He nodded. Then he glanced at his brother. “How drunk is she?”
“Not so drunk that she didn’t realize that you might call Jason, but drunk enough that she called him first.”
Fletcher looked down at Jordan. “You called Jason?”
She nodded quickly. “To tell him not to give you any money.”
“I see.”
Jordan reached out and grabbed his hands, squeezing tightly. “We can do this without Jason. I know that this is the middle, where the hard work happens and there are setbacks and disappointments. But if you stick with it, we can make it happen and it will be so much sweeter in the end.”
He reached up and cupped her face. “I know. You are amazing at middles. And you are going to teach me, firsthand, how to do this. I’m not going to call Jason. I hope ever again.”
Jordan’s eyes widened. “Really? You didn’t think about him giving us the money?”
“Nope. I realized there are other ways for us to get the money. And working with you on projects, brainstorming and staying up late plotting and planning is one of my favorite things in the world. Why would I take the easy way out and miss out on all that?”
That was the best thing she’d ever heard. She lifted on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.
When she let him go, he stepped back slightly so she could look around.
The whole family—minus Zeke, Charlie, and Griffin who were standing behind her—were gathered around the table. There were papers and folders on the table in front of them.
And Nancy Howell and Ashley Mason were with them.
“What are you guys doing?” Jordan asked.
“While you were out partying with my brother, I got started on some of this middle stuff on my own.” Fletcher stepped back and gestured at the table where they all sat. “We’ve been brainstorming fundraising ideas.”
“Fundraising?”
“Yeah. Nancy is a fundraising genius and Ashley is always her co-chair.”
Jordan looked stunned. Then confused. “Like bake sales and stuff?”
He took her hand and led her to the table. “Yep. It will be slower but it can be done. I was thinking it would be appropriate for us to start with something with all blue food.” He gave her a grin and a wink. “But we’ve been playing around with slogans, and I’m not sure we’re getting it right. We might just have to flat-out steal the whole It Blew Me Away thing. You think that company would mind?”
She laughed and looked at the notebook he was holding. “Well, we still remember that slogan fifteen years later and if they’re still in business then their marketing is working really well, and we should absolutely ‘borrow’ their slogan.”
He pulled out a chair and ushered her into it. “Then sit your sweet ass down and help us with this.”
They sat and talked and brainstormed for an hour.
But in the end, Jordan sat back with a sigh. “As much as I love a good bake sale, and as much as I love the idea of us just working to get this money, this is going to take way too long.”
“Sometimes middles take longer than we want them to.” Fletcher leaned over and put his arm around her. “God knows the middle between when I first fell for you and when I finally got you down the aisle was a long-assed time.”
She grinned at him. “Three years is a long time.”
He shook his head. “That was when I first started wanting you. When I first fell in love with you was twenty years ago when you tied my shoe at recess.”
Her expression softened. “Oh my God.” She looked around at the table. “I’m so happy you’ve finally learned to slow down and do all the steps.”
“I guess I just needed you to show me how great all the steps could be.” And she had. From reading research articles, to learning handling techniques for ducklings, to brainstorming taglines that would sell socks, Fletcher really did love going slow now. Well, slower anyway.
She grabbed his chin in her hand and leaned in to kiss him. “That’s it, Landry,” she said against his mouth. “I can’t do this.”
He pulled back. “What?”
She sighed and shook her head. “Nope. I love all of this, but it’s not enough for me.”
Fletcher frowned. “What isn’t enough?”
“The bake sale is sweet and I love the idea of selling t-shirts and socks and everything. But this means too much to the man I love. I’d do anything for him. And I’m thinking that maybe it’s my turn to sweep in and save the day for him.”
Fletcher narrowed his eyes but his heart rate sped up a bit. “What’s that mean?”
“Middles sometimes really suck, Fletcher. And we’ve put the time in. We’ve worked at it. But this program, this petting zoo, this group of people, deserve a big, flashy grand gesture right now.” She nodded. “And I can make it happen fast.”
Fletcher lifted a brow. “You’re going to ask Jason for the money, aren’t you?”
“I’m going to let Jason donate the money,” she corrected. “We deserve it. This program deserves it.”
He thought about that. Yeah, she did deserve it. They all did. They needed the funding and dammit, Jason should do this. Fletcher was not too proud to take the guy’s money. He had that money because of his success and his success was, in part, thanks to Jordan.
“Fine. But he can’t transfer the money to you quietly,” Fletcher said. “Tell him he should come and do a concert and attach his name to it. It’ll be good for his image too. It’ll be good to show that you two are on good terms and that he can support you as a friend after everything that happened.”
She was clearly surprised. “Really?”
“Yeah. What the hell?” He shrugged. “He told me about the Gatorade.”
She beamed up at him.
“And let’s face it,” he leaned in, so that she was the only one who could hear. “Me being chivalrous to him and letting him use this to help his image? That’s a huge gesture from me.”
She kissed him. Then pulled back, “Yours will always be the biggest, Fletcher.”
He chuckled. “Damn right.”
Then she closed her eyes and swallowed hard, pressing her hand to her stomach.
“You okay?” Fletcher asked.
She shook her head. “Do you remember the time, we were sitting in Ellie’s, brainstorming about how to fund the animal park and I threw up blue stuff all over the front of you?”
Fletcher processed that quickly. He shot back in his chair, hauled her up out of her seat, and headed for the back door.
They made it outside, but Fletcher still ended up with blue puke all down the front of him.
After Jordan took a shaky breath, she met his eyes.
And they both started laughing.
“I guess I owed you that,” she said.
“You had to be drinking blue shit tonight?”
“Sorry.” She didn’t really look sorry.
“This is so gross, Mrs. Landry.”
“I know.”
“And I still want you more than anything I’ve ever wanted before.”
“You’re so weird.” She grinned up at him with so much love in her eyes. “But damn, marrying you was such a great idea.”