MisMatch (A Humorous Contemporary Romance) (22 page)

From the kitchen, Izzy's voice reverberated.
“You know, you two, this house has excellent acoustics. I can hear
you.”

Jessica giggled and glanced at Eli. “Eli,
I'd like to introduce you to Jason Cartwright. Otherwise known as
my bestie's hubby.”

Jason nodded sagely. “It's a title I’ve
grown accustomed to.” Sticking a palm out, he beamed his good old
boy smile at Eli. “Dude, I'm a huge fan of yours. I already have an
eye on a couple of your pieces for the house. Ever since I let Izzy
redecorate, she’s stripped my walls bare. For the most part. I'm
looking for some new art.”

Jessica held her breath as she watched the
two of them interact. Their exchange looked friendly enough. Gone
was Eli's usual taciturn, uncompromising face. He looked relaxed
almost. Like he was prepared to enjoy himself.

“Thanks for letting me crash the family
picnic.”

“No sweat. Jessica never invites anyone
over. No matter how often I tell her she should.”

She groaned as he led them down the long,
arched walkway that led to the expansive living room. “Real subtle,
Jason.”

Jason shrugged. “It's the truth.”

As they entered the living room, Jessica
caught sight of Aaron, Jason's agent, who was playing video games
with Nick. After introductions were made, the boys settled in for a
video game tournament, and Jessica joined Izzy in the kitchen. “I
hear you’re trying to poison us all.”

Izzy raised a dark eyebrow. “Hardy har.” She
glanced in the living room. “So now you’re dating him?”

“Uh, it's not a date.”

Izzy eyed the flowers and wine Eli had
brought along. “Are you sure about that?”

Throughout lunch, Jessica stayed at Eli's
side. She felt light and bubbly. So much so that she was able to
ignore most of Aaron’s jibes. She recognized the signs. She knew
what was happening, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to do anything
about it. She was falling for Eli, hard. He was all wrong. But
right in so many ways. Maybe it was time to stop fighting what she
thought she didn’t want anymore and give in. Look at that, her
actually growing up. If that was even possible.

He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the
temple. “Penny for your thoughts?”

Smiling, she said, “Oh, nothing. Merely
wondering if I knew myself at all, all these years.”

He nodded. “I always figured the point was
we are all trying to figure it out.”

“Yeah, I guess.” She shrugged. “I guess my
problem is thinking I had it all figured out years ago and
realizing I was probably wrong.”

“Are you two going to start making out now?
Cause that's going to make me a bit ill.” Aaron plopped himself
down on the other side of Eli. “So, Eli, when are you going to get
yourself some real representation and stop slumming it with Jessica
here?”

Jessica felt Eli go rigid beside her, and
she squeezed his hand. “You’ll have to forgive Aaron. He can’t help
being a douchebag.”

Izzy reached over and scooped up Jessica’s
and Eli's cleared plates. “He honestly can’t help it. He’s a bit of
an asshole.” She grinned at Aaron, who scowled in return.

“I’ve earned your husband a hefty sum,” said
Aaron.

“And that, my love, is why we keep you
around.” Izzy winked at him before sashaying off.

Eli relaxed next to Jessica. Turning to
Aaron he said, “You have much experience with artists?”

“Ask any actor in my roster, and he
considers himself an artist. But none like you so far. From what
Jessica's been saying, I think I can get your work in some movies.”
He proffered a card. “You should give me a call sometime.” He
sauntered off and followed Nick and Jason down the deck stairs
leading to the tennis court.

Eli turned to her. “Is he always like
that?”

Jessica shrugged. “Pretty much. He's a total
shark. Jason insists that's he's not really that much of an
asshole, but Iz and I have a hard time believing it.”

Izzy came out, trailed by the nanny, who was
holding Kara. “We're going to work off some of the steaks and chili
with a friendly game. You guys up for it?”

Jess raised an eyebrow. Just as she got the
impression Eli was going to say yes to be polite, she put a hand on
his thigh. “I think we'll pass. You guys always cheat anyway.”

Izzy smiled serenely. “It's not cheating
because my husband can serve balls over a hundred miles an
hour.”

“I call that cheating.”

The two of them watched her go. “She plays
as well?”

Jessica nodded, sending her blond hair
swinging over her shoulders. “Yeah. She used to play for USC. Could
have gone pro, but life changed, I guess. And she quit for a
while.”

“Let me guess, they're going to hustle Aaron
out of some money.”

She barked out a laugh. “He's too smart for
that. I think Nick was hoping you were an easy mark, but no way
would I have let that happen.”

“I know my way around a racket.”

“Oh, I had no idea. Did you want—”

“No. Staying here with you is where I want
to be.”

She frowned. “You want to tell me what’s
eating you?”

***

Eli glanced at Jessica quickly before
bringing his attention back to Jason and Izzy on the court. Jason’s
strokes were smooth and powerful. Izzy’s were no less powerful, but
she played more from a place of heart. She was aggressive and went
after every ball. Hell, she could have gone pro herself. Not to
mention that kid of theirs. Aaron was a tennis weekender, but also
hyper competitive, so the game below was lively.

“Nothing’s eating me. I’m fine. This was
really fun. Thank you for bringing me along.” That wasn’t a lie. It
was one of the few things he’d said these last few days that didn’t
have a tinge of a lie attached to it.

“You might be having fun, but you’re also
deflecting. What gives? You’re in super charming mode, and it’s
awesome, but I can tell that something’s up with you. Come on.” She
nudged his shoulder with her own. “I can be a good listener. I know
most of the time we’re together it’s either work or blazing hot
sex, but I am capable of talking, too.”

Leaning on the railing, Eli turned to face
her. “I know you’re capable of talking.”

“Then come on.” She beckoned him with her
hands. “They say confession is good for the soul.”

The hell it was. In his case, confession
would lose him his brother and the woman he cared about. “It’s
nothing. Just a little family squabble.”

She blinked. Once then twice. “With all my
crazy family antics, I don’t think I’ve heard you mention yours
once.”

“I don’t talk about them much.”

“Well, what’s going on? Do you have a crazy
stepfather-to-be who is trying to steal your mother’s sizable
fortune? Perhaps a struggling gallery that you want to save? Come
on, let me help.”

God, his shoulders ached with the secrets
and lies he was carrying around. He wanted to tell her everything,
but no matter what, he still owed Samson. “My brother and I aren’t
exactly getting along right now. We're not seeing eye to eye on a
couple of things.”

She wrinkled her delicate brows. “Older or
younger?”

“Younger.” By minutes, but he wasn’t going
to spill that little tidbit. “I’ve been looking out for him my
whole life. My mother and I have. I haven’t always done a good job
of it.”

“Well, what makes you think he needs looking
after? Is he over eighteen?”

Eli nodded.

“Then why are you still taking care of
him?”

“When we were kids, our parents separated. I
went with Mom, he went with Dad. He ran into trouble with a rough
crowd. Drugs. The whole thing. It messed him up pretty good. I
helped him get clean, but I think he’s in trouble again. I tried
talking to him about it, but I guess I fucked that up.”

“You guess?” She nodded. “Oh, you did that
thing that you do where your voice gets all authoritative, and you
start demanding instead of asking nicely?”

“I pretty much accused him of using again
and accused him of lying about it.”

“Ouch.”

Eli nodded. “Tell me about it. It didn’t end
well.”

“Hence the jaw.” She lightly touched his
chin. “Do you honestly think he's using?”

He puffed out a breath. “It's the only thing
that makes sense. You get used to seeing everything as a lie.
Looking around corners, waiting to be disappointed.”

“I'm so sorry. Though a wise man once told
me that's no way to live your life, and sometimes you have to give
people the benefit of the doubt.”

“Whoever told you that was kidding
himself.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. He might have
had a point in some situations.”

“So you think I should trust him?”

“I wish I could give you a clear cut answer.
I know how you thrive on those.”

He couldn't help the chuckle. She already
knew him so well.

“But it's family, so I can’t give you any
real advice. Except he's your brother, so you have to keep reaching
out. One day you'll look around and be all alone, and that sucks
more than you can know. You have to just keep trying to help him no
matter what.”

He stared in her wide blue eyes and frowned.
Something was different. “What happened to half your
piercings?”

“Took some out.”

He couldn't help himself—his eyes darted to
her right breast. Clearing his throat he asked, “You didn’t get rid
of all your piercings, did you? ‘Cause I was really starting to
like one of them.” Blood immediately rushed to his groin, and he
wished he'd been able to keep the conversation away from her
smoking body for just a moment. Now, all he could think about was
her nipple ring and her response to him tugging on it with his
teeth.

A light blush stained her cheekbones. “No, I
ah, left that one intact. I figured it was too much fun to get rid
of. Besides, that one's private. Only a select few know it's there
or will ever see it.”

Let’s keep it that
way.
“I'm glad to be one of the few.”

Her body swayed into his, and his blood
quickened enough for him to feel the spike of heat throughout his
body. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

A squeal from the bottom of the stairs had
them jumping apart. Izzy was at the top of the stairs in no time.
“Are you two sure you don’t want to play? Aaron refuses to play
against me and Jason. Apparently, he'd like to stop losing.”

Jessica darted a quick look at Eli and spoke
quickly. “No thanks, babes, we should probably get—”

Izzy interrupted Jessica by putting a hand
on her hip and raising an eyebrow. “If you're about to say the two
of you better be going, might I remind you that it's my birthday
and that we have more than enough room in this house to put you
guys up for the night?” She sized Eli up. “Jason has plenty of
stuff to fit you, Eli. Please, I'd like you to stay.”

Jessica sputtered to silence beside him.
“Iz, you can't—”

The warmth coming from Izzy was genuine. She
meant it, and because Eli wanted to escape his life for one more
night, he said, “Thank you. We'd love to stay the night.”

***

Eli glanced around at the candlelit guest
cabana. “I feel a little bamboozled.”

Jessica's eyes went wide. “I had nothing to
do with this. I swear, I’ll kill her. She always has been a bit of
a meddler. I—”

“Would you relax? You act like no one’s ever
teased you before. It's nice. Not what I expected at all.”

“Yeah, well, this is Izzy. She believes in
love and shit.” She quickly slammed her eyes shut. “Not that…I
don't mean…This isn't love obviously. We're just…Business.”

“Friends,” he offered, to be helpful.

“Right. Friends who've seen each other
naked. So not a love thing. I—”

Eli had to laugh. She was always so
confident that her nervousness now rattled him. “Jessica, why are
you nervous?”

She puffed out a breath, and her bangs
fluttered off her forehead and back again. “I'm pretty shitty at
relationships, as we've discussed. Like really bad. I choose the
guys in the band, or the one covered in tats and piercings, or the
drifter, or the guy who has no future potential. I've done it all
my life. At first because those were the kind of guys my dad hated,
and later because, well, let's face it, they were hot and let me
keep playing at misfit. I've never once even been near a guy who’s
normal.”

He frowned. “What makes you think I’m
normal?” No one had ever called him normal before. Shit, Vince
called him a freak on a daily basis.

“Look at you.” Her hands waved up and down
his body. “I mean, you're beautiful to look at obviously, but
you're buttoned up on the surface. Even though you’re an artist,
you have an analytical mind. You know what you want in life, and
nothing will get in your way. You’re driven. You have a future
beyond how you’re going to pay rent this month. Your idea of
traveling isn't a series of bar crawls all around America and
Mexico. You're normal-ish. I've never dated normal. Leave it to my
best friend to get a little over excited.”

“You know, a wise woman told me once to
focus on the outcome I want, and I can make my dreams happen. If
you wanted normal all these years, you are the only reason you
didn’t have it.”

“Not nice to throw my words back at me.”

He shrugged. “Which one are you, the pot or
the kettle?”

She gave him a wry smirk.

Everything about her made his blood hum.
“Jessica, come here. I want to show you something.”

“Why do I have a feeling this something is
going to require me being naked?”

“It’s like you've read my mind.” He tugged
her toward the outdoor shower.

She took his outstretched hand. “Aren't you
the one who told me once that for what you had in mind you needed
privacy and condoms? That shower is open to everyone.”

“Everyone went upstairs already. Where’s the
daring woman who wanted me so bad she considered the back room of a
club?”