Page 45 of Jordan’s Breakthrough (Unexpected Love #3)

JORDAN

I wake up with Miles wrapped around me like we’re molded for each other.

His nose is buried against my shoulder, one leg slung over mine, hand curled just under my ribs.

It’s still early. Soft morning light seeps through the cracked curtain, but my body is already humming, blood stirring with slow, addicting heat.

I wonder if I’ll ever get used to the easy arousal. It was always such a fight for me, and now it’s just there. A steady energy in my veins.

I don’t move at first. Just breathe and smile against his head.

I feel… good. Not just okay, not just better.

But good. Really good. Like there’s a fire in me now that I can’t put out.

I hadn’t believed this was possible, and the truth is, without Miles, I wouldn’t have ever known.

I never would have considered going back to the doctor for a script change.

I would’ve just kept surviving, thinking that’s how it was supposed to be.

But now, I’m doing so much more. I’ve broken out of my cell and am actually free.

I’m living.

There’s this quiet, full feeling running through me every day. Like everything in me is lit with happiness. And I want to stay in it for as long as I can. Medicine is an amazing thing. I hope to never take it for granted.

Miles shifts a little, his breath warm on my skin. The way he grinds against my hip in his sleep is incredible, like he’s making love to me in his dreams.

Well, good morning.

I trail my hand down his back, over his waist, to cup his soft butt. His body is so familiar already, like we’ve been lovers our whole lives. When really, we’ve only slept together a few times. It’s all I need though to be certain. Miles is home to me. Now and always.

Miles makes a sleepy, needy noise as I touch him, fueling the fire. I live for those noises. Crave them. My cock is already hard, tenting the sheets.

I roll toward him, kissing his shoulder. Then his neck.

“Morning, beautiful,” I whisper, brushing my fingers down the curve of his spine.

He blinks his eyes open, half-smiling. “Hey,” he rasps, voice rough from sleep.

I lean in to kiss him, slow and lazy.

The kiss deepens quickly, and he pulls me closer, hand tangled in my hair. He loops it around his wrist, as if it were a comfort. We don’t talk. We don’t need to. There’s just skin and breath and warmth, and the way his hips tilt up to meet mine with aching precision.

It’s not frantic. Not about escape or distraction. It’s not because of wine. This time it’s slow and quiet, like we’re sinking into each other and don’t want to come up for air. I reach for the lube and Miles arches his back, encouraging me as he tries to touch me, but I bat his hand away.

“Too close already.”

He wraps his legs around my waist as I press in, and I hear a quiet gasp, though I’m not sure if it’s coming from him or me.

We’re so connected, so in tune with one another it could have been either.

Every sound he makes winds through me like poetry, and it sinks deep into my heart. Drives that need higher.

Time seems to stand still between kisses, and the distance we’ve had separating us for so long now is nothing but a distant memory. We’re here now, together.

Miles breathes my name as he comes, and I follow soon after, burying myself deep. After, we stay tangled together, chests rising and falling in sync, sweat cooling on our skin.

I stroke the back of his neck and press a kiss to his forehead. “I love making love to you.”

He hums contentedly.

“It’s different now.”

He lifts his face slightly. “How so?”

“More… I don’t know. Alive? Just feels different.”

He smiles dreamily and kisses my shoulder before asking, “Still taking me to the zoo today?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Good. I want to see the red pandas.”

I grin. “You and the red pandas.”

“You know I relate to their vibes.”

I laugh softly, reluctantly pulling away to get up. “I’m gonna hop in the bathroom real quick. Would you mind starting breakfast?”

I stealthily grab my phone from the nightstand before disappearing to the bathroom and closing the door. My heart beats faster. Not with nerves, but with giddy anticipation.

I open Messenger.

Me: Still on for today?

The reply I’m waiting for comes within seconds.

Absolutely! In town and taxi reserved! See you in a couple of hours!

I smile so wide it hurts.

Miles has no idea what’s coming for him today. And God, I cannot wait to see his face when the surprise unfolds.

Let the day begin.

As I circle the lot one more time, I glance at the clock on my dash. 11:06.

“There’s one,” Miles says.

I pretend not to hear him.

“Oh, come on, Jordan! Why are you stalling? They’re already open.” He cranes his neck to look at the zoo gates. “And the line is already long.”

“Exactly,” I say. “I’m letting them get through, so we can take our time.”

Miles sighs dramatically. “Jordan.”

“Fine. I’m parking.”

I send a prayer that I stalled long enough to make this work.

Miles climbs out of the car, stretching his arms like a cat. With his back to me, I quickly shoot off a message.

We’re walking up now.

No response. That’s fine. Either the plan works, or it doesn’t.

Miles can’t stay still, waving his hands around as he describes his dream zoo route.

“First the penguins, and like, all the arctic animals. I can’t remember if they have polar bears here, but if they do, we have to see them.

Then the Sahara. I can’t wait for the lions.

Oh, and the tigers! And I heard the Hogle Zoo has a train you can take from one side to the other, so that’ll be nice. And we need to see the—”

I tune him out when I see her, standing near the entrance wearing jeans and a red tank top.

She has a huge smile on her face, bouncing on her toes like she’s excited to be in on the secret.

I take my hat off and pretend to ruffle my hair while secretly waving in her direction. I told her to look for a green hat.

Sophie beams when she spots me, bouncing and waving before running in our direction.

“Don’t you?” Miles asks.

I jerk my attention to him. “Huh? What?”

“I said I sometimes feel bad for the animals, all locked up and stuff. It’s sad.”

I shrug. “Oh, uh. Yeah, sometimes.”

Miles barely seems to hear me, still talking a mile a minute. He’s so excited, he doesn’t even notice her at first.

Sophie gets right in front of him, walking backwards with her brows raised, nodding enthusiastically as if agreeing with everything he’s saying. “Uh-huh. Yeah. That’s so cool.”

When he finally sees her, he halts, eyes getting huge behind his glasses. “Oh my God!”

Sophie squeals, tight curls bobbing against her dark skin. “Well! Are you going to hug me or not?”

Miles crushes her, swaying from side to side.

She giggles. “Oh, it’s so good to see you!”

Her voice is warm and rich and her vibe inviting. I can already see why Miles likes her.

“How are you here?”

I clear my throat. “I might’ve had something to do with it.”

Miles is stunned, pulling back. “What?”

Sophie and I exchange a private smile, both full of concern for Miles. “I felt like your situation was more of… a team effort, so I called in reinforcements. Asked her to come for the weekend.”

Miles gapes, looking between us. “Are you serious right now? I mean, how? How did you even get in touch with her?”

I chuckle. “There’s this thing called Facebook. You should try it sometime.”

He laughs, swiping at his eyes. His entire posture shifts as he glances back at Sophie, like something heavy finally slid off his shoulders. I was right. He’d needed to see her.

I pull him in for a quick sideways hug. “You catch up. I’ll get our tickets.”

They follow me through the line, staying off to the side. Through the noise, I can only pick up little pieces of their conversation. Updates on Sophie’s classes, how much she hates Texas, and how she accidentally broke her roommate’s coffee table trying to learn some TikTok dances.

Miles snorts. “Why does that not surprise me?”

“Hey! I can bust a move!”

“Yeah, obviously. You busted one right through the table.”

“Miles! You did not just say that!”

Miles is glowing. There’s no other word for it. He’s so relieved and happy to be with her. I love seeing him this way.

Inside the gates, the air smells like kettle corn and roasted almonds.

We pass under a big arch of multicolored balloons leading into the zoo’s main trail.

After gathering a map and purchasing some drinks to carry around, Miles and Sophie drift ahead, arms still loosely linked like they never left each other.

I take a picture. Miles will want to remember this day. Maybe I can order him a blanket with him and Sophie on it too, to go with the one with us.

We see the monkeys first, which slightly terrifies Miles, and he rushes through the building. Then we stroll to the giraffes. Sophie is enamored with their graceful beauty.

“They’re so elegant,” she says.

Miles points to the tallest of the group. “I think we should call that one Carl.”

Sophie turns a blank stare at him, as if she’s offended on the creature’s behalf.

“What?”

She slants her head. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember.”

He blinks, then gasps in horror and claps a hand over his mouth. “Oh, no. I take it back!”

“You better.”

“Ex-boyfriend, I take it?”

“More like, ex-one-night stand who called me wife and told me… no, demanded that I go make dinner.”

I grimace. “Yikes.”

“Exactly! I hightailed it out of there so fast.”

“How about Atticus then?” I say. “For a name. He can be Atticus. That’s regal and sophisticated, right?”

Miles leans into me. “I like Atticus.”

Sophie agrees. “Atticus it is.”

We wander past the lemurs and adult red pandas, naming each of them. When we find the littlest one in a pen, all three of us fawn over it.

“Oh, I want to take him home!” Sophie coos, tracing the glass. “He’s so cute.”

“She,” Miles says.

“What?”

“I read an article yesterday that the newest one is Kaitori, and she was born seven months ago.”

“She can still be a he.” Sophie hums. “But anyway, I love that name.”

Miles studies her. “You’re adding it to your future baby name list, aren’t you?”

“I think I am. What do you think? Want a future niece named Kaitori?”

Miles beams. “I’ll be happy with any niece or nephew.”

She bumps his shoulder. “Someday.”

Hot, humid air hits us in the face as we enter the penguin enclosure, the noise echoing in the small space. We stand by the glass, watching as they dive and swim under the surface.

“They’re like chaotic businessmen,” Miles says.

I raise a brow. “Chaotic businessmen?”

“Yeah, you know, funny looking with murder in their eyes.”

Sophie cracks up. “So they’re like you when the cat is puking?”

He gasps and whips his head around. “Sophie! You promised you’d never bring that up again!”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry, but that story is gold .”

“What story?”

Miles shakes his head, but Sophie trudges on.

“When we were in Spokane, we shared this tiny apartment just down the street from the hospital. Lily was, what? Maybe three or four at the time? Anyway, she had a habit of getting into the trash.” She snorts, trying to continue.

“Whatever she ate did not settle with her. She puked all over me the next morning. Like, right down my shirt. I screamed, of course, because what the hell! And the next thing—” She buckles over, wheezing, and Miles turns away, his cheeks bright red.

“The next thing I know, Miles is running into the hall butt naked and holding a… what was it? Oh! One of those tension rods to hold a shower curtain up. We had just bought it, so it wasn’t installed yet.

Miles had fury in his eyes, like he thought someone was trying to murder me. ”

“Well, clearly she was! You were screaming!” Miles says.

I sputter a laugh. “Poor kitty.”

“Oh, Lily was fine after that,” Sophie finishes. “It’s like she waited all night just to puke on someone and since Miles’ door was closed, she chose me.”

“Hey, that cat loves you more than she loves me, so she would’ve chosen you anyway.”

Sophie preens a little. “She does love me, doesn’t she? She lets me cuddle her.”

Miles rolls his eyes, annoyed.

I pout for him. “That’s sad.”

“I know! I’m the one who feeds her and cleans her litter. The brat.”

I bump his shoulder. “Clem will be cuddling with you in no time, I’m sure.”

He smiles, wrapping an arm around me like the reminder we are living together now melts him. Despite the embarrassing stories, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Miles this relaxed. He definitely needed this.

By the time we’re sitting on a bench near the food court, Miles is a little sunburnt. We order some loaded fries and corn dogs, then sit in the shade to eat. I take a quick photo of them together, then scoot closer and grab a selfie of all three of us. Before I can pull away, Miles snags my phone.

“We need one of you and me too.”

I lean in, resting my head on his shoulder. It’s adorable, and easily my favorite picture of us yet. Miles kisses me, stealing yet another picture.

“You guys are seriously ridiculous,” Sophie says. “Like, full on, heading-for-the-alter ridiculous. I’ll be expecting a Save the Date soon.”

We exchange a look, clasping hands. We haven’t talked about marriage, but I’m definitely on board with it. I want everything with Miles.

While they talk, I send a few photos to my family group thread, including some of the giraffes, penguins, and of course Miles and I together. I add one more of the three of us, adding a caption, Miles and I say hi (and Sophie, his BFF who surprised him with a visit).

At the last second, I add Miles to the thread. He deserves to be there. Because Sophie is right. We are heading-to-the-alter ridiculous, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

As I slide my phone back in my pocket, I catch myself smiling again.

My heart is so full it almost aches. What started with just Graham in my life has turned into this full constellation of people—Declan and Piper, then Seth, who brought Ian and Quinn, and now Miles and Sophie.

Pete and Andy are becoming a part of the group too.

And Melody. The list seems endless. All tiny flickers lighting my not-so-dark sky.

And there’s plenty of room to grow. Maybe even with some kids in the future.

I glance at Miles. Yes, please. Let that be my future. It would be the ultimate dream.

My circle keeps stretching, like roots digging into the earth. For the first time in my life, I can breathe deeply. I’m alive. I’m happy. I’m free . And I’m in love.

Especially that last one.

I am so ridiculously in love with Miles, and it’s only the beginning.

Sophie gets up to go to the restroom while Miles finishes their fries.

He sees me watching and grins. “Best surprise ever.”

Yes. Yes, he was.

Miles truly was the best surprise ever.