AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She stepped away from me, shaking her head. "And that's why we'll never work. Relationships, even friendships, shouldn't be about games. And so far, that's what this has been. For both of us."
"Games can be fun, Ms. Hart. It's just about knowing the rules," I challenged.
"And whose rules would those be, Mr. Carter? Yours? Mine? Because I don't see either of us breaking ours." A sad smile turned her lips before she turned toward her mom and my aunt who were watching our exchange intently. She gave them a cheerful wave. "I'll see you on Friday, Mama. Bye, Miss Julie."
She glanced at me. "Bye, Jax. I guess I'll see you Friday, too." She turned toward her car before I could answer.
As I watched her back out of the driveway, I knew she was right. I was playing a dangerous game. I always played to win; it's why I was a success in the business world. This, however, wasn't a game with the kind of woman I was used to; I didn't know the rules, but I knew mine wouldn't work. Even as I envisioned her spread flushed and naked across my sheets, I struggled to ignore that she was the type of woman who deserved more than a hump and dump. A niggling thought nagged me that if I pursued this, whatever this was with Grace, there might be two losers in the end.
But there wasn't room in my world for loosing. I'd already lost too much.
14
Grace
"Can we please take a break? We've been at this for hours!"
I looked up from the notes I was taking. She'd returned home a couple of days ago, but today was the first we'd worked together on the charity dinner since she'd been back. "Ninety minutes, Jade. That's not hours."
"It's more than one, isn't it? Last time I checked that meant plural, therefore, hours."
"Why are you so cranky today?"
"I'm not cranky. I'm also not Martha Fucking Stewa
rt. This is boring. How can you do this all day?"
"You're kidding, right? This has got to be better than crunching numbers!"
Jade's eyes bulged. "Numbers make sense. They fit neatly into formulas and columns. This,” – she waved her hand over the table – “is just so...so crafty! "
I bit back a laugh. Couldn’t she see how contradictory she was? The purple streaks in her hair that matched the print in her Bohemian dress looked anything but the straight and narrow she claimed to love in her numeric world. She might not enjoy working on crafts, but she had a flair for style and drama. Hence, the reason I recruited her to help me scour the internet for ideas for centerpieces for the upcoming dinner. This was my favorite part of the planning process for the events I put together. Balancing budgets was not. So, while I could appreciate her frustration for this not being the way she wanted to pass an afternoon, this was more than her usual grousing.
It probably had something to do with why she was constantly checking her phone—men, business, parental units—any of it was enough to put her in a grumpy mood. I decided not to poke the bear. I knew asking questions now wasn't going to get answers anyway, so I did the next best thing.
Shutting down my Pinterest page, I stretched and said, "We've gotten a lot done. Cheesecake fix? We deserve it."
For the first time all afternoon, her eyes lit up. "That's the best idea you've had, yet." She grabbed her purse and was halfway to the door before I could stand up. Laughing, I followed her. Nothing motivated This girl like dessert, not even numbers. Not even men.
Thirty minutes later, we were tucked into a corner of a downtown bakery, Just Desserts. It was one of the few storefronts that had survived the downward dip in the economy years ago. Charlotte Garland had been creating and baking our favorite desserts here for as long as I could remember, and it was she who approached our table with a huge smile on her face.
"Well, good afternoon, ladies! It's been awhile since I've seen you girls in here. How's your mom?" She crossed her hands over her plump baker's belly and raised her eyebrows at me.
"She's fine. She's getting another litter of pups to train, so she's excited."
"Wonderful. I can't tell you how much having Goldy has helped my mother. Not only the service part but the company as well." Goldy was, not surprisingly, a Golden Retriever that my mom had trained to fetch items for Charlotte's mother who had become wheelchair bound, but still very sharp-minded.
"I'll be sure to pass that on. She loves hearing about her former pups."
"Now, what can I get you ladies?" She grinned. "I have four different kinds of cheesecakes today, including your favorite, key lime"—she nodded to Jade who beamed—"and white chocolate for you." Her eyes shifted back to me.
Jade winked at me. "I think she means we eat here a lot." She turned to Charlotte. "You know how much I love your key lime cheesecake, but I think I want something chocolate today."
Charlotte and I both peered closely at Jade. I'd never known her to turn down Charlotte's key lime cheesecake when she had it available. Something was definitely up.
"Oookay. Triple chocolate cake for you."
The bells on the front door chimed, so Charlotte left to take care of other customers that walked in and to get our order.
