Chapter 2 - Jordan

Anushka's P.O.V.

The next morning, I wake up bright and early to the sound of seagulls outside our window. There are no meetings, phone calls, or screaming people to deal with. I don't want to waste a minute of our time here. I stretch and turn over to look at Dakota. She's staring at me, smiling.  

"Are you ready?" she asks as I pull her against me to snuggle.

"Ready for what sweetheart?" I kiss her cheek, and she giggles.

"Ready to find me a Daddy." I guess my hope that she would forget about that once we got here was wishful thinking.

"How about we get dressed and take a walk on the beach?" She nods excitedly but doesn't get up.

"Mommy, does it make you sad that I want a Daddy?" Dakota sits up, so I do the same.

"No, honey, it doesn't make me sad. I just don't want to share you with anyone else. I like having you all to myself." She crawls onto my lap to hug me.

"It's okay to share. My teacher says sharing is caring." I chuckle as I kiss her head.  

"Okay, I'll think about it. Now let's get out of here." We put on shorts. T-shirts and sandals. When we go outside, it's still pretty early, so there are not many people around. I take a deep breath of the sea air as we take in the gorgeous ocean and blue sky.    

When I hear someone vomiting, it ruins my feel-good moment. I see a man not far from us who's clearly sick. I start to turn and go in the opposite direction, but when I get a look at him, I stop. At first, I assumed he had too much to drink, but something tells me that's not the case.    

"Let's go see if he's okay," I tell Dakota, taking her hand. She doesn't say anything as we approach him.  

"Are you okay?" I know it's a ridiculous question, considering he's vomiting on the beach, but what else could I say? To his credit, he doesn't criticize me; he even tries to smile.  

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I was taking an early morning run when I suddenly felt sick." I glance at his clothing; he's wearing athletic shorts, a T-shirt, and running shoes. He's young, probably a few years older than me. He has short, wavy, dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. You could say he's handsome, not that I noticed or anything.

"Did you eat or drink something before you began running?" I ask as he takes deep breaths.   

"Just a bottle of water in the hotel. A woman did grab me when I came onto the beach. It was soon after that I began feeling sick." He says before turning away from us and heaving. Nothing is coming up, but the heaves sound horrible. Dakota moves closer to him and puts her hand on his forehead. I really don't want her touching strangers, but I don't say anything.

"You feel hot; maybe you have a fever," she tells him. He's almost green from being sick, but that doesn't stop him from smiling at my daughter.

"Thank you for checking me out, doctor." She giggles, looking from me to him. Please don't let her ask him to be her Daddy. I look around and see a woman in the distance who seems too interested in what's happening with us.  

"Is that her?" I ask, nodding in the woman's direction. The man looks up and nods.

"Yeah, she's the one that grabbed me. I'm Jordan. What's your name?" he asks as he lays on the cool sand. Dakota kneels next to him.  

"I'm Anushka, and this is my daughter Dakota. It's nice to meet you, although I would have preferred it to be under different circumstances." I keep my eye on the woman watching us. I'm positive she did something to Jordan.

"Anushka, that's a beautiful name. What does it mean?" He asks, looking up at me from where he lies.

"Ray of light," I answer with a small smile. My mom said she named me that because I was her ray of light.  

"Seems fitting because you're my ray of light right now, along with this little ray of sunshine." He winks at Dakota, and she giggles. Dang it, he's sweet-talking my daughter, and she's falling for it hook, line, and sinker.  

"Sorry, but cheesy lines don't work on me, especially from a man I just met vomiting on the beach. Now show me where she grabbed you." Jordan chuckles and sits up, or tries to anyway. He looks a little tipsy, so I put my hand on his shoulder to help support him. Dakota puts her hand on his other shoulder.  

"She grabbed me here," Jordan says, holding out his arm. There's a rash where he's pointing. He acts like he's going to touch it, so I swat his hand away.

"Don't touch it. Let's go to the doctor so you can get it looked at. We need to know what she put on you and how to treat it." I hold my hand out to help him up. He takes it and stands with little help from me.

"You said we. Does that mean you two are going with me?" He looks hopeful. I look at Dakota, and she smiles as she takes his hand. I'm thankful she's holding the hand on the unaffected side.  

"Yes, we're going with you," she replies, raising her eyebrows as though she's daring me to say no. How did she get that look down so well already? I've used it on her many times.  

"I guess the boss has spoken. Besides, I don't want to give the woman another chance to touch you. I also want to know what she put on you so I know what to avoid." We start walking toward our hotel. "Are you staying at this hotel too?"

"Yes. I believe they have a wellness center inside. Is this where you're staying?" Jordan asks, glancing at me.

"We just checked in last night. We came here for the New Year celebration." I planned to leave it at that, but I should have known Dakota would tell him the other reason we decided to come to the island.

"Today's Mommy's birthday too." She tells Jordan happily. It takes a second for me to realize he's no longer walking with me. When I turn around, he's staring at me in shock.

"Today's your birthday? Is your husband here to celebrate with you?" I narrow my eyes at him.  

"I don't have a husband; it's just Dakota and me. Why?" He looks away and then smiles slightly.

"Two beautiful ladies like you shouldn't be celebrating alone," he says as he comes to my side. Oh, he's flirting. That's a nice change. Most men just insult me because they get tired of me busting their balls. I guess a little harmless flirting is okay.

"We're here alone. Most men don't like successful women." I say as we walk into the hotel lobby. No need for him to know about my ex and the nightmare I escaped from. He stops before we reach the front desk.

"I'm not most men." I don't know what to say as he walks to the desk and asks for the wellness center. Dakota is still holding his hand, smiling at him as though he hung the stars just for her. The woman at the desk gives us directions, and I follow slightly behind Jordan and Dakota.

When we get to the wellness center, we have to wait a few minutes before a man comes out to get Jordan. I hesitate, and he turns to look at me.

"Aren't you coming?" He asks. Dakota puts her hand on her hip.

"Come on, Mommy," she says, as though it makes perfect sense for us to be in this stranger's business. She is never this overly friendly with anyone. Why does she like Jordan so much already?

"I wasn't sure you wanted me to," I reply.

"I need my ray of light, or I may not get through this." The cheesy lines are starting to have a little effect on me, but I'm not letting him know. I stand and follow them to the back. Jordan shows the man, whose name badge says Calvin and that he's a physician assistant, his arm and explains what happened.  

"I believe she put a pesticide on you. Unfortunately, the locals have been doing it to tourists a lot lately. Typically, it only causes the rash, but there must be something in what she used that caused you to have a more severe reaction. I'm going to give you some prednisone. It should help with any reactions to the pesticide. You need to take a hot shower and wash thoroughly. I also suggest you not be alone right now in case it got into your bloodstream and begins causing other problems." Jordan looks at me as Calvin turns toward a locked box on the wall, pulling out what I assume is prednisone.  

"Are you here with anyone?" I ask him quietly. He asked me if I was alone, but I never asked him. Maybe he has someone in his room waiting for him right now.

"Nope. I'm here alone. I had to get away from everyone and everything for a while." Funny, he sounds like me.  

"We will stay with you. Please, Mommy," Dakota says, glancing at me. She sticks her little lip out and gives me her best puppy dog eyes. Jordan sees what she's doing and does the same. Good grief, why are they double-teaming me?

"Yeah, please, Mommy," He says as Calvin chuckles in the corner.

"Fine, we'll babysit you," I say, leaning against the wall. Jordan smirks at me as Calvin hands him his pills. Dakota claps her little hands as though I told her she could have a pony.

"Take these exactly as directed and return or go to the hospital if you have any new or worsening symptoms," Calvin instructs him. We walk out of the wellness center, and I prepare to go outside, but Jordan stops me.

"I need to shower. He said I need to wash thoroughly." I turn around and shrug.  

"You go do that, and we'll go to our room until you finish." I know his little nurse is going to argue as soon as the words are out of my mouth.

"He can't be alone, so we need to stay with him," Dakota argues.

"His instructions were that I shouldn't be alone. I think I need someone with me at all times. What if I slip and fall?" He wiggles his eyebrows at me, and I swat his arms as we walk down the hallway. I know exactly what he's implying, and there is no way I'm going to shower with him or even be anywhere near the bathroom while he's in there. I'm only doing this because he was poisoned. I'm not interested in him, not even a little. He stops at the room directly across from ours.  

"What a coincidence, this is our room," I say, pointing at our door.

"Well, I guess I know where to go when I get lonely at night." He holds his door open for us. I ignore what he says because I don't know what to say, but my mini-me has no problem finding her words.

"If you get lonely, you can come over. We can watch movies and do lots of fun stuff. Even when I get tired, Mommy can play with you." I groan as Jordan's smile spreads. Someone, please tell Dakota to stop talking.

"That all sounds like fun," he says, watching me as I sit in one of the chairs. Dakota sits in the other chair while he pulls out clothes. I look from the bed to Jordan and can't help but think about what he'd look like lying in the bed. Why is my mind going there? I just met him not even an hour ago. I have a daughter to think about, not the sexy man who's charming both of us.  

"Do you have any kids?" Dakota asks Jordan. I actually want to hear this. He turns and shakes his head.

"Nope, I don't have any kids," he replies. Dakota nods as though that's what she wants to hear.

"Do you like kids?" She asks nervously. Jordan walks over to where we're sitting and smiles at her.

"Of course, I like kids, and I think you're the best one I've ever met." The way her little face lights up makes my heart break. She really has been missing something, not having a male figure in her life. Not that I think a man needs to be in the picture to raise a child.  

"I don't have a Daddy," Dakota says, smiling at him. Jordan glances at me and then back at her.

"I bet there are a lot of men who would love to be your Daddy," he tells her. Dakota looks at me, and I know she wants to ask him to be her Daddy. I shake my head slightly, and she listens to me for once. It's time to break up this serious talk.

"Can I be honest?" I ask Jordan.

"Of course." He replies.

"You need to brush your teeth because your breath smells like vomit." Dakota and I burst out laughing at how quickly he runs to the bathroom. We need to keep the conversation light for the rest of the day; emotions cause nothing but problems.