Page 27 of Jordan’s Breakthrough (Unexpected Love #3)

JORDAN

T he smell of fresh-cut grass hangs heavy in the air, and a warm breeze flows from the south, carrying the scent of the ocean and hot summer days.

The steady thump of beanbags landing on cornhole boards has somehow coincided with the music, and the one and a half plates of smoked ribs and pasta salad I’d eaten earlier has strangely felt like enough.

Is this what it feels like for others? This fullness from being around family?

Declan’s backyard is the perfect setting to invite Miles into the group.

From the moment we arrived, Miles naturally melted into the mix as if he’d been here the whole time.

It’s been amazing to watch, actually. I think running into Pete gave him an extra boost of confidence, because his nerves disappeared instantly.

When we got here, Miles strolled right into the place like he’d been there a thousand times.

Declan pulled out some yard games while Seth finished grilling, and we’ve spread out some lawn chairs, passing around beers.

After winning a game of Ladder Ball, I tap Miles on the shoulder. “I’m done for now.”

“What? We were going to play cornhole with Uncle Pete.”

“Team up with Piper. She’s good.” I kiss his cheek, trying to tell him with my eyes I just need a break. Socializing is draining me.

Piper swoops in, thrilled to have a chance to play again.

Opening a cooler, I snag a bottle of beer before pulling out a patio chair.

As far as anchors go, this is a pretty epic one.

Watching my friends treat Miles like he’s already a part of the group has been pretty damn amazing, but seeing him reunite with his uncle too?

That’s just icing on the cake. What are the chances that we knew someone in his family?

I take a drink, smiling to myself. If someone would have told me a few months ago that this is where I’d be today, I never would have believed them.

It seemed impossible. This feeling seemed impossible.

Some far-fetched version of another person’s life.

But now I know differently. I keep waiting for the feeling to fade, but it’s been lingering for over two days.

Somewhere behind me, Andy is arguing with Seth about whose recipe is better for the ribs, and Seth is threatening to disown him. Playfully, of course. Andy should know not to mess around with Seth’s Grill Master title.

I watch as Miles and Piper line up beside the cornhole board. “Aim low, babe,” I holler to Miles.

He grins at me, waving me off as if my advice isn’t needed.

Miles aims, tosses the beanbag, then throws his arms up as his beanbag flies right off the board. “Oh, come on!”

Piper claps Miles on the back, saying something I can’t hear while Pete and Declan bend over, laughing. Declan’s beer sloshes out of the bottle.

“Should’ve listened to me!” I say with a wink. “Low.” I swing my arm low and slow beside me.

“Why don’t you come play then, Mr. Cornhole?”

Everyone laughs.

“Nah, I’m good. Don’t want to mess up your streak.”

“What streak? I’m losing.”

“Exactly.”

Miles gasps. “How dare you!”

Pete can’t stop grinning every time he looks at Miles—still stunned, I think, to be talking to his nephew again. I wonder what their story is. Miles hadn’t stopped talking in the car ride over to tell me, instead telling me how his Uncle Pete had been at every school game to see him cheer.

I’d nearly swerved off the road when he said that. “Wait, you were a cheerleader?”

He rolled his eyes. “I know. Shocking,” he’d said scathingly. “But yes! I was on the cheer team. Helped my squad win some state championships too.”

“Oh, honey. Please tell me you have pictures. I need to see this.”

“I’m sure my mom does somewhere. If you’re really lucky, she might even have video.”

I’m starting to understand Miles’ shame about his weight, but he shouldn’t ever worry. I’d meant what I said last night. Miles is beautiful.

A chair scrapes beside me on the patio. “Is he always this charming?” Andy asks, balancing a plate stacked with more ribs and more pasta salad.

I can’t hold back a smile. “Pretty much.”

“I don’t know why I’m surprised. Pete has told me so much about him I feel like I already know him.

” Andy takes a bite of pasta salad, then wipes his mouth.

“You know, Pete has never regretted leaving Michigan, but he has always regretted leaving Miles. It was the one thing he wishes he could do different.”

I frown a little. How’d they lose touch with each other then?

I should ask Miles, not Andy. “Well, maybe it’ll be good for them to reunite.”

“Yeah. I think so too. It’s nice seeing Pete so happy.”

I glance back at Miles, who’s high-fiving Piper for a good throw.

All evening I’ve been comparing this night to other barbecues, where everything felt too loud, too bright.

When joy felt like a language I didn’t know how to speak.

Even just a few weeks ago, I’d shown up to Declan’s house barely holding it together and smiling through the numbness.

I could barely taste the food and had to force myself to laugh. I was hollow. Empty.

But now?

Now I don’t need to fake anything.

Miles looks over then, like he can feel me watching. Our eyes meet, and he smiles that soft, private smile that I’ve come to love.

I smile back. Easily. Without effort. Today has been the most real day I’ve had in a long time.

Maybe ever. And it’s all because of Miles.

He doesn’t even realize what he’s done or what he’s doing—because he’s just being himself.

His friendship reached through the fog and pulled me out of the depths.

He became an anchor of the sweetest kind. “You’re glowing,” Andy says softly.

“Oh, shut up,” I mutter, shoving him.

Andy just chuckles and leaves me alone with my drink and my thoughts.

I’m not na?ve. Meeting Miles is not a miracle turnaround, and I know that.

Depression doesn’t just go away with the flip of a switch.

The dark will come back. It always does.

But for the first time in a long time, I’m not bracing for it.

Because Miles has helped me see I’m not nearly as alone, or as broken, as I feel.

I used to think that loving someone meant handing them a map to all my fault lines and telling them it wasn’t worth it.

I thought it meant I had to push them away, to protect them.

But Miles acts like he already knows where my faults are, and he’s choosing to tread carefully.

He doesn’t try to fix me or encourage me to change.

He just holds steady, making me believe I’m enough.

But he’s also helping me see I can change, if I want to.

He’s reminding me it doesn’t have to be this way.

Two years ago, I’d accepted my diagnosis and the prescription as if they were a lifeline.

I’d clung to them and never questioned them.

But maybe I should’ve. If these last couple of days have been proof of anything, it’s that I’ve only been scratching the surface of what it means to be alive.

I pull my phone out to open the Notes app and type a single line: The Sweetest Anchor.

The group finishes their game, Declan and Pete celebrating the win while Miles pouts.

Pete and Seth join us at the table, then Piper, Declan and Miles bring some lawn chairs over to sit with us. I’m trapped in a corner between Andy and Seth, so Miles sits in the grass with the others.

“Soooo,” Piper drawls. “I think we’ve waited long enough, but now you need to spill the beans. It’s the whole reason we’re here! Tell us. How’d you two meet?”

My cheeks heat, and when I glance at Miles, I’m not surprised to see he’s blushing too. We can be social when we want to be, but we’re both pretty private people.

“Online,” I say simply.

Piper rolls her eyes. “Yes, we know that much, dummy. Tell us the rest. Was it through a hook-up app or something?”

Miles clears his throat. “We were in the same Facebook group, actually. Jordan posted some pictures of some new plants, and it just kind of bloomed from there.”

“Literally,” Declan says with a snort.

I roll my eyes. “Did I give you shit when you started dating Seth?”

He holds his hands up. “Just sayin’, Jord. I like this look on you.” His smile is affectionate.

It means the world to me.

“So, are you dating then? Is it official?” Piper asks.

Miles and I lock eyes from a dozen feet away, and somehow, I know what he’s thinking. We flew right by dating into… whatever the next stage is. These last forty-eight hours have cemented what we both suspected online. We’re right together. We fit.

We just need to figure the rest out, with him being in Utah and me here.

“Yes,” I say. “We’re official.”

Miles’ smile grows even more.

Everyone applauds, making me blush even harder.

“Is that why you’re here, then? To job hunt or something?” Pete asks. He’s practically sitting on the edge of his seat, hoping his nephew is about to announce he’s moving here.

Miles drops his gaze. “No, I only came to spend the weekend with Jordan. We’re still new.”

“Wait, so you just met? That day?” Piper asks.

We both laugh shyly. “Yeah.”

Declan wolf whistles. “And what a meeting it was! The whole bar saw it.”

“Dec, cut it out,” Seth says.

“What! It’s cute. I’ve never seen Jordan this happy.”

“So you’re going to do long distance then?” Andy asks gently. “That’ll be hard.”

And just like that, our smiles fade.

“We need to figure things out,” I say. “But yeah, long distance for now. We’ll make it work.”

I’m not too concerned. It’s how we met after all. And I’d felt closer to him within that first week than I had with practically anyone else. That won’t change when he goes back. Him coming here has only made that connection infinitely stronger.

“And what about you and Pete?” Piper asks Miles. “Clearly, there’s a story there too.”

Pete grins proudly. “Miles’ mother, Shelly, is my older sister, which makes Miles my nephew.”

“No shit?” Seth says.

Miles and Pete both nod.