“I know exactly the place. Buckle up,” the driver replied.
Jordan followed instructions, stretching his belt across his chest and locking it in. He was suddenly thankful for the weighty vase in his lap, because if it weren’t there, he was sure Patricia would be able to see his knees bouncing up and down nervously.
Whatever was going on, Rex had certainly gone all out. Jordan could only hope it would all lead to something positive, unlike the last time they’d spoken.
Sixteen
No matter how many different ways Jordan tried to worm information out of Patricia, she gave him no hints about where they were going. Not even the driver slipped up and spilled the beans. Frustrated but amused, Jordan sat back in his seat and stared out the window. He watched the town around him zip by, completely lost until they turned up on a hill and it suddenly hit him.
“Riverside Library,” he said.
Patricia blinked, and a second later, she smiled.
“I’m right, aren’t I? That’s where we’re headed?”
“You’re not getting a word out of me, mister,” she said, making a show of zipping her lips and tossing the key out the window. Jordan didn’t need her confirmation, though. Something told him that they were headed up to the old library. For what? He had no damn idea. All he knew was that it made complete sense for Patricia Hayes to be taking him to the library.
When they pulled up to Riverside, Patricia climbed out first and gestured for Jordan to follow her. He held the bouquet close to his chest and walked in after her. The building was much louder than it had been when Rex brought him here, and when they stepped into one of the conference rooms in the back of the library, he saw why.
Rows and rows of chairs filled the center of the room, and at least fifty people looked their way when they passed through the doors. At the front of the room stood an easel with a large poster of Patricia’s headshot, and beside that, a long table with a plush chair, stacks of her latest release, and a microphone. To the left of the table was a smartly-dressed Black woman with long braids. Jordan could only assume she worked with Patricia, perhaps as a publicist.
When the audience saw Jordan and Patricia, they burst into applause. She gave a wave to the group and pulled Jordan in for a quick hug. “There’s a seat up front just for you,” she said. After that, she hurried to take her seat behind the table. Jordan set the vase beside the door and hurried to the front, still in shock at what was going on. Just as Patricia said, there was an empty chair next to Sherleen, and he hurried to sit next to her.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered, looking around.
“That boyfriend of yours told me Miss Hayes was gonna be here, and I told all my orderlies to get the hell out the way so I can see my favorite author,” she snickered.
“Sorry we’re late, everybody,” Patricia said into the microphone. “They don’t call me romance’s Lauryn Hill for nothing, right?”
The room filled with laughter, and Jordan eased back into his seat, spotting Rex across the room standing. He gave Jordan a quick nod, then pointed at Patricia as if to say, “pay attention.” Obeying the wordless command, he turned his gaze back to the woman of the hour.
“Anyway, I wanted to first start off by thanking everyone for being here today. It’s not every day that I get to meet readers, and it’s always so humbling to know that people care enough to come out and talk to me. I’d also like to thank Rhett Bailey for taking care of my flight and the hotel room. He’s organized one of the easiest bookings I’ve ever had, and I’m tempted to see if he wants to do this for me full-time.”
Hearing Patricia talk about her storytelling process was like getting a Masterclass session for a skill Jordan was never going to use. He relished in all the tips and tricks she gave the audience, knowing full well that he didn’t have the chops to be a writer. He was much more comfortable obsessing over the beautiful creations that came out of her head.
She was a natural up in the front too, expertly answering questions audience members had and giving useful pointers for anyone looking to publish books.
“Now that we’re in the 21st century, there’s no one to tell you what you can’t write. If you want to write about giant blue aliens that want to sleep with gorgeous humans, you can. If you want to write about marginalized people that a lot of publishers would turn their nose up at, you can. Hell, if I’d had access to self-publishing, I’d have gotten my books out there five years sooner,” she said.
Jordan’s heart broke at the thought of all the wonderful stories he could’ve added to his library had publishers not blocked those ideas from hitting the shelves. After answering questions about publishing, she swung back around to her next book. When Jordan got to ask his question, he sat upright.
“The only question I have is, when are Claudia and Darren going to finally stop fighting each other and realize they were made for one another?”
A few attendees called out in agreement, wondering the same thing.
Patricia laughed softly. “Well, my publisher is going to kill me for this, but I’ll say this: while the drama certainly isn’t over for the two of them, the next book in the series will finally see our leads making things a little more official.”
“A literal goddess,” Jordan groaned, speaking without thinking. Sherleen patted his shoulder as she laughed, and Patricia gave him a shy smile.
Jordan hadn’t been to many author appearances before, but the one thing he was certain of was that not a single one of them could hold a candle to the experience of meeting Patricia Hayes. She exceeded all of his expectations and proved his decade of dedication to be well worth it. After signing all the books brought up to her, she grabbed the microphone one last time.
“Today has been amazing, everybody. Sometimes, when you’re fighting against deadlines and downing coffee, you forget why you even started doing this in the first place. You lose your mind in a way. But being here today… It’s like a refresher course in why I do this. Why I tell these stories. I get to meet so many people. People I never would’ve assumed might care about my characters.” Patricia shot a pointed glance Rex’s way.
“But I’m so glad that I get to have these opportunities. I’m so glad that people are still reading not just my books, but all of romance. Despite all our flaws, this community is beautiful and diverse, and it taps into an emotion so many of us have. We just want to be loved, and to fall in love with love. That’s why I’ve decided that for the next year, I’m going to be footing the bill for all the books Meet Cute Club will be reading.”
Jordan choked on his spit. “What?”
Patricia grinned and continued. “If Meet Cute Club needs to rent a venue for meetings, I’ll cover that. Rather than Jordan spending his money on books himself, I’ll cover that, too. Anything the club needs, I want to take care of it as a thank you for reminding me why I do this thing. And Jordan, you will be getting a personal acknowledgement in my next novel.”
If finding out about Patricia’s generosity towards the club wasn’t enough, the idea of being mentioned in her next book had him in tears seconds after registering what she said. The audience burst into applause once again, and Sherleen pulled him in for a hug. Jordan couldn’t keep from crying. All the endless nights he’d spent worrying about the future of the club, and now Patricia was here telling everyone that they wouldn’t need to spend a dime to be part of it.