When the excitement swelled to its peak and the signing was officially over, Patricia encouraged anyone that wanted a picture with her to come to the opposite side of the conference room so they could take them. Jordan felt like a snotty, teary mess, but thankfully, none of the other guests seemed to mind all that much. As he wiped his eyes and walked across the room to Rex, he was met with nothing but understanding smiles and comforting squeezes to his shoulders. He saw the familiar faces of people he never would’ve imagined stopping by. This had yet to sink in, and he remained suspended in reality, floating in the surrealism.
When he reached Rex, he couldn’t say anything. He’d planned on a smartass comment or giving him a bit of shit for their fight weeks ago, but it was physically impossible. The only thing he could do was throw his arms around Rex and take in his familiar smell. He’d longed to inhale it just one more time, and now he finally could.
“I’m sorry, Jordan,” Rex said low enough so that only Jordan could hear him. All eyes might’ve been on the two of them, but only Jordan needed to hear those words. If he could tear out his heart and turn it around so that the other man could see just how shitty he felt, he’d do it in…well, a heartbeat. There wasn’t enough stress that he could put on it, not enough words to emphasize all the ways he felt sick for nearly destroying everything Jordan had worked to build.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated, squeezing him closer. “I’m so fucking sorry, Jordan.”
Jordan pulled back and cupped his face. “Stop apologizing, weirdo,” he said, laughing through his tears.
“I’m just… Fuck, I was so stupid. I thought that running away would keep you from getting more hurt. I let my dad get in my head and convince me that I was just like him. But I’m not. I’m not leaving you. I’m not running away from the way I feel about you, JJ. Because I do feel for you. More than anyone else has ever made me feel.”
The word-vomit spilling out of Rex’s mouth made Jordan’s heart thud its way up into his throat, and he buried his face in the taller man’s neck again, another wave of tears springing in his eyes. “I feel the same way,” he said, his voice muffled.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, it’s actually really annoying.”
“You’re just annoyed you fell for someone as cool and interesting and complex and sexy as me. It’s okay, you can say it.”
When their laughter quieted down and the attendees began talking and trading numbers for future Meet Cute Club alerts, Jordan wiped his face and asked, “How did you even afford all this? Flying Patricia out must have cost a fortune. You didn’t have to do all this…”
“First, I did. Hell, right now I’m wondering if I should’ve done more. Because you deserve more than just this. You deserve a lifetime supply of… I don’t know, all the Harlequin books you want. You deserve to be the inspiration for a romance novel of your own. Maybe Patricia will take some notes and put you in a book of hers as a character.”
Jordan’s eyes went wide. “Stop, don’t get my hopes up. A shout out is one thing. Being a character in the book would kill me.”
Rex chuckled softly. “I’m just saying, if I could make all that happen, I would. I was supposed to use all the money I made from the garage sale on a new bike because, apparently, my old one is ‘wack,’ but I decided this was a worthier cause.”
Hearing that insult to his bike put a smile on Jordan’s face. “You shouldn’t have used it all on me, Rex. You earned that money.”
“Nah, it was Nana’s stuff that I sold. Something tells me that she’d want me to spend it on you.”
Rex knew his grandmother. She’d believed in love more than anything else. If it had been between getting a new bike and him showing Jordan how much he cared about him, there was no doubt in his mind which option she’d choose. He refused to disappoint her, even if she was no longer with him.
“Thank you, Rex,” Jordan said, reaching up to hold the back of the man’s neck. “I’m sorry for being mean to you when we fought. I shouldn’t have brought up your dad.”
“Maybe not, but it was the kick in the ass I needed. That man doesn’t get to define me. He doesn’t get to deprive me of a happy home and the man I love.”
Jordan’s brows went up in surprise. “You love me?”
“You serious?” Rex asked, scoffing. “Do I love you… The nerve.”
Jordan laughed and planted a quick kiss on his lips. “I think I might love you, too.”
“You think?”
“I dunno, I think all these kissing books have given me way too high expectations,” he teased. The first time he’d ever met Rex, the man had chastised him for being obsessed with romance books, yet here he was now, putting together the best Meet Cute Club meeting anyone had ever seen.
“I’m already tired of your smart ass,” Rex grunted.
“No, you’re not,” Jordan said between kisses. “You love me and my smart ass, remember?”
“Yeah, well now I’m rethinking it,” he chuckled. “I also wanted to tell you something.”
Rex’s tone got serious, and for a moment, fear crossed Jordan’s face. They were in the perfect moment right now. It felt like they were the only ones in the room, lost in a private conversation that everyone was smart enough not to interrupt. Whatever Rex wanted to tell him didn’t sound good, and he braced himself for impact.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, it’s just… I’ve been talking to the lady helping me sell the house. She says she talked to the buyer, and they’re really interested in purchasing the place. They want to get it as quickly as possible. It’ll take a few weeks to finalize everything and process the payment, but after Nana’s place sells, there’s no reason to stay around. I know you said you forgive me, but I need you to tell me to stay, JJ. I need you to give me a reason.”
Rex’s face contorted, and his voice grew soft in a way that Jordan had never seen before. It was as if every façade he’d put up was coming down, revealing the truth that Rex Bailey wasn’t the impenetrable, sarcastic douchebag that he pretended to be. He was human like everyone else, and he just wanted reassurance. He wanted to be told that he was needed.
Jordan brought Rex’s hand to his lips and kissed a knuckle. Then he placed Rex’s hand on his chest. “I want you to stay. Stay in Sweet Rose, Rex. Don’t leave me again, okay?”
Rex’s brows knit together, and he looked as if he were barely fighting back tears of his own. Jordan kissed his hand again, and that’s when Rex nodded slowly.
“Okay. I’ll stay.”
Rex pulled him close for a deeper kiss, and for a split second, he lost himself in it, absorbing every little thing about Jordan. The way his curly hair felt between his fingers, and how the small of his back arched perfectly when Rex’s arm slid around it. This was the kind of kiss to wipe any doubts from the minds of the indecisive. The kind of resolution he’d been convinced just wasn’t in the cards for him.
He’d needed the idea of never having this again to make him realize that Jordan wasn’t just a temporary thrill but rather an immovable part of his story that he didn’t want to end. He wasn’t going to leave Sweet Rose. He was going to stay his ass right where he belonged.