Ready to Run (I Do, I Don't 1)

Jordan put on a running shirt as she listened to her boss’s muffled voice order her usual triple grande almond soy latte.

“Okay, sorry. What’s up—I know that tone. You’re feeling guilty about something.”

Jordan took a breath. “I’m wondering if I can retroactively take the past week as personal time. I haven’t been working as much as I should, and it feels wrong to pretend that I’ve been here completely for work purposes.”

Raven made an intrigued sound. “Jordie, baby. You having a fling with a cowboy? That’s delicious.”

Jordan winced. “You sound like Simon.”

Raven cackled. “No denial, I love it. Look, do whatever you want to do about the past week; you’re entitled to a vacation, and nobody’s going to lose their shit that you dinked around in Montana on the company dime. I’ve seen your expense reports—it’s not like you’re ordering expensive champagne in a five-star Paris resort and calling it work.”

Yeah, but I’m sleeping with the candidate. So much worse.

Before she could figure out how to tell her boss that, Raven threw her a curveball.

“I’m actually glad you got some break time in,” Raven was saying, “because shit’s about to get crazy.”

“How do you mean?” Jordan said with a frown.

“So you’re off the hook on the firefighter, because I think we found an even better candidate for season one, and the execs are ecstatic.”

“Really? Who?” Jordan asked, her professional pride stinging a bit at the realization that she hadn’t come through the way she should have.

“He was basically dropped in our laps. I’ll fill it all in when I get there.”

“When you get…where?” Jordan asked, struggling to keep up.

“Okay, that’s the other thing,” her boss was saying gleefully. “We’ve already got our second spin-off figured out, and it’s all thanks to you.”

“I’m…totally not following.”

“This is why you should have picked up my calls! It turns out that your firefighter’s third bride—the one you couldn’t get any intel on? She’s a total babe. Like, the camera’s going to freaking love her.”

Jordan’s stomach dropped. “You found Eva?”

She knew she was supposed to be happy. It was what the show wanted—needed. But the thought of Luke coming face-to-face with his ex made her want to throw up. Whatever Luke felt for this Eva woman was undeniably complicated.

What if Eva coming back into his life made him rethink…everything?

“Eva found us,” Raven clarified gleefully. “Apparently she heard about you sniffing around in the middle of nowhere and got in touch with the corporate offices, offered to do a tell-all about being left by the firefighter on her wedding day.”

Jordan put a hand against her still-fluttering stomach. “Wait, so—”

“It’s going to be so juicy,” Raven rambled on. “Not only is she the perfect candidate for season two, but since we have plenty of time, we’re going to do a whole backstory, get plenty of before footage of her and the firefighter.”

“His name is Luke, and what do you mean, before footage?”

“I’ll be there with a film crew. I’ll need your help organizing everything.”

Jordan couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. “I’m not following. What am I organizing?”

“We’ll need your help on the where, but my vision is this: We get into town, with Eva. And get the reunion of her and Luke on camera. It’ll be perfect. The guy who left her at the altar having to see her face-to-face for the first time?”

“You’re bringing Eva here?”

“Her idea, and I think it’s sort of brilliant. We can do a whole before episode, air it right after the finale of season one, have people dying for season two.”

Jordan didn’t move, her running shoes forgotten at her feet.