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But all was relatively quiet in his world, except for a few retweets about tech happenings and an event at Crave. And I was a thorough, piecing together conversations through his mentions. Up to the wedding, that category was filled with waifish twenty-somethings thanking him for a good time. Kiss emojis and winks followed their love notes, making me want to climb through the screen and claw their eyes out. And my insanity was all his fault, support for the fact that dating was the dumbest possible thing I could be doing right now because my plate was full and instead of juggling it all, I was busy making time to cyber stalk sexy, playboy billionaires.
A sexy playboy billionaire who seemingly stopped being a playboy after we reconnected.
“Everything alright, Miss Madison?”
I immediately dropped my arm and snapped to attention, recognizing Jessie Stone’s tenor before I even saw her with my own eyes. I knew I’d cross paths with her eventually, but I hoped I’d be wrinkle free, surrounded by people gushing over my cupcakes and not preoccupied with Jason.
I chuckled nervously and pushed my dark strands behind my ears before offering her the hand I’d been staring at absentmindedly (after I deglittered it, of course).
“Mrs. Stone!” I pulled the sides of my mouth upward in what I hoped looked like a smile. “Uh, yes! Everything’s great! It looks amazing in here!” She almost cleared her throat, reminding me of the hearty bone she tossed my way, but I tacked on the gratitude I would have freely given before she could. “And thanks for passing along my info to Diana.”
Jessie contemplated whether she wanted to shake my hand for a good minute or two before she decided to throw caution to there wind and gave it an efficient jostle. “It’s my pleasure, Miss Madison. I remember how much the guests enjoyed your little treats at the wedding, and I knew you’d be the perfect fit for this event.”
I tried to not take offense at the air of condescension around ‘little treats’ and focused on the gift of her almost compliment. During the Mitchell event, I remembered that Jessie handed out critiques like candy and any ‘job well done!’ were virtually nonexistent. “Thanks, Mrs. Stone! That means a lot.”
She shifted uncomfortably like she was put off by anything resembling warm and fuzzy. “I do remember a specific guest being quite enthralled, in fact.”
I broke contact with her piercing gaze so I could flash a smile at an elderly woman who shuffled over, plucking two neon green cupcakes and wasting no time on getting started on one of them.
“So good!” the woman shared—along with a mouthful of cupcake that made Jessie take a tiny step away from her.
“Thank you!” I said, giving the woman a little wave. “Enjoy!” I turned my attention back to Jessie. “Who was enthralled?”
“The best man,” Jessie answered, her eyes searching mine. “Jason Cox.”
I was never good at the whole poker face thing and even my giggle came out choked. “Oh, him?”
‘Him’, that I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about. ‘Him’, with the eyes like the bluest sea. The lips that tasted like danger and orgasms.
“You two seemed to have chemistry that rivaled The Mitchells.” Jessie’s gaze felt like I was beneath a glaring, bright light, being grilled until I finally spilled the beans.
I was an open book without saying a word...and she knew it.
I shared a first with a woman who’d made it clear that she thought wedding cakes were meant to be traditional and cupcakes were for birthday parties.
She was actually smiling...and playing matchmaker.
I could tell my best friend to back off, but I had a feeling a similar approach with Jessie Stone could lead to bad blood and I didn’t want to alienate the woman who’d sent this account my way in the first place.
I answered her smile with a tight one of my own. “Oh, um...” I racked my mind for something noncommittal while I fiddled with the tablecloth and fought the urge to stuff a cupcake in my mouth to let myself off the hook. She’d made it clear that talking with your mouth full was a mortal sin and she’d be out of here like I set off a stink bomb.
I decided to try again. To try and find words that wouldn’t offend but would also shut down any misconceptions that I’d be carving me and Jason’s initials in a tree anytime soon. “That’s nice. We’re just...” I stalled. Friends? It would have gotten her off my back, but Jason and I weren’t friends. I didn’t know anything about him outside of what Wikipedia told me and to him, I was likely just the most stubborn and defiant woman he’d ever met. Just the thought of saying ‘lovers’ was enough to make my cheeks preemptively burn, like I was about to give a presentation and I forgot the notecards. “Um...”
I was doing a crappy job of minimizing how big a deal Jason Cox really was.
Jessie flicked a hand through her electric hair, her smile going from predatory to ‘Oh, I see...’. “Say no more. I’ll pop back over and say hello after the program.” She turned on her heels, off to probably berate one of her staff, then slowly pivoted back to the table like she forgot something. She snuck a cupcake, avoiding my gaze before she went off to do her thing.
I exhaled, not realizing I’d been holding my breath. I was exhausted from pretending, even for a few moments. I gripped the edge of the table, the heat in my cheeks an unwelcome reminder that everyone seemed to see what I refused to admit to myself.
Jason and I had...something.
Chemistry.
I untied my apron and grabbed a cupcake, forcing him to the back of my mind as I made my way to my seat.
I never was very good at science.
~
