She paused in the process of taking a sip of wine. “You’re not a vegetarian, are you?”
Jordan bit her bottom lip. “Um—”
“Ah crap,” Bree said, before turning her head toward the grill. “Ryan! Add some of those big mushrooms I got yesterday to the grill.”
Ryan looked at his wife, tilting back the bottle of beer to his mouth. “Mushrooms?” He made it sound like a dirty word. “What the hell for?”
Bree tilted her head toward Jordan. “Vegetarian here. Simon, what about you?”
Everyone had stopped chatting now, and Simon gave their hostess a wide smile. “I eat everything, ma’am; I’m sure whatever you serve will be absolutely delicious.”
Jordan gave him a dirty look, before obviously mouthing traitor and making the group laugh.
Well, most of the group. Luke didn’t crack a smile.
He did, however, meet her gaze when she glanced out of the corner of her eye, and just as with that first time this afternoon, Jordan felt it straight in her belly.
He was so…intense.
Not surly intense. He smiled—a great smile, although it was rarely directed at her. He laughed easily, although it sometimes seemed just a touch forced. But there was a quiet energy to him, as though he had boiling emotion on lockdown deep inside and tried to hide it with good-guy ease and a backward cap.
“One giant mushroom coming right up, along with a side of judgment,” Ryan called, winking at Jordan before he headed into the kitchen.
“Has everyone had enough to drink that we can finally get to the good stuff?” Bree asked the group. “Anyone else dying to know more about this show Jordan and Simon are
trying to recruit our boy for?”
The half dozen or so Lucky Hollow locals nodded enthusiastically.
Jordan tried to evade. “I really should discuss it with Luke first….”
“Not interested,” he said, ambling forward and pulling another beer from the bucket.
“Ah, come on, Lukey,” Bree said, giving his butt a playful tap. “We all want to see you hand out roses to pretty, crazy women.”
“Wedding invitations, actually,” Simon said.
Everyone’s attention snapped to him. “Come again?”
“Well,” Simon explained, setting aside his gin and tonic to free his hands for their usual waving-while-explaining antics. “Our thought is that Jilted will be the same general premise as The Bachelor but kicked up a notch. Our bachelor will still be a bachelor, but instead of merely being single, he’s someone who’s gotten close to the altar but dodged it multiple times.”
Jordan quickly scanned the group, trying to figure out if anyone would take offense to bringing up Luke’s romantic history. Everyone seemed amused, as though his failed weddings were both old news and fair conversational game.
Even Luke didn’t look particularly bothered by the topic, although she supposed that could have just been self-protecting. But she couldn’t tell. She couldn’t get a read on the guy, which normally wouldn’t be a problem, except she needed to figure out his deal ASAP if she was going to convince him to be their guy.
“Okay, so what’s with the wedding invitations?” asked Hailey Withers, a sweet, curvy brunette with a big laugh. During introductions, it had come out that the very likable Hailey had graduated from high school with Luke and had known him basically forever. Hailey’s husband was every bit as friendly, also born-and-raised in Lucky Hollow, although he’d graduated a few years ahead of Hailey and Luke.
Simon was rubbing his hands together, preparing for showtime. “Well…”
Everyone leaned in, and Jordan good-naturedly rolled her eyes. Simon really had missed his calling. Forget the legal thing—he totally should have gotten a job in sales. Or the theater.
“It’ll go like this,” Simon said. “Our runaway groom will visit with all the ladies, looking for the love of his life. At the end of each episode, every woman is given a glass of champagne and an envelope.”
The group was enthralled. Jordan glanced at Luke to see if there was even a nugget of interest.
But once again she felt a surge of frustration, because his face and body language betrayed nothing. He must have felt her gaze, because he glanced over, only to look away again, as though completely indifferent to her presence.
“What’s in the envelopes?” Bree asked eagerly, sipping her wine.