Page 95 of A Million Times, Yes

“Good night,” Ben and I replied.

“Ben, you’re such a good escort.” Jordan stood and came over.

“I’m the very best, I know.” Ben giggled. “Uncle J, I want you and Maya to come to the bounce park with me and Dad tonight. Please? You can’t say no, you can’t say no, you can’t—”

“How about I talk it out with Maya, and maybe we’ll meet you there later.”

“Okaaaaay,” he sang, dragging out the word; then he hugged my legs. “See ya later, Maya.”

“See you, Ben.” I ran my hand over the top of his head before he skipped out the door.

The second we were alone, Jordan pulled me into his arms and said into my hair, “How was your day?”

“Long.” I sighed. “Very, very long.”

“I think we should decline Ben’s offer to go to the bounce park, unless you have this burning desire to go?”

I looked up from his chest. “You know I love spending time with him, Jordan—”

“Baby, you don’t have to say that. I know. And I know how tired you are. I can see it on your face. We’ll go another time. Ben will get over it, I promise you. I also promise the second he gets to the bounce park, he’ll forget he even asked us.”

“Thank you.”

He kissed my forehead. “I’ll make this quick, and then we can go home, eat the dinner that’s being cooked for us as I speak, and climb into bed.”

My eyes closed. “I’m already mentally there.”

He laughed. “Come here.” He took my hand and brought me over to his desk, where there were two large pieces of paper covering most of the wood. “These are blueprints of two high-rises that are currently in the permitting stage. What that means is that the designs are finished and we’re waiting for the city to sign off and give us the green light to start building.”

I studied the drawings. “They look amazing.”

“We’ve ordered 3D renderings that should be done in a few days, which will show the details of the facade and the designs of the entrance, the landscape, and outdoor amenities like the basketball court and the rooftop pool.”

There could be only one reason he was showing this to me.

I slowly looked up at him. “Are you saying you want us to live together in this building? Because I know we talked about eventually moving in together and—”

“This is a low-income housing project, Maya. For over a year now, Worthington Enterprises has been working with the city to build affordable apartments for the residents of Boston. These two high-rises are phase one. There will be four phases, with a total of eight buildings.” He placed his hand on the middle of my back. “You know I oversee the sports division of our business, but I’m fully aware of all the projects we want to pursue and have in our pipeline. When you and I started dating, this project in particular became extremely important to me. Because I came on so late and the designs have already been approved, I wasn’t able to make any changes to the exterior, but I’ve tweaked some of the interior, the lobby, the apartments themselves to give them a softer, homier feel.”

“I love that I influenced this interest in you, but ...” I scanned his eyes. Studying them. Trying to look through them. “Is there a specific reason you’re showing this to me?”

He rubbed his lips together, and because we were so close, I felt his chest rise. “We’re going to be hiring a team to spearhead the rental process. They’ll qualify residents and manage the apartments. They’ll oversee the properties, enforcing rules and regulations.”

“Okay.”

“I thought ...” His voice drifted off as his hand rubbed up and down my spine. “Given your past, what you know, what you’ve experienced, what you’ve endured, this would be a good fit. The salary would be competitive, and full benefits would be offered.”

I shook my head as I stared at him. “Are you asking me to give up nursing to work for you?”

“No, baby.” He smiled. “I want to offer the position to your mom.”

My hands immediately flew to my face and covered my mouth. “What? Are you serious?”

“I say this with the utmost respect—I think she’d be perfect for the role. The residents could really benefit by having someone who understands their position and can relate to some of the hardships they’ve been through.”

My eyes were filling, and I couldn’t stop them.

“I can’t tell if you want to slap me or if—”