and Jordan would be able to make it work outside of high school, living the perfect happily ever after in a fairy tale kind of way. Cassie knew it was naïve of her to think this but at the time, she had been young and in love. She couldn’t see clearly other than what she wanted for her life.
    “I’m sorry,” Jordan mumbled before attempting to stumble away.
    Cassie couldn’t let him walk away without asking him something. One particular question had been embedded in her mind since the day their relationship came to an end.
    “Why did you text me?”
    This made Jordan stop, ponder for a moment, and then turn around to face Cassie, his dark eyes hazy either from the alcohol or confusion.
    “What?” he asked as his eyes narrowed.
    Cassie crossed her arms over her chest and struck a pose with her foot out. “The night you sent me that message to break up with me—if you were just going to break up with me once you left, then why didn’t you tell me you didn’t want to be with me before you left town? I believed you when you said you would come back so you could be with me. You said I was your happily ever after, and you couldn’t see yourself being with anyone else. You told me I was it for you. I believed you, and then you threw it all back in my face. You broke my heart that night, Jordan.”
    He didn’t say anything in return.
    “How am I supposed to believe you want to be a part our lives when you can’t even give me a straight answer for the one question I have for you? It’s one thing for you to break my heart, but you cannot just waltz back into town expecting to be a part of our lives and pick up where we left off. I won’t let you be a part of our lives if you’re only going to walk out on us. But you know what? You haven’t even said you want to be in our lives, so I don’t know what I’m going on about,” she said the last part more to herself.
    Would she get a straight answer from him?
    “I was led to believe you had already moved on with your life right after I left…that you didn’t really need me anymore,” Jordan replied.
    “By who?” Cassie raised an eyebrow on her curious face.
    “My dad. He said he saw you out one night with your friends, and you were laughing a lot and drinking with some guy he didn’t know.”
    “So you just assumed I didn’t want to be with you anymore? Or maybe it was your dad who had put the idea into your head, and then told you how I would just tie you down and wouldn’t allow you to achieve your dreams. Well, I guess we know Clive won. He got what he wanted. You’re a big football star and no one is tying you down. Congratulations."
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jordan asked.
    “C’mon, I may live in Yellow Valley, but I don’t live underneath a rock. I’ve seen your face splashed across those trashy tabloid magazines and gossip websites. You’re out with a different woman practically every week. You seemed to have moved on from me just fine. I’m sure your father was proud to know I was no longer a valuable part of your life anymore. He got what he wanted. I’m out of the picture.”
    Jordan took one step forward, closing the gap between them. Cassie yearned to take in the musky scent of his aftershave, but she also wanted space. “So that’s what it is...you’re jealous, because you still have a thing for me.” His voice was deeper and lowered like he was trying to