Falling for the Backup Read online

  “Thank you,” she said, still smiling. “My mom spelled it all crazy weird. You see, a normal person would spell it A-i-n-s-l-y, or even A-i-n-s-l-i-e, but not my mother—she spelled it A-y-n-s-l-e-e. And let me just say, being a four-year-old and learning to spell my name wasn’t easy. Especially when my middle name was Kathleen. It was horrible.”

  Jordan liked her name. A lot. He liked her even more.

  “So Aynslee Kathleen Shaw?”

  She nodded, her grin growing. “Yup, very long and very Irish.”

  It was a stupid question, but he asked it anyway. “So you’re Irish?”

  “I am, a hundred percent, and before you ask, no, I’ve never been to Ireland. I want to, but I haven’t had the time yet. And, yes, I do love Lucky Charms.”

  He looked down at her hands as he chuckled. Besides the fact that she made him laugh, she also made him want to ask her if he could take her to Ireland. Jordan had no clue where the thought came from. He loved Ireland, had been a couple of times, and, for reasons unknown, he thought going with her would be better than all the other times. He didn’t understand it. Why was he so completely taken with her? Yes, she was gorgeous, but simply looking at her had him shifting in his seat, hoping his hard-on was hidden.

  “That’s a shame,” he managed to say. “Not about the Lucky Charms, because honestly it’s the best cereal imaginable.”

  “Right?!” she laughed.

  He shot her a grin but didn’t hold her gaze for long. He wasn’t sure if he was embarrassed or what, but she made him nervous while also making him feel good. How strange was that? What surprised him most was that he liked the way she made him feel.

  “But, really, Ireland is a beautiful place.”

  Her face lit up at that, and he swore he couldn’t see straight because blood was rushing to his head.

  “You’ve been!” she said loudly, smacking his arm.

  He flinched playfully as he nodded.

  “I have, three times.”

  “Wow!” she gushed, as she sat up straight in her seat. “I’m so jealous. I’ve always wanted to go, but my dad hasn’t had the time to take us. After my grandpa died, Dad took over the pub, so we couldn’t travel—no one runs the pub but family. And now that I’m older, I haven’t had the time to plan a trip. I want to go so bad.”

  Jordan was intrigued. Turning in his seat, he asked, “Pub?”

  “Yup,” she said with a nod. “Been in my family for decades. It was passed down to my dad, and soon it will be passed down to either Brady or Flynn, my brothers. It’s a cool place, the best pub in Buffalo.”

  “I bet,” Jordan said with a smile. “So, are you the baby of the family?”

  She laughed. “Oh, no, I’m one of eight.”

  “Holy shit!” he exclaimed, receiving dirty looks from most of the passengers around them.

  As Jordan apologized, Aynslee giggled, bringing her legs up onto the seat and laying her head on them. He hadn’t meant to be so loud, but one of eight?! He was an only child and didn’t have the experience of growing up with brothers and sisters.

  “Yup, I’m number five. I have four older and then three younger.”

  “Wow,” he said, his face burning a little. “I’ve never met anyone from such a big family.”

  “That’s crazy! You make me feel weird,” she laughed.

  Jordan liked her laugh. It was infectious and made him join in with her. He realized he hardly ever laughed anymore. He had been so focused, so obsessed with hockey, that it was nice to just sit back and crack up with someone.

  “So you don’t have any brothers or sisters?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “Nope, I’m an only child.”

  “Well, I bet you always had enough Lucky Charms,” she joked.

  He laughed. A big hearty chuckle that came straight from his gut.

  “Yup, always.”

  “Wow, I couldn’t imagine. I’m so jealous. Was it very quiet growing up?” she asked, leaning toward him, her elbows resting on her knees and her hands holding her face. She reminded him of a child, her wide eyes gazing up at him as if he were an oddity, while he was thinking the same of her. He was intrigued by not only her looks but by the mere fact that she grew up with a big family. Did she get claustrophobic? Did she really love all those people? She seemed to, from the way she talked about her family, but at the same time he heard the longing in her voice when she talked about going to Ireland.

  He wanted to know everything. He felt as if he could talk with her forever. His insecurities were still there—but fading by the minute. He was getting lost in her, and it made him nervous and excited at the same time. Dangerous. And disturbing. Remembering that she had asked him a question, Jordan smiled as he shook his head.

  “Nope, I was a crazy child.”

  “I don’t believe that. You seem so quiet. I feel like I am forcing you to talk to me,” she said.

  “Nah. I feel bad for spilling the drink on you, that’s why I’m talking to you.”

  She looked offended for maybe a second, then her face broke into a wide grin. “Oh, you have jokes.”

  “I try,” he said offhandedly, looking down. Her giggles ran down his spine. He was never one to be turned on by silly laughter, but hers had him harder than steel. Taking in a deep breath, ignoring all the dirty thoughts he had about her, he tried to figure out the last time he was this turned on. He couldn’t remember. Was it before Leanna? Maybe after. But when? He hadn’t been with anyone since then. Hadn’t wanted to. But now—he couldn’t wait to rip off his clothes and hers.

  But it wasn’t just physical. He couldn’t ignore the fact that he wanted to talk to Aynslee. Since the injury, Jordan hadn’t sought out company; he usually kept to himself. Shea, his captain from the Assassins, always teased him about being a hermit because he’d rather read or play games on his iPad than hang with the guys.

  God. For the millionth time he cursed his injury. And his luck. But maybe his luck was changing.

  Looking around, trying to think of something to say, he noticed that resting on her leg was the bright-blue neck pillow, much like his. With a smile, he pointed to it. “I love them.”

  Jordan realized that Aynslee was still in the position she had been since they started talking, and she was watching him. His pants were getting tighter by the minute.

  Aynslee placed the pillow on her neck, sat back, and smiled at him. “I don’t fly without mine.”

  Their eyes locked, and it took all of Jordan’s self-control not to grab her and get down to business. He wanted her. Badly. Now. On the plane. And he didn’t care if Grandma from Row C watched. Hell, they could all watch as he bent her over the seat and ripped apart her dress to get to the prize he was craving. He would ravish her with his mouth, and after making her come, he would bury himself deep inside. He nearly groaned out loud.

  What the hell did he really think was going to happen? He would reach over, kiss her, and then leave? He couldn’t ask for her number or try to take her home with him. He wasn’t the kind of guy to just fuck and leave. He wanted a relationship. He wanted true love, with kids and a big house, his wife waiting for him when he came home from long road trips. He wanted to be someone’s forever.

  But right now those things were out of his reach.

  Aynslee had never been so turned on in her life.

  Something about this guy made her want to climb him like a tree and hold on for dear life. He was completely gorgeous, and when he smiled she felt tingles. It was insane how someone so good-looking, someone who probably had tons of girls throwing themselves at him, wouldn’t meet her eyes for more than a few seconds.

  She had never met anyone like Jordan. He was quiet and reserved, not the cocky, full-of-it type of guy that she had been dating lately. She felt safe, which was crazy, having just met him, but something was happening between them. He was nice and listened to her when she talked. Even if he didn’t look at her for very long, she knew he was listening. It was as if he was embarras