Page 85 of Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail

Jordan found the tongue emoji, pressed it four times, and hit send.

Is that panting for coffee or...

Jordan laughed out loud, realizing too late the tongue emoji is often used in a dirtier context.

Use your imagination, Parker, she texted.

The three dots appeared, then disappeared. Jordan grinned, picturing Astrid’s face cinnamon-candy red right now. The woman got right and truly flustered when it came to sex, and it was adorable.

They hadn’t had sex yet. They hadn’t even ventured below the waist in any capacity—mouths, fingers, nothing. There’d been a little over-the-bra action, but that was it.

What she and Astrid did do, however, was spend at least half the night, every night, making out to the point that Jordan felt like she was about the explode. She wasn’t complaining. Despite her fears and the distinct lack of the Two of Cups in her daily spread, she was actually pretty shocked at how well she was holding her shit together.

She didn’t want to fuck this up.

Now, her phone buzzed again, Astrid finally sending back a text.

My imagination is making it hard to walk right now.

Jordan’s eyebrows shot up, a million wings taking flight in her stomach.

Maybe we should do something about that, she texted back.

Yeah. Maybe we should.

SO OF COURSE,after that little text exchange, Jordan didn’t see Astrid all damn day.

She came into her workshop to find a cup of coffee from Wake Up already on her workbench, a series ofx’s ando’s drawn on the cup with one of the Sharpies Jordan knew Astrid kept in her purse, but no Astrid.

Unfortunately, Jordan didn’t have time to hunt her down, either. They were filming the installation of the kitchen cabinets today, and Jordan could not wait to see them in all their glory. They were beautiful, if she did say so herself, and she knew the effect of the deep sage green against the lighter gray wall was going to be striking.

She slugged down her coffee, sent Astrid a thank-you text, and was soon lost in her work. As she and Josh focused on the cabinets, Nick and Tess, two other members of Josh’s team who had been working closely with Jordan this past week, installed the butcher-block counters and the white porcelain farmhouse sink.

Throughout the day, the kitchen came to life. It was like watching a sunrise, the image Jordan had only dreamed about slowly becoming real. By the time five o’clock rolled around, it was done. There were gaping holes where the appliances would go, as well as some decorative elements, but the skeleton was in place, the anchor for the whole room—the whole inn, really—and Jordan felt her throat swell as she took it in.

“This looks great,” Josh said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

“You think so?” Jordan asked. She stood with her hands on her hips, sweat dotting her own forehead and chest.

He nodded. “I had my doubts about this color, but yeah. It’s perfect.”

Jordan smiled so broadly her cheeks hurt. She opened her mouth to sayThank you, even to explain how this was exactly the kind of cabinets one might find in a 1930s kitchen back when Alice Everwood was alive, but then she remembered.

She wasn’t the designer.

“Oh my god, look at this kitchen,” Natasha said, stepping inside the room and putting herself in the shot, as she often did.

“Right?” Josh said, sending a grin in Natasha’s direction that even a very gay Jordan could recognize as panty-dropping.

Natasha, for her part, was focused on the room. “It’s breathtaking. It really feels like I might encounter a ghost in here, but not in a creepy way. It just feels... intriguing. That’s the word for it.”

Jordan noticed too late that she was grinning like a kid with a trophy. Natasha canted her head, and Jordan quickly smoothed it out. She was supposed to be neutral about the design, if not downright ornery.

“These cabinets were a pain in the ass to make, I know that,” she said, and Emery snorted a laugh from next to a camera.

“I can see that, but what a payoff, huh?” Natasha said.

Pride swelled in Jordan’s chest. Again. She never expected to feel like this... so tender about her work. She’d never been overly precious regarding her creations before, but this was different. This was an entire house’s design, her own family’s home.