Five

Five

JACE

My life has been turned upside down and spun on its head since Desideria stepped through my door. I placed the ad for a roommate to ease my finances while I got my marketing design company off the ground. One roommate who maintained a civil environment, paid their rent on time, and followed my rules for a clean house. What I got was a fellow nerd who can't put his shoes away and a fiery redhead who seems to enjoy bringing me to the brink of a panic attack daily.

I was ready to turn Desi away. It was clear from the moment I met her that she's a magnet for trouble. And that was before I knew she was on the hunt for a potential husband. I've had my fair share of emotional turmoil, and I swore to never knowingly let it into my life again. My business is my focus . . . my future. Nothing, and no one, is going to derail me from making my dream come true. But god, those big green eyes framed with long lashes had me tossing caution out the window and letting Desi move into my spare room.

Now, Desideria sits at a high-top table on the other side of the restaurant. She fits in with the ritzy patrons, her curls piled on top of her head and a black dress that does her curves justice. She runs her slender finger over the strand of pearls around her neck and takes a sip of her third gin and tonic. Her gaze has shot to the front door every time it opens, only to be followed by disappointment. It wasn't my intention to watch her crash and burn tonight. Far from it. Given my anxiety, I usually avoid places like this, but after the other night, I pushed those feelings aside.

When Desi texted me to tell me a man had his hands all over her, it sent a mixture of anger and worry through me. I didn't think twice about grabbing my keys and driving across town to the shithole known as Apex Fusion. It was the first time I'd driven above the speed limit in years, and still I'd caught every red light, seemed to get stuck behind every slow-ass driver on the road, and had to pull over for an ambulance and two fire engines. For every minute that passed, my heart pounded harder and harder in my chest. By the time I reached the club I'd chewed my lip raw, and I was terrified at what I might find when I walked through that door.

Anxiety is no friend of mine, but I know it well. Situations like that one send me into a spiral that goes deep. I can't stop picturing all the things that could go wrong, may have gone wrong already, or could go wrong in the future.

What if she came out of the bathroom and that dickhead was outside waiting for her and I got there too late?

What if there's a girl inside who knows him and sends him a text letting him know Desi's in the bathroom and he corners her in the stall?

What if he'd already drugged her drink?

What if I get inside and I can't find her? What if I have to fight that guy and I get arrested?

I did end up confronting the guy, and I was actually proud of myself for the way I handled it. Desi got to tell him off, and I got the satisfaction of intimidating the asswipe who made her feel like her only choice was to hide. The entire situation was enough to make her hesitant to schedule another date for the next week.

But she doesn't have anything to worry about tonight. The man who was supposed to meet her over an hour ago has yet to show, and I don't think he's going to. Based on the dejected look on Desi's face, she feels the same.

"Come on, man," I say to Cannon as I grab my beer. "Let's go put her out of her misery."

We weave through the maze of mahogany tables and black tie–wearing waiters. The closer we get to Desi, the clearer it is that she's crushed. Her chin rests in her palm, and she stirs her drink with a thin, black straw. If she understood how foolish her quest to find a husband is, she'd save herself a lot of heartache.

Cannon places his hand on her shoulder and gently asks, "Did that asshole stand you up?"

She looks up at him and one side of her mouth lifts in a sad excuse for a smile. "Yeah, looks like it."

I slide into the chair next to her, and Cannon sits across from us. My plan is to let him handle the relationship stuff. It was obvious the night I told Desi what I thought about falling in love that I wasn't cut out to help her. I can be the voice of reason—the one who reminds her to google where a guy wants to meet her before going—but I'm not the one to give her encouraging words when a jerk leaves her hanging.

"So much for y'all watching one of my dates from afar to tell me what you think is going wrong—or to make sure he's not a creeper. He didn't even have the common decency to show up." She downs her drink like a champ and clanks the empty glass on the table.

"I have to admit that I wasn't really down with spying on your entire date anyway," I say, rolling up my shirt sleeves and setting to work on my beer.

Leaning on an elbow and cocking her head to the side, she says, "Why did you agree to do it, then? You don't seem like the kind of guy who goes along with things he doesn't want to do. In fact, you seem like the total opposite."

She isn't wrong. And trust me, I struggled with whether or not I should tag along. I would have loved nothing more than to stay home and lose myself in a video game or my latest design for my company. When Cannon suggested we come along to make sure she was all right, he woke up that little nagging voice inside my head. It started giving me one horrible scenario after another. No matter how much I tried to counter it with reason, it kept going. I had to stop it before it spiraled out of control, and the only way to do that was to make sure Desi's date didn't get out of hand. Of course, I'd never tell her that.

I shrug and say, "It was a long day of reading contracts and starting a new project for a client. I was hoping the next guy's lame-ass excuse to get out of a date with you was because he had a pet llama."

"You're such a dick, man," Cannon says, glancing at Desi. "The woman asked us to help. How can you say no to that face?"

Desi scoffs and raises her glass to the bartender, who gives her a sad smile and a nod, as if he'd been serving her drinks for hours and knew her whole unfortunate story. "Looks like Hunter did."

"Desi—"

"No, seriously," she says, nodding her thanks when the server brings over her next drink. "What is wrong with me? I'm the common denominator here."

"It's not you, Desi. You're looking for it too hard. Good things have a way of finding you when you least expect them," Cannon says.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Cannon seriously should be a motivational speaker with all this hopeful, "let's look on the bright side" nonsense. When it comes to love, at least from what I've seen, there is no bright side.

Desi sighs and sits back in her chair. "I guess I'm going to just cool it with the dating for a little bit; maybe the right guy will just march up to me at the mall and tell me how gorgeous he thinks I am," she says with a breathy laugh, taking another sip of her drink.

I pull my lips between my teeth and stare at the bubbles floating up from the bottom of my glass. Desi is stunning. There is no question that she can find someone who would want to be with her just for that. But she deserves better. I've lived with her for going on two weeks and every day I'm unpacking a new Desideria mystery. Ninety days isn't enough time for anyone to fully know her, and it doesn't give her a fair chance to know them either. How the hell is she supposed to dedicate her entire life to someone she just met?

Taking a deep breath, I face her and say, "I don't understand why it's so important to your father that you get married. People run successful businesses and hold it together just fine without a partner. You said the other night that your dad would settle for you picking a friend. Why don't you go that route? Wouldn't it be easier?"

"Sure, it would be easier now, but if I did that, I would never be able to go back and change my mind. Whatever we choose is for eternity."

I raise an eyebrow. For eternity? What a strange way to phrase it.

Her cheeks flush and she continues, "For life. And then I'd never be able to marry for love. And I want that too much to settle."

I cock my head to the side and nudge her with my shoulder. "I don't know where you're from, Desideria, but your family has some strange customs. Around here, half the relationships don't last five years, let alone a lifetime."

"Trust me, I know it's strange. Which is why I'm really enjoying my time here. Thank you both for being my friends, honestly. I couldn't do this without your help."

It's clear she's feeling down and stressed about this whole situation. There's no need to keep harping on it.

Leaning in, I drape my arm over the back of her chair and stage-whisper, "You're not going to ask us to join your bizarre family business, are you?"

She laughs and elbows me in the side, to which I respond with an exaggerated oof. "No. You're safe from my father's brand of strange."

Damn, that bright smile and laugh. It's been a long time since someone genuinely laughed at one of my stupid jokes. I would sit here all night acting a fool just to see and hear that again.

"Jace! What a surprise to see you here."

At the sound of a familiar, yet out of place voice, I swivel in my seat. A man with salt and pepper hair wearing a suit claps me on the back.

Matt Brown. The one investor I am dead set on bringing onboard to financially back Aftermath. I don't trust many people in our industry. I've seen ideas stolen and projects swept out from under a designer after they've done all the legwork. But Matt is an anomaly. Not only does he care about the integrity of his personal reputation, he has the capital to help fund my company, and he's an incredible graphic designer. Scratch that, he is the god of graphic design. I've admired his art for years. If he believed in my work and what I'm doing, it would validate every dream I'm chasing.

"Hey, Matt. It's good to see you," I say, rising to push my chair back so I can stand to shake his hand.

"No, no," he replies, gesturing for me to remain seated. "Don't get up. You look cozy." A good-natured but teasing smirk turns up the corner of his lips. "Who's this beautiful woman you have with you?" he says after leaning over the table and exchanging a quick introduction with Cannon.

My cheeks heat from the implication that Desi is with me. "Oh, this is Desideria. She's my—"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Desideria. I'm Matt Brown." He brings Desi's knuckles to his lips and places a light kiss on them. "Your date is one hell of a graphic designer. He's one of the best I've seen in a long time. This guy has talent seeping out of every pore."

Wow. I never realized Matt was such a flirt. He's way too old for Desi, and I'm pretty sure he's on his fourth marriage, but he's laying it on thick. It's clear she's already enchanted him, and he's only just met her. And my date? What is he talking about? Why would he automatically think I'm her—oh. My arm. It's draped over the back of Desi's chair. Shaking my head, I stifle a laugh. This should be interesting.

Desi flashes Matt that same smile I was admiring, slides her palm onto my thigh and squeezes, saying, "Doesn't he, though? I've never seen someone who can just . . . envision something and then turn around and create it so easily, just like that." She snaps her fingers and turns her head to look at me adoringly. "Not to mention he's the best human I know."

Well, then. The woman can beat Matt at his own game. I shouldn't be surprised. Desi's always quick on the comebacks. I was shocked to hear she put her foot in her mouth before she had a chance to leave the house with her first date. She's blunt and never afraid to ask a question, but she has this charm that gets to me even when she's infuriating me.

Matt chuckles. "And I thought I got a hard-on from your work. I think Desi is outranking me as your number one fan."

I open my mouth to downplay the compliment, but Desi beats me to it, saying, "I'm pretty sure Jace is just as turned on by your work. He practically has a shrine to you in our hallway."

And there it is, Desideria's blatant charm. I search for the nearest table to hide under. This is going to be bad. He's going to think I'm some kind of pervert. I'll have to close the business. My career is going straight down the—

Matt quirks a brow. "Your girl is good. I just might write you a check right now."

My jaw drops, and Desi pinches my knee, bringing me out of my shock. I've been working for months to get a reaction out of Matt. Detailed proposals and insight into new accounts, I've done it all. He's responded to each effort with a simple: Thanks. I'll take a look when I can. If I'd known all I needed to do was tell him his work turns me on, I would have sent him a dick pic a long time ago.

Desi leans into me and rests her head on my shoulder. "I guess Jace better keep me around, huh?"

"He better," Matt says, giving me a pointed look. "He's going to need you the week after next at the charity dinner I'm inviting you both to. Some other well-known designers will be there with their pieces up for auction. It'll be a good networking opportunity for him, and I'm sure you'll be amazing at winning them all over."

Charity dinner?Matt's never so much as invited me out for coffee before, and after one meeting with Desi, I'm in with the bigwigs? Is this girl working some sort of witchcraft? I slide my hand into hers where it still rests on my knee.

"Sounds like a good time," I say, looking down at Desi. "You up for it?"

She glances up at me, those green eyes twinkling with mischief as she winks. "I'm up for anything, Wilder."

Matt claps his hand against my shoulder. "Good. Let's see how you do with a roomful of your peers. If you can win those cocky bastards over, I have to believe there's nothing you can't do." He tips his head at Desi, saying, "It was a pleasure meeting you. Cannon, keep an eye on your friend; he has his hands full with this one."

"Will do," Cannon responds, lifting his drink to his lips to hide his smile.

Once Matt is out of sight, all the stress disappears. I sink back in my chair like a human Jell-O formation. "Holy hell. That's the best conversation I've ever had with Matt. Even during my business presentation he didn't interact with me that much."

Desi props her elbow on the table and rests her chin in her palm. "Yeah? I wonder what the difference was . . ." She purses her lips and looks up at the ceiling in mock thought.

She was fantastic. I've spent months trying to figure out an in with Matt, and she wins him over during a brief introduction. Her intuition is impeccable. I've never seen anyone read someone the way she did.

"Where is that confidence on your dates? If you brought that to the table, you would be irresistible," Cannon says.

Desi tosses her hands in the air. "I'm trying, but these guys aren't making it easy when they run off before the date starts or don't show up at all."

"Hey, you have a willing second date right here, just tell me when you're available."

My eyes dart between them, and a heavy feeling spreads through my gut. My roommates hooking up is bound to lead to issues in the house. Just the thought of them together while I'm in the next room. . . I drain the rest of my beer and slam my glass on the table.

It's a childish move. One that draws their attention and makes me feel like an asshole. Why should I care if they get together? They're adults and what they do is none of my business.

"Are we good to get out of here?" I ask, jumping to my feet.

Cannon stands and holds out his fist. "Yeah, man. I believe you and I have a campaign to finish tonight."

"I've been thinking about it all day," I say, bumping my knuckles with his.

It's a lie. Every thought I had about video games and work vanished earlier tonight when Desi came downstairs in that little black dress. I couldn't take my eyes off her during the Uber ride here, or while she sat alone waiting for her date. No matter how hard I tried to steer the conversation to one of the many hobbies Cannon and I have in common, I couldn't stop thinking about the swing of her hips or that shade of pink on her mouth. And now I can't stop thinking about how jealous I am that Cannon will take her out on another date.