Pair Us
The Billionaire Matchmaker, Part Three
Gina Robinson
Contents
Copyright
They’ll Always Have Pair Us…
GinaRobinson.com
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Also by Gina Robinson
About the Author
Copyright © 2016 by Gina Robinson
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Gina Robinson
http://www.ginarobinson.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Cover Design: Jeff Robinson
Pair Us: The Billionaire Matchmaker 3/Gina Robinson. — 1st ed.
They’ll Always Have Pair Us…
Four funny, adorable, potentially hot, lonely guys who want wives and will do anything to land the girl of their dreams, and one hot billionaire who's darkly amused by the process. What's a matchmaker to do when her favorite group of men gets ready for love?
Matchmaker Ashley Harte can't get sexy billionaire Lazer Grayson to get serious about finding his perfect match. Will his group of friends come to her aid? Or his?
GinaRobinson.com
Visit ginarobinson.com to sign up for my VIP New Releases List. You’ll get exclusive access to new release notifications, series announcements, and more! Get the Gina Robinson Starter Library FREE for signing up!
The Billionaire Matchmaker Series
Part 1—Lazer Focused
Part 2—Harte Strings
Part 3—Pair Us
Part 4—Dating Lazer, January 2017
The Billionaire Duke Series
Part 1—The Billionaire Duke
Part 2—The Duchess Contest
Part 3—The Temporary Duchess
Part 4—The American Heir
The Switched at Marriage Series
Part 1—A Wedding to Remember
Part 2—The Virgin Billionaire
Part 3—To Have and To Hold
Part 4—From This Day Forward
Part 5—For Richer, For Richest
Part 6—In Sickness and In Wealth
Part 7—To Love and To Cherish
The Billionaire’s Christmas Vows
Gina Robinson’s Contemporary New Adult Romance Series
The Rushed Series
These standalone romances can be read in any order. But it’s more fun to read them all!
Book 1—Rushed, Zach and Alexis’ story
Book 2—Crushed, Dakota and Morgan’s story
Book 3—Hushed, Seth and Maddie’s story
The Reckless Series
Ellie and Logan’s love story begins one hot August night. This series should be read in order.
Book 1—Reckless Longing
Book 2—Reckless Secrets
Book 3—Reckless Together
Chapter 1
"I would have everybody marry if they can do it properly: I do not like to have people throw themselves away; but everybody should marry as soon as they can do it to advantage."
—Jane Austen: Mansfield Park, 1814
And the creed of every matchmaker.
Ashley Harte
Jealousy is such an ugly word and an even more punishing emotion. If I could erase jealousy and envy from this world, I would. Like mosquitoes, you have to wonder what purpose they serve except to spread disease and strife. But as I watched the newcomer wrap herself in Lazer's arms, I saw for the first time a glimmer of usefulness for jealousy. Like pain, it was an uncomfortable warning.
That burner is hot. Remove your hand before you do permanent damage. Be grateful for pain. Because of it you only got a tiny blister.
Be wary of this woman clad in designer clothes and gazing with invitation into Lazer's eyes. She's hot. But she's neither innocent nor uninterested. She'll burn you if you're not careful.
One thing about being a matchmaker, and a woman: I recognize sexual chemistry when I see it. It was almost visibly radiating between Lazer and the woman whose expensive perfume drifted to me on the late afternoon breeze. They'd slept together. Recently. She wanted to sleep with him again. Now. Here. This afternoon. Tonight. All of the above.
Her back was toward me. But I didn't miss the way he looked ravenously into her eyes. Or the way she intimately adjusted his shirt. And pressed up against him like a cat against her owner's legs. She practically purred.
Damn her. Damn him.
He released her from the slightly-too-long hug, but kept his arm around her waist as she turned to face the others and me. She certainly had the men's attention. Suddenly it was as if I was back in that bar where I'd met Lazer. Only this time she was the unicorn, the quarry. The men were that nervous around her. Wanting to approach, but not daring to. Lazer had their respect and admiration. He was fully aware of his friends' reaction and taking it all in, playing it up. Showing off. Goading me.
"This is Milia." His gaze swept past me. He was still smirking, like this was a grand joke, a sweet prank. A victory. "I've mentioned her before," he said to his friends. "She's a superb stylist. She's going to help Ashley whip you boys into fashion shape." He squeezed her tighter.
He could give me that little victorious quirk of his lips all day long, but no one got the better of me. She was helping me? Since when?
I raised an eyebrow and gave him a look meant to devastate his confidence. But he'd already cheerfully moved on. And Milia was ignoring me completely.
The men were eerily quiet and exchanging looks with each other. This was a wrinkle they hadn't anticipated either.
"Superb?" Her accent was tinged with a hint of French.
But if she was really French, or even French Canadian, I was a monkey's uncle, as Grandma used to say.
"Only superb? Damned by faint praise, my darling." Even her laughter was seductive. "I'm positively divine. And so much more than a stylist."
That much was obvious, but I didn't think she meant more in the way that I was thinking.
When faced with an enemy, or even merely the competition, how you respond is key. Back down or show any weakness and you're doomed to failure. I always tell my clients that you can't force chemistry. It's too ethereal and fickle. If it's not there for both of you, retreating is a perfectly acceptable option. Move on and find that person with whom the sparks fly.
You also can't make someone fall in love with you, necessarily. But given chemistry, you can gently charm them and nudge them toward it. There's no need to back down and give up at the first obstacle. Give your potential love a fighting chance.
Lazer was watching me carefully while trying not to. He was good. It took a relationship expert like me to detect it. And he was enjoying himself too much—
Ah. The jealousy ploy!
Why hadn't it hit me before? He was trying to make me jealous. On both personal and professional fronts. He really was an expert.
&nb
sp; Now, I don't advise anyone to use jealousy as a weapon to win another person's affections. It backfires too easily and is unpredictable at best. It's also a cheap trick. Especially for a billionaire. But this game Lazer and I were playing was high stakes and no holds barred. Why hadn't I expected this?
This woman was a perfect chess move—outside the bounds of the rules. She wasn't one of our clients that Lazer was supposed to be dating and therefore prevented from sleeping with. She clearly wasn't someone who was looking to land the title of Mrs. Lazer Grayson, or Lazer would be steering clear of her. She was probably even someone discreet enough to keep any relationship, no matter how casual, out of the media.
I made a mental note to do some digging on her. Milia, Milia, Milia? Why did that name sound familiar? It wasn't that common…
In the meantime, it was either act or have her eat my lunch, in the figurative sense.
I smiled broadly, walked to her, and extended my hand. "Welcome aboard! Lottie and I could use another woman to help us deal with these brutes." I winked over her shoulder at Cameron and Dylan, who were anything but brutes. As I'd said before, we had to bad-boy these guys up at least a little bit.
Her hand was as cool as her eyes when she took mine to shake it. "So you're the famous Ashley that Lazer has been talking about." Her gaze remained fixed on my face, as if she didn't need to take my full measure. She had it already.
She was clearly intelligent and quick. Rational and calculating in a way that was practical and professional. And almost chilling. There was nothing light and airy about her. She wasn't what I'd expect in a stylist of any sort. While it was clear she had taste and style, something of the creative temperament, in the classical artistic sense, was missing.
There was something about her that put me on my guard. I had the clear sense that she was as good at reading people as I was. Maybe even better. She'd made a snap assessment of me. Unfortunately, I couldn't read what her evaluation was. Her expression was pleasant, but masked. And if I had expected jealousy on her part, I was sadly disappointed. She was as dispassionate as a professional escort, and although she exuded sensuality, she clearly wasn't.
"Famous?" I turned my gaze to Lazer and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not so sure about that. At least not in Seattle. Yet. But I hope to be. We want people flocking to Pair Us."
She turned to Lazer. "Paris?"
"P-a-i-r-u-s." His arm was still around her waist.
She laughed. "Is that what you're calling your new venture, darling? Clever. And delightful. You know how much I love Paris."
It was an inside joke between them, clearly. I pictured them together in the city of love, holed up making love all day in an apartment along the Champs-Élysées. She couldn't have raised a fire of jealousy in me any more effectively if she'd tried.
For his part, Lazer grinned back at her.
I took a deep breath.
"If business is good for you, it will be good for me," Milia said in her slinky voice. "You line them up, I'll knock them down."
How could she be so damned sensual even when discussing business? It had to be an acquired trait.
When I looked confused by her comment, she explained, "I own the Lipstick Spy School."
That was where I'd heard of her! The Lipstick Spy School Seattle. Of course. Rumor had it that she'd made over the Duchess of Witham from a common ordinary baker into a glamorous woman worthy of the title and the handsome duke's affection. At her famous spa in just a day. Legend in the making.
"The school's really a cover for a spa and destination event. Brides and bridal parties love to use our spa, and professional makeup and stylist services to get ready for the big day. We're booked out months and months in advance." She paused. "Our bachelorette parties are legendary. Which always amuses me. What happens at the spy school stays at the spy school. Or we have to kill you."
I laughed politely.
"Our aura of mystique drives the grooms wild with curiosity." Milia cast a glance around at the men, happily giving them the impression they'd soon be grooms being driven wild themselves. She was good.
"Women need an adventure and a chance to be a femme fatale before settling down, don't you think?" She leaned forward as if including them in a secret. "It makes the bedroom on the wedding night so much more exciting."
She was clearly challenging me. The men were still and mute, watching us spar. Or maybe the cat had their tongues. Milia was the kind of woman that brought out that reaction. And it was intentional as far as I could tell.
"Bachelorette parties aren't my area of expertise, I'm afraid," I said. "I work hard to get the perfect match for my clients. I'm always hopeful that neither the bachelor nor bachelorette party will derail my hard work."
"And has it?" Lazer said, with a look of surprise.
I nodded. "A time or two."
"Maybe those matches weren't as solid as you thought," he said, but not unkindly.
"Or maybe some people got too drunk and got carried away." I shrugged, warning him with my tone—don't get drunk on your own power or too full of yourself. "We'll never know, I'm afraid. But there is a word of caution in there." I turned to Milia. "I'm sure that's never happened at the Lipstick Spy School."
Milia lifted one creamy shoulder. "I'm not in the business of ruining marriages, on their eve or otherwise. It's bad for business. Let's say that if anything ever has gotten out of hand, word hasn't gotten out." She paused for effect. "I'm very good at silencing people."
The way she said it made me laugh. Under other circumstances, I thought I would have liked her. She had a quick wit. Which fueled my sense of jealousy further. She was clearly a good match for Lazer, wit for wit. And looks-wise, too. They were a handsome couple.
The rest of the men were still gawking at her.
"Lazer, introduce me to your friends and my new clients," Milia said with such enthusiasm and warmth that the men came shyly forward.
I stepped aside, plotting my next move, watching the show as Lottie came up beside me.
"Trouble, do you think?" Lottie whispered to me.
"Clearly," I said. "Your impression?"
"I'd like her better if she were plain and less confident."
I nodded. "You and me both."
Lottie continued staring at her. "You didn't know about her?"
What she was really asking was if I had, and if so, why hadn't I told her? We didn't keep business secrets from each other.
To say I wasn't happy that Lazer had sprung Milia on us was an understatement. But I knew why he did it—to prove he had the upper hand. In everything.
I shook my head. "I'm as surprised as you are. Austin didn't know about her either, or he would have showed relief when she showed up. You could say that having her test the app was a good thing. She proved it works." I paused. "But Lazer's going to have to learn to treat me as an equal partner. I'm in charge of matching the men, not him. Making them over is part of my program. He's overstepped."
"And therefore must pay?" Lottie was only half teasing.
I gently corrected her. "Must learn to respect bounds." I watched the men cluster around Milia, trying to control the jealousy and anger pulsing inside me.
"You did ask him to recommend hairstylists and personal shoppers in Seattle," Lottie said. "You even asked me to book the appointments for tomorrow, which I did. With the assistance of Lazer's OA." She was watching Milia. "She could be part of that recommendation."
Yes, I'm sure she is, I thought, but stopped short of saying so aloud. He could always claim that. But that wasn't what I asked for. I didn't need her kind of help. I was perfectly capable of shepherding the men to their appointments and redesigning them myself.
Lottie scowled. "Are you going to tell him you won't work with her?"
I would have loved to.
"And play into his hands?" I frowned. "Better. I'm going to make it clear who's the boss."
I meant I was going to show Lazer. Milia, too. But mostly Lazer.
I nodded wi
th my chin toward Milia. "She has talent and knows Seattle. She's responsible for the Duchess of Witham's image."
"Oh." Lottie's eyes went wide. "She does know what she's about."
I nodded. In New York, Lottie and I had access to the top stylists in the city as well as connections at all the boutiques and with many talented personal shoppers. In Seattle we were at a disadvantage.
"We need her," I said. "For now. We could use an ally in our new home, someone with the connections we need. But we keep an eye on her."
Lottie nodded. "Absolutely."
"And we have to make sure she doesn't throw a wrench in our plans for Lazer."
Lottie was in tune with me and quick on the uptake. I didn't need to tell her what I meant. Her eyes narrowed and she nodded. "I have your back. What do you have in mind?"
I grinned at her. "Those two are never alone."
Her grin widened.
I turned my attention to the cluster of men around Milia. "We'll need some help," I said, eyeing them.
"They're his friends."
"Exactly," I said with as malicious a voice as I could muster.
"Wipe that Cheshire Cat look off your face," Lottie said with a tease in her voice.
"Never."
Chapter 2
Lazer Grayson
Using jealousy as a move in the game of love is both dangerous and thrilling. Using Milia as both a pawn and partner was riskier still. Milia was a dangerous and complicated woman. No one controlled her. There were times I swore she could kill a man with a look. Or a well-placed blow to the throat.
Milia knew more about self-defense and personal safety than most bodyguards. And I'm not kidding. Where she acquired her skills was anybody's guess. She never talked about her training, claiming she was born with a highly developed sense of self-preservation and a fascination with martial arts and guns. She knew how to break bodies, and also how to break hearts.
Pair Us: A Jet City Billionaire Romance (The Billionaire Matchmaker Series Book 3) Page 1
