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“I’ll be here, Jordan,” she said with a wink.
The man and his cuff links finally walked away, and Luke stared at Jordan hard until she finally sensed his gaze and glanced over. “What?”
“What the hell was that?” he asked.
She straightened and fluffed her hair a bit. “That was a kiss. Followed by the arrangement of a date.”
“You said yes.”
“Well. Yeah. I’m single and he was cute.”
“You live in New York.”
“I’m aware of that, Luke,” she said, her tone just slightly impatient. “But a man who doesn’t think I’m a vulture in high heels wants to spend time in my company, and to be honest, I could use a little of that.”
The guilt made him grumpy, so instead of apologizing he snapped back, “Thought your business in Montana was work related—recruiting me.”
“Yes, well. You don’t want to be recruited, now, do you?” she said pleasantly.
He blinked. “Well, no, but…”
“I told my boss I thought you were a long shot, and she agrees with my assessment.”
Luke felt relief mingling with…something else. “So you’re going back to New York.”
“Soon,” she said. “The network’s not quite ready to give up on your story.”
“But you just said—”
“Luke,” she interrupted. “Have you ever seen The Bachelor?”
“Sure, yeah. All the guys and I have viewing parties down at the station.”
The sarcasm earned him a bland look before she continued speaking. “So, The Bachelor features a hot single guy, and a bunch of women try to win his heart, right?”
He nodded reluctantly.
“Well, The Bachelorette is a very successful spin-off. It features one of the women that the previous bachelor rejected and gives her a chance to find a better guy.”
“So? What does that—”
It clicked into place at the exact same time as Stacey and Isobel started making their way toward the kissing booth.
“Perfect timing,” Jordan said sweetly. “Hey, girls!”
Luke’s ex and her best friend both hugged Jordan enthusiastically, and Stacey jokingly put two fingers against Jordan’s neck, as though checking for a pulse, before moving over and doing the same to Luke. “Izzie and I drew the short straw, agreed to come over here and make sure you were both still alive.”
“Hearts seem to be racing a bit fast, but no bloodshed, so that’s positive. How’s it been going?” Izzie asked.
“I’m winning,” Jordan announced, lifting her box and giving it a little shake. “No surprise there.”
“Only because you’re agreeing to go out on dates with the customers,” he snapped.
“Oh, you’re just jealous because nobody asked you on a date. I’m not surprised, though. It’s probably the scowl. Isobel, don’t you think it’s the scowl?”
The quiet redhead Luke had known his entire life leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm as she studied him. “To tell you the truth, I never did really understand Luke
Elliott’s appeal.”
