Chapter 10 #2
And yes, he emphasized the word hot, which had Jordan wondering if he thought she was hot.
Why do I hope he does? Maybe because I find him insanely hot in a tall, strong, muscular, incredibly competent sort of way?
I’ve seen him three times, and I already know there’s not much that rattles him, certainly not fire or smoke or car crashes or women who aren’t breathing.
Since just about everything rattled her, Jordan had mad respect for people who kept their cool in a crisis.
“Wait for it,” he said as he navigated another bend in the dirt road. “This is what I wanted to show you.”
When they cleared the last curve in the road, they were treated to a view of the water, which was brightly lit by the full moon. It was truly one of the most beautiful things Jordan had ever seen. “Wow.”
“Right?”
“How’d you find this place? I’ve been coming here all my life and never knew this was out here.”
“Technically, this road isn’t open to the public, but we had a brush fire out here one night on a full moon. Now I come out here every time there’s a full moon.”
“Ah, I see. It’s part of your date formula, right?”
“What’s a date formula?”
“It’s when a guy has a reliable ‘wow’ package of things he does on every first date that’s guaranteed to leave an impression.
I had a friend in LA who always got tickets to either the Lakers or Dodgers, depending on the season, with dinner either before or after at the same place every time, followed by a drive up Mulholland to cap the night off with panoramic views of the city.
Worked like a charm for him. He got a lot of second dates. ”
“Huh, well, I’ve never had a first-date formula, and I’ve never been here with anyone else for the full moon.”
Jordan gave him the side-eye. “Really?”
“Really,” he said, laughing. “You’re so jaded.”
“Wouldn’t you be if your husband released a video of you having sex so the whole world could see what you look like when you come?
” The words were out before she took even a second to consider what she was saying—or who she was saying it to.
They’d been having a nice time, and she had to go and ruin it. “Sorry, that was a bit intense.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you, and I don’t blame you for being bitter.”
“Did you watch it? When you looked me up before, did you watch the video?”
“I didn’t and I won’t. I swear.”
“Good.” She released a deep breath full of relief. “He took down the original, but there’re bootleg copies all over the place. It’s like a game of whack-a-mole. We get one taken down, and another pops up. I’ve begun to accept that this is my life now.”
“I can’t think of anything worse than someone I loved violating my trust that way.”
“It’s part of the toxic cocktail that was our marriage.
And I went back to him after that.” She shook her head, her expression regretful.
“That was the breaking point for Nik. She was my manager before I went back to him.” And why was she telling Mason this crap?
What did he care about the shitshow her life had become? “Anyway…”
Mason reached over and placed his big hand on top of hers, infusing her entire body with warmth. “I’m sorry for what he put you through. You deserve better.”
Jordan appreciated that he expressed only regret, not pity.
She couldn’t bear to have him pity her. “Some of it was my fault. I put up with it way longer than I should have. I got caught up in the nonsense that comes from being famous for no good reason. It was fun and exciting at first, and then, it wasn’t.
So here I am with millions of followers on Twitter and Insta and no idea what to do with them. ”
“What do you want to do?”
He didn’t remove his hand, which was fine with her.
She liked the way his hand enveloped her much smaller one.
He made her feel safe, which was such a relief after the unpredictable man she was married to.
“I have no idea, which is my biggest problem at the moment, now that I’ve been given this second chance at life thanks to you.
I’m contracted to do another season of my show, but I really don’t want to.
I can’t see how the show works anymore without me married to him.
He was the reason the network wanted me. ”
“It wasn’t just about him. They wanted you for you, too.”
She looked over at him. “How do you know that?”
“I told you. I’ve seen the show.”
“I still can’t believe that. You’re not exactly my target demographic.”
“How do you figure?”
“My show appealed to shallow young women who’re mostly about their phones, their look, their social media accounts.”
“And men who like to watch sexy women be sexy.”
Jordan thought nothing he could’ve said would’ve shocked her more than to hear he’d watched her show, but then he managed to top that. “It was silly.”
“It was fun—and funny and interesting.”
“Come on. You’re joking, right?”
He turned in his seat so he could better see her. “I’m one hundred percent sincere. I enjoyed the show the few times I caught it. You and your friend Gigi were funny to watch.”
“Because she’s certifiable. She’ll say anything.”
“And you were the sensible one.”
“She’d be in jail if it wasn’t for me, even if she’s a lawyer. We’re not sure how that actually happened, but she swears her law degree is legit.” She turned toward him. “I can’t believe you watched the show.”
“I read that you had between six million and eight million viewers. Why wouldn’t one of them be me?”
“You make a good point. Listen, the show is dumb. I always knew that, but I was proud of it. We made something from nothing.”
“You should be proud of it, Jordan. Millions of people enjoyed it.”
“I think half of them have emailed or hit me up on Insta and Twitter to ask when we’ll be back. The network is pressuring me.” She shrugged. “All that feels like a million years ago since things blew up with my husband.”
“You should do whatever you want now. You’re a star in your own right, separate from him. People responded to you and to Gigi on the show. It wasn’t about him. Maybe they were interested in the show at first because of your connection to him, but that’s not why they kept coming back.”
“You’re very good for a girl’s fragile ego.”
“Your ego has absolutely no reason to be fragile.”
She turned her palm up to connect with his and wrapped her fingers around his hand. “Your hands are huge.” Placing her palm against his, she realized his hand was easily twice the size of hers.
“I’ve heard that before.”
“Did you play basketball?”
“All the way through college.”
“I bet you were good.”
“I was okay. I lacked the fire in the belly you need to make something of it. I preferred weightlifting, much to my basketball coach’s dismay.”
“Can I ask you something else?”
“Anything you want.”
“Last night, when you were, you know, saving me, did something weird happen between us, or was that just me?”