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.A matching love seat and recliner stood on either side,creating a square in the middle of the floor.A glass coffee tableadded to the comfort.Kelsey stilled her beating heart at the sight of the rockfireplace.Brass-handled pokers sat on the edge of the hearth.Shecouldn t wait to light that fire and cuddle up with Jordan. Welcome to my humble abode. Jordan tossed her bag onthe floor and turned on a lamp in one corner.Kelsey walked further into the room, looking at all theknickknacks, trophies, medallions, and pictures.Smiling facesfilled the space in each frame.Kelsey s heart raced for herfather and even for her mooching, non-caring brother.Butmost especially, she thought about her mother.She missed hersomething fierce right now.The Billings home used to displaythe same loving faces before her mom left, and before a heartattack took the life of her father.After that, everything else wasdownhill until she met Sharon.Even though she was never in love with her, they d sharedsome of the same dreams.With Sharon owning the bar andneeding help to bring it to life, Kelsey had jumped right in,exploring her desire to dance.At first she d planned to strip onlya couple of nights a week and strictly on a temporary basis.But" 115 " LARKIN ROSEdancing carried her away from real life and the business that costher so much happiness.Her father s dreams had kept her trudging along day afterday, ignoring everything that really mattered in life so she couldcontinue his legacy.If it wasn t for The Pink Lady and her wackyfriends, she would have gone insane a long time ago.The barbecame a place for her to get away from her burdens, and when thebusiness began to thrive, Kelsey felt proud of her contribution.Jordan stepped around her. Would you like me to start afire, since you can t tear your gaze away from the fireplace? At Kelsey s nod, she ignited twigs and loose paper, then satback to watch the fire roar to life.The muscles jerked in her armswith every log she tossed on the blaze.Kelsey s fantasies wereyanked from her mind when Jordan dusted off her hands andflopped down on the couch.Here we go. You ready to start telling me what the hell s going on? What do you want to know? Kelsey knew her replysounded like procrastination.She wasn t trying to play games,she just didn t know where to start.Jordan eyed her impatiently. That s a stupid question.Ican t remember a cop in the world that ever slid to a scene as fastas those guys did tonight, obviously because you re the chief sdaughter-substitute.You strip when you don t need the money.You live in a mansion.And the police seem to be your personalbodyguards. She gave a sarcastic laugh. That probably rules outdrug dealing, but I don t know how you really make your living,and the death threats and vandalism have got me wondering.Sowhat s your story, Kelsey? Taking a deep breath, Kelsey stepped around Jordan s legsand sat beside her. As you know, I don t strip.I m not that cheap.I dance. Jordan chuckled. Okay, I ll give you that one. And I told you, I run my father s business.He died almosttwo years ago.My brother is too stupid to run anything exceptthe engine in his Hummer, and I can t honestly attest to his ability" 116 " I DARE YOUto do that. She smiled, but when Jordan didn t share in her jokeshe stared back at the fire. So, anyway, I inherited the business.My father knew I was the only one with the balls to handle it.He d been training me for years. He must have loved you very much to leave it to you. I don t know if I can live up to his expectations. I m sure you re doing a great job. Support etched everysyllable.The fire licked at the air inside the fireplace.Kelsey watchedthe dancing flames. I ve done what was expected.It s hard toexplain& complicated. Kelsey, I m tired of playing games here.I know we startedoff as fuck partners, and God knows I never expected& Kelsey turned slowly, her heart hammering against herchest.You never expected what? She thought about her irrationalattraction to Jordan and the feelings she d tried to disown eversince they met.There was more than a sexual connection betweenthem.She had stopped denying that.But she didn t know whereJordan stood. What didn t you expect? she whispered hopefully.Jordan grunted. I never expected things to get so crazy.People busting up your house, death threats, that crazy womanin the club, police scrambling to protect you.Get to the point,Kelsey.I m running out of patience. Kelsey gasped.All the words she longed to say flew from hermind.She wanted to find out if Jordan had feelings for her, andshe wanted to talk about the past two years.She wanted Jordanto know how sad she was that her father had died alone in hisoffice and that she never got to say good-bye.How lost withouther mother she was.How alone she d felt as she stood over herfather s grave, and how miserable her life had been.Until theymet.Kelsey held her breath, thinking about that incredible fact.Everything suddenly mattered more.The thought of losing Jordanwas unbearable.She laced her fingers together nervously.How" 117 " LARKIN ROSEcould she explain the craziness in her life without risking whatmeant more than anything? Until this moment she hadn t realizedhow desperately she needed Jordan to understand and accept her.She hadn t seen her own feelings for what they were.Kelsey felt color surging into her cheeks.The breath she dbeen holding rushed from her chest, making a sound like awhimper.She turned sharply to face Jordan, the truth tremblingon her lips.She was in love. What kind of business do you fucking own? Jordan s harshwords slapped reality in her face
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