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He watched her walk toward her car. It was no wonder she could boss around an entire room and snap at everyone. She’d led the perfect life. Her daddy probably bought her whatever she wanted and her mother probably adored her. He didn’t know what that was like.
He wanted to hate her for it, but all he could do was sigh and press his back against the cold metal of his Pontiac, closing his eyes to the dark memories threatening to overcome him.
Chapter Six
The next afternoon found the three women of the New Hope Foundation gathered around Gemma’s desk at the end of a staff meeting. They’d just finalized their Christmas calendar of events and somehow their conversation had drifted onto a certain gentleman in the other room. Gemma got up from her desk, wrapped her scarf around her neck and gave Chloe a disapproving glare. “He’s perfect, you know.”
Chloe nodded her head and stretched her arms high above her. It’d been a grueling day of work, staring at charts and graphs until her eyes went blurry. Five minutes until five o’clock and she couldn’t wait to get a little fresh air. “I know. He’s just about the perfect Joseph for my play. You should’ve heard him sing last night.”
Laurie exchanged glances with Gemma. They laughed and looked out the door, making sure Jordan couldn’t overhear them.
“She means he’s perfect for you,” Laurie said with an eager smile. Chloe grimaced and opened her mouth to argue, but she held up her finger. “Come on, not only is he a particularly beautiful specimen of the male variety, but he’s sweet and charming…”
“And doesn’t take your crap,” Gemma interrupted.
They both grinned at her as she struggled to find the words to argue. Sure, he seemed to be able to roll with the punches she threw. That was hard to find in a guy. And she wasn’t going to deny he had a perfectly angled face and chiseled arms. But the boy had been here for three days and never even hinted at being interested in her. And that was fine with her. She had more important things to worry about.
“I’m getting out of here before you get any ideas,” she announced, snatching her coat off the rack. “Take your silly little thoughts somewhere else.”
Sometimes she swore her friends acted more like middle schoolers than women in their late twenties. She could hear them giggle and cackle as she left Gemma’s office and strolled over to Jordan’s desk. He was hunched over a file, his white shirt rolled up to his elbows, revealing lovely forearms.
It’d been a struggle sitting across from him all day, listening to him hum and sigh to himself, wishing she could straighten his collar that he’d flipped under sometime around lunch. But that would’ve been intimate and unprofessional. And totally leading down a road she didn’t know if she wanted to travel. Instead, she’d finally escaped to Gemma’s office to clear her head.
Last night’s rehearsal had been nothing but a disaster. The dialogue was stale and forced. Children running everywhere. Her piano player couldn’t hit the right notes. Ashley Lynn showing her pinched face at the end. The only bright spot in the whole night had been Jordan and Amanda’s song. Jordan’s voice sounded soulful and rich, like he’d lived a hundred years instead of thirty. She could melt into that voice.
His acting, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. Stiff and unnatural, he smiled during the wrong parts and grimaced during others. Amanda had given him plenty of cues, helped him along with the actions, but he’d been about as romantic as a Raggedy Ann doll propped up on stage. She had some work cut out for her, that was sure.
“Come on, you.” Chloe stopped beside his chair and poked him in the shoulder. Her eyes darted to his muscular arms and then back to his face. “We’ve got homework to do.”
He turned to her and groaned. “Homework? I thought I was done with that after I graduated school.”
“Not yet. I’m going to teach you some romance, boy.”
His dark eyes grew wide and his eyebrows shot up into his forehead. She laughed at his slightly scared expression, which seemed to ease his nerves. He broke into a grin. “Romance?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry,” she winked at him, “I’ll pay.”
Twenty minutes later, they were standing outside of a large brownstone house with a wide porch and iron wrought railings on either side. Christmas lights lined the angles of the home, alighting the house in splashes of green, red, and white. A jolly old-fashioned Santa Claus in his sled stood on the front yard with two reindeer on the helm. Chloe marched past the front door and led him around to the back.
“My parents live upstairs,” she offered. “When my sister got engaged this summer, I moved into the basement apartment. Until I get my grad school loans paid off, I’m just another millennial living at home.”
He nodded and studied the home, his eyes trailing up to the immaculate yard covered in a thin blanket of pristine snow. “This is fancy.”
She shrugged. “We moved here when I was in middle school. I guess I’m used to it now.”
They descended a handful of stairs to a set of french doors with the curtains drawn tight. Chloe unlocked them and let Jordan head in. Flipping on the lights, she sighed at the sight of her tiny place. It was only a single bedroom apartment with a half bath and a small kitchen and living room, but it was all hers. She’d brightened the place up with sunflower yellow pillow throws and turquoise dining sets on the tiny round kitchen table. A family picture, featuring her parents and her older sister, Brianna, hung above a fake fireplace mantel.
“This is it,” she said with a happy sigh, throwing herself on the gray microfiber couch. “My castle. Have a seat.”
He sat tentatively on the opposite side of the couch, shedding his coat and gloves. She could tell he was wary of tonight’s project, as if she was going to attack him at any minute. Taking his coat and her own, she hung them up in her supremely organized little coat closet and grabbed a giant black binder.
“We’re going to start with Pretty Woman.” She dropped the open binder into his lap and pointed to the DVD. “Then, we’ll move onto Casa Blanca, Pride & Prejudice, and possibly The Notebook.”
He stared up at her, confusion clouding his eyes. “This is my homework?”
“Yes!” She sat next to him on the couch, their thighs touching. “We’re going to study the romantic parts. You might not believe in romance, but you’ve got to pretend. By watching these, you’ll get a good idea of what to do.”
His gaze trailed down to their touching legs. Chloe blushed and pulled away, putting just en
