Chapter 18
Jade
“All things pass, the good and the bad.”
~ Nora O’Sullivan
“One more date,” I whispered to myself. That was all I had to get through.
Technically, it was two but my final date was with Cooper, so it didn’t really count.
I stared up at the twenty-story building toward the top floor restaurant where I was supposed to meet the man that the matchmaker had set me up with. My consultation with her lasted several hours. I had filled out a personality profile and completed a one-on-one interview that consisted of a seemingly endless game of Would You Rather?
I understood why she was asking me if I’d rather have one meal for the rest of my life and it could be any meal I chose, or if I’d rather have a different meal each time I ate for the rest of my life but I wouldn’t have any control over what it was.
I was aware that it was to find out if I was adventurous or a control freak. Spoiler alert: I was a control freak. There was no way I was going to let someone else decide what I could eat. Then she asked the same question, but this time the different meal was decided by the man that I chose to marry.
Instantly Hayden’s face popped into my mind and I switched my answer. I said that I would let my fictitious husband pick my meals because I’d imagined marrying Hayden and the truth was, I trusted him.
I trusted Hayden on a very elemental level.
That was a surprise. Before this interview, if anyone would’ve asked me if I trusted him, I would’ve automatically said no. No way. Uh-uh. Not even a little. But a matchmaker’s test told me different.
I hadn’t seen him in four days. Well, technically I’d seen him, I just avoided him each time. At the grocery store, I’d left my cart and bailed out the emergency exit, thankfully the alarm hadn’t worked for years. Two days ago, I rushed out the back door of the Tipsy Cow when I saw him come in and then when he stopped by my house with flowers, I pretended like I wasn’t home. I’m sure he knew I was home since my Jeep was parked out front. But I didn’t answer the door.
He’d texted, called, and emailed me every day. I’d answered his emails that pertained to Hero Rescue and the grand opening tomorrow night, but I’d ignored everything else. Every day I thought it would get easier, that I wouldn’t think about him as much, but it wasn’t easier and I was thinking about him more than ever. If anything, it was getting harder and harder to stay away from him.
After my mini-meltdown the other day, I had actually felt better. It was cleansing, and I’d felt lighter. I was going to be really upset if all this time all I’d needed to do was sob uncontrollably for a few hours.
I took a deep breath and shook out my arms. This was not the time to be thinking about Hayden or thinking about my mini-meltdown. I had a complete stranger to meet.
As the sliding glass doors parted and I stepped into the lobby of the building, I was impressed by the gorgeous décor. It had a rustic-meets-industrial motif and my mind immediately went to the Tipsy Cow. It badly needed a renovation, and although this wouldn’t exactly work, it was a good starting point. I took out my phone to snap some pics and saw that I’d missed a text from Hayden.
It was short, sweet, and to the point.
I miss you. Hope you’re having a great day.
Ignoring the message, I took the pics and put my phone back in my purse. Someday, probably someday soon, I would need to deal with that situation, but today was not that day.
Taking another deep breath I crossed to the elevator bay and my heart raced as I pushed the button. I hadn’t been nervous on any of my other dates. Somehow this one seemed more serious. Probably because it had required a three hour interrogation first.
As I entered the elevator I glanced down at my plain black dress. I wondered if I was going to be over or underdressed. I’d heard good things about this restaurant but I’d never been.
The ride up was short and before I knew it the doors were opening. I walked out and was struck by the panoramic view of downtown Dallas at night. Two sides of the restaurant were floor to ceiling glass.
“Hi, welcome to The Glass Orchid.” The attractive hostess who reminded me of a young Heather Locklear greeted me with a bright smile.
“Hi, I’m Jade O’Sullivan. I’m supposed to mee—”
“Oh yes.” The girl’s face lit up. “He’s here. I’ll take you back.”
She started to turn but I stopped her, whispering, “Does he look…normal?”
“I’m sorry?” She tilted her head toward me.
“I’m on a blind date,” I explained keeping my voice as quiet as a church mouse. “Does he seem crazy or anything?”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened slightly and a flush crept up her cheeks. She licked her lips in what looked like a nervous twitch and shook her head. “No. Not crazy. And Yes, he looks…I think you’re going to be very happy.”
“Good.” I was relieved and intrigued as I followed behind her.
We stopped at sliding barn doors. She opened them and held her hand out, inviting me to go in. After taking one step I froze and all of the oxygen in the room was sucked out. My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe who sat at the table in the center of the room.
“Hi.” His deep voice filled the space as he stood to greet me.
“Hi.” My voice was still in church-mouse mode.
I blinked in disbelief, but when I opened my eyes again he was still standing there. Hot Tie-Guy was standing right in front of me.
“I don’t know if you remember meeting me?”
“I do.” My words came out so soft I wasn’t even sure if they were audible. I took in a breath and realized that my mouth was still open, I mentally slapped myself and shut it. This was it. The second chance I’d said I’d wanted. Time to snap out of it. “Sorry, I’m Jade.”
Shit. Why was I always apologizing around this guy?
“I know.” He grinned.
“Oh right, the matchmaker.”
“Actually, I have a confession to make.” He pulled out a chair at the table.
I stepped farther inside and saw that this was a private room. We were the only diners in it.
He held out my chair for me as I sat. “Is this all for us?”
“Yes. I hope that’s okay.”
“Yeah.” The smile that spread on my face reached from ear to ear. “It’s okay.”
He circled back to his chair and as he sat I joked, “Unless your confession is that you’re a serial killer or something.”
“Damn,” he looked disappointed. “Okay, I’ll go see if they have something else.”
He started to get up and I laughed. This guy didn’t need any cards to break the ice. He sat back down and the easy smile on his face had my heart pitter-pattering against my ribs.
“So, what is this confession?” My hands were shaking and I folded them on my lap so he couldn’t see.
“First, let me introduce myself.” His tone turned more serious. “My name is Brent Pearce.”
The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. “Hi, Brent.”
“Hi.” That smile was back and if he hadn’t considered being a spokesmodel for a toothpaste company, I felt like he was wasting his talent. “And I am CEO of Crackle Media.”
“Oh.” I recognized the name immediately. They were the media group that produced Vanessa’s podcast and who I was hired to put on the gala for. The puzzle of why his name sounded familiar also clicked into place. “Weren’t you just named Dallas’s most-eligible millionaire bachelor?”
“No.” He shook his head.
My forehead creased. I was sure that I’d read an article about him. In it they called him one of the youngest media moguls in Texas.
“I was one of Dallas’s top five most-eligible millionaire bachelors under thirty,” he clarified.
“Say that ten times fast.” A nervous laugh escaped from me. I normally didn’t laugh at my own jokes, especially one as pedestrian as that, but my nerves were on a whole other level.
He chuckled.
As much as I was happy at my second chance I was a little confused as to what he was doing here. Why would a young, rich, media mogul that looked like he did use a matchmaker? Unless, he wasn’t my date. Maybe my date didn’t show up and he was here to confess that I got stood up. That didn’t make sense so I figured I’d just cut to the chase. “So what is this confession, Brent Pearce, one of Dallas’s top five most-eligible millionaire bachelors under thirty?”
A waiter appeared beside our table just as I got the question out. “Here you are, sir.”
I looked and saw that he was holding a bottle of sparkling apple cider.
The waiter poured Brent a glass and then offered it to me. I nodded. I thought sparkling apple cider was a strange choice for an under thirty media mogul, but it sounded great to me.
“Have you had a chance to look at the menu?”
“No, I think we’re going to need a few minutes, Jeff.” Brent answered using the server’s name.
Jeff nodded but explained the specials before exiting.
This entire experience was a little overwhelming. I lifted my glass and took a sip. Brent did the same.
“I ordered apple cider just in case you were still dealing with migraine issues.”
“Oh,” I was surprised that he knew about my migraines. Had Vanessa told him? Had he listened to my segments? Either way, it was a very sweet gesture. “Thanks, I’m feeling better but this hit the spot.”
“So. My confession,” he began as he set down his champagne flute. “After meeting you on the elevator, I reached out to the matchmaking service I knew that we were going to be using and threw my name in the hat.”
“You threw your name in the hat?”
He smiled. “I filled out a personality profile and had a consultation. I made it clear that I didn’t want preferential treatment, but that I was only interested in being matched with you.”
“You did?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You could’ve just asked me out.”
“To be honest, I was a little nervous.” The lopsided grin that rose on his lips was as endearing as it was sexy.
“You were nervous to ask me out?” I couldn’t imagine this Tom Hardy look alike being nervous about anything.
He took a deep breath in through his nose. “You’re a little intimidating.”
It wasn’t the first time that I’d been told that. In fact, I’d been told that by every boyfriend that I’d ever had…except Hayden.
He’d never said that to me. My heart ached in my chest and it took me a second to recognize why. I missed him.
I was sitting in an incredible restaurant, overlooking an incredible city, with an incredible date, and I missed Hayden.
As much as I’d talked a big game about what I would do if I got another chance with Hot Tie-Guy, the truth was, in that moment I realized that the only second chance I really wanted was with Hayden.
The waiter came back to check on us and we ordered our meals, which were delicious. Our conversation flowed easily as we ate and drank apple cider. He flirted, but not so much that it was obnoxious, just enough to show that he was interested.
I tried my best not to let my mind wander to Hayden but he was like a computer virus that had infected my brain. Every time I’d close one pop up, fifty more would appear.
Brent was charming. Successful. Witty. Intelligent. Hawt and he seemed to be into me. There was just one thing he wasn’t.
He wasn’t Hayden.
But I was determined not to let that get in my way. I was not going to let Hayden hijack yet another date…that was the plan, anyway.