Meet Cute Club (Sweet Rose Book 1)

by Jack Harbon

  “This is very real,” she chuckled.

  “Okay, but why?” He didn’t mean to be rude, but the excitement in his stomach overrode his manners. Were Sherleen around, she would surely pop him in the mouth and tell him to show some damn respect. “Sorry, I’m just— I don’t—”

  “That’s okay, don’t apologize. I think if you read that letter right there, it might all make a little more sense.” Patricia pointed one perfectly-shaped white oval nail at the tiny pink envelope nestled in the stems of the roses.

  Almost too stunned to comprehend what she was not-so-subtly hinting at, Jordan snapped out of it long enough to reach forward and grab the envelope. Inside, he found a letter written in a tall, scratchy script that he recognized. Only Rex could have such a pretty face and such ugly penmanship.

  “You said don’t come back, so I sent someone else in my place. I’m not done apologizing. Ask Patricia what’s next.”

  It was cryptic and left Jordan both restless and eager to know what the hell they were going to do next. The pride in him wanted to tear the card up and tell Rex to shove all twelve roses up his ass, but somehow, some way, Rex had sent him flowers delivered by the one person in his life he loved more than his grandmother.

  Whatever kind of black magic Rex had done to get this woman here, Jordan wasn’t going to let it go to waste. Not with Patricia standing in front of him, smiling knowingly.

  “Um… What’s next?” he asked, doing exactly as Rex’s note said.

  “Well, there’s a car waiting outside for both of us. I’m not allowed to tell you where it’s going, but I can say that you probably won’t want to miss it. Will you ride with me, Jordan?”

  Hearing his favorite author say his name was nearly enough to make Jordan faint right there, but he kept his composure and nodded, practically jumping from his seat. “I have to ask my boss if I can leave early.”

  “Don’t bother. Rex already called him this morning. All you have to do is ride with me.”

  Every last word she spoke came out so eloquently, so perfect that Jordan was more than willing to sit there and listen to her read the phonebook, or even just the incredibly dull emails sitting in his boss’s inbox. Instead, he grabbed his jacket and pulled it on, snagging the large vase of flowers as well. Suddenly, he stopped in his place and turned to her.

  “Can I hug you? If not, I understand, I just—”

  Patricia’s hug shut him right up. She squeezed her arms around him and filled his nose with the smell of her rose and vanilla lotion. Right then and there, he decided that no hug would ever come close to this.

  Nobody in the world could hold a candle to Patricia, and he was willing to throw himself on the sword to protect her.

  “You’re so cute, you know that?” she asked, stepping back to cup his cheek. “C’mon. We don’t want to keep this Rex fellow waiting any longer than we already have. Something tells me every second we’re gone is eating him alive.”

  “Between you and me, let him squirm.”

  Her thin brows went up. “Ooh, someone in the dog house?”

  “He’s sleeping on the couch in the dog house,” he laughed.

  “You’re gonna have to tell me everything on the way there,” she replied, walking to the door. Jordan hurried after to her, speeding up to get the door for her. When they made it to the street, a simple black Honda sat waiting for them. The driver nodded as the two of them climbed inside.

  “Take us to…” Patricia’s gaze slid to Jordan, and she smiled conspiratorially. “Take us to this address, please.” She typed something on her phone and turned it to the driver, and he nodded.

  “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.

  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.