Page 21 of Smooth Moves
“He’s in a good mood. Strange.” Hector grinned. Too handsome for his own good, the stocky, muscular ex-Navy sailor had several women giving him the eye. Jordan liked working with him, and she liked hanging out with him even more. He set her at ease, almost like a protective older brother. And she’d never had anyone to look after her except the Army, not since leaving home at eighteen.
“It’s a strange kind of day,” she agreed.
“I heard that.” Lafayette, Hector’s identical twin, nodded. And by identical, Jordan meant theexact same. Same shade of brown skin, same laughing eyes, same big muscles. She could only tell them apart when they told her who was who.
“Lafayette, can Simon tell you two apart?” she asked of his new boyfriend, looking from him to Hector.
“As a matter of fact, he can.” Lafayette grinned wide. “That was also a huge factor in Hector giving my new man a glowing rating.”
“Rating?” Funny Rob dipped into his nachos. “Like on Yelp? Did you try him out first, Hector? Or are you just browsing?”
“Funny Rob, you’re really not that funny,” Hector muttered.
Lafayette laughed. “I don’t know. I like his sense of humor.”
“When do we get to meet Simon?” Jordan wanted to know. “I’ll tell you if he’s good enough for you. I have an eye for these things.”
“You do, do you?” Hector sized her up. “Why don’t we double date and see, Lafayette?” he asked his brother while flirting with Jordan.
Considering what a terrible thing she’d done by kissing Cash, Jordan decided a different good-looking man for a night might be just the thing she needed. “You know what? I’m in. But only as friends,” she emphasized when Hector lit up.
“Friends, sure. I’m down with that.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “Friend.”
Smith arrived with a new pitcher and made a face. “Keep it in your pants, Romeo. Don’t you know you never fuck around at work? Makes things awkward.”
Funny Rob blinked. “‘Fucking around’ has a lot of connotations, but you’re meaning that literally, huh?”
Smith frowned, and it felt as if a thundercloud darkened the area above his head.
Jordan was impressed. “You do menacing pretty well.”
Smith shrugged. “It’s a gift.”
“Speaking of menacing, where’s Cash?” Hector asked her, of all people.
“How should I know? I’m not his keeper.” She sounded defensive, even to herself. She got a few raised brows and groaned. “If you tell me I sound like him, I might just shoot you.”
Hector smothered a grin. “Another beer?”
She shook her head. “I can’t. Got an early appointment with Miriam tomorrow.”
The others froze.
“Okay, what did I say that’s got you all spooked?” Now more than ever she knew she didn’t have all the information about Miriam’s Modiste.
Lafayette put his beer down. “Say again? You have an appointment?”
Jordan nodded. “She’s giving a new session of empowerment classes. First one’s free, so I thought I’d check it out.”
Everyone leaned closer.
Hector’s and Smith’s wide grins looked feral.
Jordan scowled. “What’s wrong with Miriam?”
Hector laughed. “Nothing at all. But…promise you’ll tell us all about your ‘empowerment’ session on Monday.”
Lafayette leaned close to whisper something to Funny Rob, who broke out laughing while staring at Jordan.
