“Oh my god,” he exclaimed. “You look amazing.”
Her saunter was exaggerated as she walked to the living room. “Decided to try a new hairstylist, and she convinced me to try a new look. Plus, now that it’s blonde, I can dye it any color when I eventually get bored of all this.”
Lana may not have been all that reliable, but Jordan admired her willingness to go with the flow and follow wherever her desires took her. For him, everything needed to be neat and pretty. If he lacked any kind of order, he found that his stress levels got even worse, and with high blood pressure running in his family, he made sure to keep his health a priority.
The meeting began at exactly noon. Jordan was surprised to see that Rex had made it on time. He’d expected Rex to show up near the end of the meeting, not at all committed to actually being there. He ignored the urge to simply stare at Rex from across the room and stood up, starting off the meeting.
“Thanks for being here today, everyone!” he said, looking around the room at the other members. “I’ve been really excited to talk about The Duke’s Deadly Bride all week.”
“Me too!” Gloria said, nodding. “Jennifer really outdid herself on this one. I mean, that twist at the end? Probably the best thing I’ve read all year.”
And so began the discussion of their latest book. Gloria went on and on about how well-paced this book was compared to Jennifer’s last release, and Jordan had to agree that she had a point. A Duel of Dukes was steamier, but it didn’t have the same kind of oomph that Jennifer’s other books did. Madeline chimed in to say that it was nice seeing a Black character that wasn’t treated terribly or just outright ignored.
As their conversations tripped over one another, Jordan couldn’t help but notice how quiet Rex had been all afternoon. He’d nodded in agreement, but despite his love of getting on Jordan’s nerves, he hadn’t said much of anything.
“What about you, Rex? Did you like the book?”
“I did,” he said, glancing at the others. “It’s…kind of the first romance book I’ve read, so I have nothing to compare it to. It wasn’t that bad, though.”
Satisfaction warmed Jordan, and he smiled confidently. “Hey, ‘not that bad’ is a step up from the other things you said.”
“I’m making progress,” Rex replied facetiously. Despite his grumping and complaining, Jordan was pleased that he’d actually finished the book in its entirety. The man he’d met at Millerstone wouldn’t have touched one of these books, let alone read it through.
When the conversation branched off and the members talked amongst themselves, Jordan rose from his seat and headed into the kitchen for refills. He had a hard time keeping the grin off his face as he brought out more muffins. This was what he needed. The stress of work and the impending doom that might fall upon Meet Cute Club had kept him from enjoying the good things he had going on for him.
“Do I get a gold sticker for finishing this thing?” Rex asked when Jordan took a seat across from him.
“Not until you do all your other chores, like taking out the trash and making your bed,” Jordan replied coolly, though his words lacked any bite. He knew what Rex was doing, trying to distance himself from the fact that he’d read Duke’s.
“That hardly seems fair.”
“I can pull an Elizabeth and tell you that men shouldn’t be rewarded for doing what’s required of them.” Jordan raised an eyebrow, challenging him. One thing he’d loved about the book was how Elizabeth rarely took any of Hawthorne’s shit.
“And do you remember what happened immediately after that scene, Jordan?”
Jordan flushed. He recalled desperately flying through those pages, devouring their love scene despite how innuendo-heavy and vague it had been. “I remember.”
“So, if you’re Elizabeth and I’m Hawthorne, that means—”
“Would you look at the time?” Lana said, glancing at her phone. “I’ve got to get out of here, but I’ll text you guys later! Can’t wait to start Deadly Lovely Mine.”
Charles nodded and said, “Yes! That one sounds really good.”
Soon after Lana left, the others decided to head out as well. Jordan stood by the door, thanking each of the members for coming and wishing them a safe drive home. When he turned around, Rex stood in the living room with his gaze aimed right at him. Jordan swallowed hard.
“Are you…staying?”
“I thought I’d help clean up. No one else seemed to be offering, so…”
“That’s nice of you,” Jordan noted, taking a hesitant step towards him. “You really don’t have to, though. I do this by myself all the time, anyway.”
“That’s because I wasn’t a member of Meet Cute Club before. Now I am.”
Jordan tried his best to keep his expression neutral, because inside, he was having a minor freak out. What was Rex’s game plan here? Did he truly just want to help out, without any caveats or ulterior motives?
“Okay,” Jordan said. “You can help me clean up all these bottles and the cupcake liners if you want.”
“Sure.”
They worked at opposite ends of the living room, grabbing various bottles of water, glasses of tea, and other small pieces of trash that had been left around by the other members. Jordan reached for a balled-up cupcake liner just as Rex did, and he wanted to die on the spot.
How absolutely painfully cliché was this?
Jordan pulled his hand back quickly, muttering a brief, “I’m sorry.”
Cool as ever, Rex chuckled and grabbed the trash. “Don’t be, handsome.”
Before he could spontaneously combust and paint his white walls red, Jordan carried his haul of garbage to the kitchen, where he dumped it all in the bin and washed his hands. Rex was right behind him a moment later.
As he ran his hands beneath the faucet, Rex said, “I read that other book you recommended, too. The Patricia Hayes one.”
“Yeah?” It didn’t matter who it was; Jordan always got giddy when people said they read the books he’d suggested. “What’d you think about it?”
“Much better than Duke’s. There was no obnoxious grand apology with a dozen hand-picked roses or anything, so right off the bat, that makes it ten times better. You were right about me liking it more.”
“See?” Jordan smirked. “I told you it was good. Have I turned you into a fan yet?”
Rex reached for a paper towel to dry off his hands. “Not even close,” he said. “I may need some more convincing to stay in the club.”
“If all these muffins and drinks didn’t convince you, nothing will.”
“No, I can think of some things that might.” Rex took another step towards him, dragging his fingers over the dining table.
Jordan was willing to play this game. “What kind of things?”
“I’ve always been convinced by a nice pair of lips.”
It was a fairly effective line, but Jordan wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. He took the next step, only a foot away from the other man. “Where in the world could we find a pair of those?”
“You seem to be in possession of two perfectly good ones.”