Dating by Design Series Box Set

by Jennifer Peel

  With all the craziness that Fridays brought, we didn’t take appointments that day. Although our conference room was out of the way of the reception area, I would have hated for anyone to come in and see us discussing other people’s lives. We tried our hardest to keep it on the up and up, but we had Zander. Need I say more? That’s why I was very surprised when our receptionist, Meg, came back and informed Zander that he had a visitor.

  We had been in the middle of discussing single mom Brooke, and if we should pair her with Thad. Thad had no children of his own but indicated he was amenable to the idea of a match who had children. That was always a touchy subject. Most people liked similarity when it came to children, meaning if you didn’t have kids, you wanted to date someone without kids, and vice versa. We always tried to be cautious when children were involved. Zander was being extremely vocal and almost protective of Brooke. He had been the one to evaluate her on the test date, and by his behavior I would almost say he was attracted to her, if I didn’t know better. He had already nixed two other men we all thought would be a good fit.

  “Zander, a Mr. Hadley is here to see you,” Meg interrupted.

  Both Zander’s and my head turned toward the door where she stood.

  “Do you mind entertaining him for a moment?” Zander asked me.

  I glared at him. My eyes gave him all the answer he needed.

  He smirked back at me. “Come on now, darlin’.”

  He knew I didn’t like it when he called me that in the office. Which is why my eyes narrowed. He loved putting on a show for the staff. I think our staff enjoyed it, too. Everyone was watching us now.

  Zander and I were in the midst of a major staring contest. The question was who was going to win.

  “Please, Kenz.”

  I pushed back from my chair and stood up. “Fine, but I want to say I think Thad is an excellent choice for Brooke.” Everyone else nodded their head in agreement. Well, everyone but the man I sometimes admitted was my best friend.

  “Duly noted, and thank you.” Zander grinned my way. “Oh, and be nice to Jason. I shouldn’t be too long.”

  If we had been in private, I would have smacked his head on my way out, but I reminded myself I was the boss and to smack him later.

  Meg smiled at me as I approached her. She was a fairly recent hire, but she did a great job of keeping the office and appointments organized. She was in her early twenties and I would say she was as cute as a button if I actually used phrases like that. My momma said things like that and that was how she described Meg when they met last month. Once in a while, Momma would drop in out of the blue. I’ll admit, I kind of liked it.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Kenadie,” Meg said as we walked toward the front of the office.

  “Please don’t apologize. I’ll make Zander do that later.”

  She laughed into her hand like she wasn’t sure she should. I knew I made people nervous. They weren’t sure how to behave around me. I didn’t really like that, but it kept people at a distance. It’s how I coped with my own insecurities.

  Jason was looking through one of our brochures when we approached. I could see him smile to himself as he looked it over. He looked up as soon as he heard us and smiled even wider when our eyes met.

  I found myself smiling back.

  “Kenadie.” He placed the brochure back on the reception desk.

  “Hello, Jason. Zander is unavailable at the moment and he asked me if I would …” Actually I wasn’t sure what to do with him. I could be nice, but what did that mean?

  He raised his eyebrows in anticipation of what I was going to say, but I found myself at a loss for words.

  “Do you want to show me those pictures?” he responded to my obviously incompetent moment.

  Professionally, I had to say I had a knack with people, but throw a personal situation at me and I was inept. I let out a small breath. “Yes, of course.”

  He smiled and walked my way. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”

  “No, not at all. I can argue with Zander anytime.”

  He laughed. “He does make that easy, doesn’t he?”

  “Oh, so you do know him well?”

  “We were roommates for a couple of years.”

  “I feel like I should apologize to you.” I smiled over at him as we walked toward my wall of bliss.

  “His mother already has.” He gave me a quick wink.

  I snickered some. I loved Charlene Grainger. She was a little loopy and said the oddest things sometimes, but she was like a second mother to me.

  We landed in front of my wall. The wall that proved to me that true love really existed and that the crappy hand I had been dealt was for the greater good. It helped me to see where I went wrong and how I could steer others in the right direction. “So, this is my wall of bliss.” I waved my hand toward the thirty-two smiling, happy couples from all different walks of life.

  Jason stepped closer and examined each wedding and engagement photo. “So, do you go to all of these weddings?” He turned toward me waiting for my response.

  I shook my head no.

  He gazed at me thoughtfully, like he was trying to figure me out. I didn’t like that. His aqua eyes had this way of making me feel like I was an open book to him. See, most people would have automatically asked why, but not him. I wondered why.

  He relaxed his stance, but he still had to look down at me since he was a good six inches taller than I was. “You look very nice, by the way.”

  Okay, now he had really caught me off guard. Where had that come from? I didn’t know how to respond. Didn’t Zander tell me earlier that I looked like a serial killer in my black, body-hugging dress and stiletto heels to match? I think he also mentioned I needed to ditch the black and come out of mourning. It honestly got me thinking that maybe when I took Lana shopping tomorrow, I would add some more color to my wardrobe. I had scowled at Zander for his summation of my clothing choices. I wasn’t going to let him know that he was right about my needing to shake up my wardrobe. “Thank you,” I managed to say to Jason after a ridiculous amount of time.

  He smiled pleasantly and turned back to my wall.

  I looked him over, and not just in a profile sort of way. What I mean is that I looked at him like a person. He too looked nice. I couldn’t remember the last time I had looked at a man in any way other than evaluating him for a possible client match. Not that I was scoping him out or anything, but you know what I mean. I thought that he may have been even more attractive than I had first given him credit for. He had an athletic build, and the way he dressed showed off his physique well. He wore jeans the way men should, not skinny or slouchy, but the dark, fitted kind. His shirt was also crisp, clean, and sharp. Even his leather shoes said he cared about his appearance.

  “So what brings you to our office?” I tried to be personable.

  “Zander and I are hitting a strip club after work.”

  That instantly wiped away my whole impression of him. And I was smacking Zander as soon as I saw him—his mother would expect me to. I looked up at him with disgust. I didn’t have a poker face, and even if I did, I wouldn’t have used it in this case.

  He, on the other hand, cracked a smile and his eyes brightened. “I’m kidding. And even if I weren’t, I don’t think I could go after a look like that.”

  I half smiled while shaking my head.

  “The Final Four starts tonight, so we’re catching dinner and watching the game.”

  “Much more respectable.”

  “I’m glad you approve. In fact, why don’t you join us?”

  “Thanks for the invitation, but I spend Friday nights with my momma and her friends.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. We go to water aerobics and then out to ice cream. Which is really counter intuitive, when you think about it.”

  His laugh had a nice deep tone to it. “Yes, it is.”

  “I guess it helps them to feel less guilty about eating it.�
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  “So what’s your favorite flavor?” he inquired.

  Again, he caught me off guard with his easy manner. “Have you ever heard of butter brickle?”

  His eyes registered surprise. “Are you kidding me? That’s my favorite, too.”

  “How odd. Most people don’t even know what it is. It’s hard to find, but there’s an ice cream shop near my momma’s that still makes it.”

  “I’ve always felt like butter brickle was underrated. I mean, who doesn’t love toffee?”

  “Exactly.”

  “I’ll have to check out this ice cream shop.”

  “You should. It’s a great old mom-and-pop place.”

  He pulled out his phone. “What’s the name?”

  “Shasta’s Ice Cream Parlor.”

  He put the info in his phone. “Maybe we’ll have to hit the senior scene if the game gets boring.”

  “Are you making fun of me?”

  He looked up from his phone and smiled at me. “Not at all. I think it says a lot about you, spending your time with your mom and her friends.”

  You know what? He was sincere.

  “My daddy used to take my momma out every Friday night before he passed away, and she still misses him.” Why did I tell him that? I didn’t even know him.

  “I’m sorry about your dad. How long ago did he pass away?”

  I sighed heavily. “It was a long time ago. I was sixteen.” It was so weird to think that almost half my life I had been without him. It didn’t seem possible. I still ached for him, and I still felt that sucker-punched feeling when I remembered being told he had died in a car accident. I looked into Jason’s eyes; they seemed so full of concern. I reminded myself I didn’t know this man, and I should stop spilling my guts to him. But there was something so familiar about him, it was like I really did know him.

  He reached out and touched my arm. He didn’t say anything, which was exactly the right thing to do. What could he say?

  “Jase, my man.” Zander approached us, breaking the connection we had.

  Jason smiled at me before he turned toward Zander. I had to shake my head and wonder what had just happened. I also touched my arm. The only people that ever touched me, at least in a very long time, were Zander and those I shared DNA with. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

  “Why don’t you ditch the senior citizens and join us tonight?” Zander interrupted my thoughts.

  I turned to both men. “Have a good night, gentlemen.” I walked toward my office.

  “It was really nice to see you again, Kenadie,” Jason called out after me.

  I waved my hand from behind in acknowledgment. “You, too.” I didn’t bother to turn back to look at him.

  “Love you, Kenz,” Zander called out.

  I didn’t respond to the fool. I heard him laugh at my silence.

  As soon as everyone left the office, I packed up my laptop and called it a day. I rushed to Momma’s to have a light dinner with her before the main event. On my drive over, I contemplated the life I had carved out for myself. Thirty years old, and my weekends truly mirrored that of an active senior. I wasn’t complaining. I planned it this way, but I was beginning to worry that someday I might regret it. When I was Momma’s age, would I look back and feel sorry that I didn’t act more age-appropriately? Though I wasn’t really sure I knew what that meant. All I knew was that part of me wished I had opted to go out to dinner with Zander and Jason.

  Don’t get me wrong. I loved my momma, Nan—short for Nanette. She was the greatest woman in the world. And I loved her friends, Cissy and Adelaide. Being with them was like having my own starring role in Steel Magnolias, except instead of a beauty shop, it was the ice cream parlor. They did wish, though, that I would give them more to gossip about. I was exceptionally boring, other than my unusual job and my most humiliating moment ever, which happened in front of God and everyone, literally, but that was a long time ago and that juicy piece of gossip had run out of steam. Thank goodness. I knew they all still felt sorry for me, but everyone knew better than to speak of it in my presence. Oh, I’m sure those sweet biddies talked about me behind my back, not in a defaming sort of way, but they all wanted to see me settled with a man and pregnant. Apparently, I owed it to my momma to have grandkids. I guess it was some type of payment due for her having raised me.

  My oldest brother Dylan was not producing, and probably never would. He was an undercover cop in Boston and he said it wasn’t fair for someone in his line of work to get married or have children. He was already forty-three, so I wasn’t sure he was going to change his mind. Then there was Rick, and he already had the world’s best kid, my niece, Lana. I was fourteen when she was born and I was instantly obsessed with her. In a way, she was like the little sister I never had. Rick graduated from high school and left for college when I was seven, so I was practically an only child.

  With all that said, Momma was salivating for more grandkids and, according to Cissy and Adelaide, I was wasting a perfectly good uterus and non-lumpy body. Those were their words, not mine. I guess when you get older, you can say whatever you want and still claim it is said with love.

  I rushed to get to Flowery Branch, where my momma, brother, and niece all lived. Yes, Flowery Branch is a real town, and a lovely town at that. More importantly, it was home. As I drove through the main thoroughfare of small-town America, I wasn’t sure if I should smile or shake my head. Not much had changed since I was a girl. I think I took more comfort in it than anything else. I drove past the high school, and then Marshall Veterinary Clinic. My brother’s truck was still there.

  It didn’t surprise me. My brother, like my father, was a hard worker. Rick followed in our father’s footsteps and became a veterinarian. He took over the clinic after my father died. My dad would have been so proud of him. The clinic was doing better than ever. My brother had to add a new wing to it and hire more staff last year. If only his personal life were doing as well.

  His divorce had been finalized last year, too, although he and Valerie had been separated for years. It was such a shame. I really liked Valerie. She and Rick were the quintessential couple—high school sweethearts, good-looking, and successful. Rick was the quarterback and she was the homecoming queen. I mean really, they were the perfect couple in everyone’s opinion. Then five years ago, Valerie decided she needed to find herself. She felt like she got married too young and Rick was the only guy she had ever really known. My poor brother was heartbroken and he held on way longer than he should have.

  I didn’t think Valerie was any happier, if anything it was the opposite. I lost respect for her, though, when she gave full custody of their daughter to Rick without a fight. It was bad enough she left my brother, but to leave your child was inexcusable in my book. Last we heard, she was in Canada shacking up with some loser she met while skiing in Vermont.

  Lana had been resilient through it all, but once in a while, she’d talk about her mom and how much it hurt. Momma and I tried to fill in the best we could, but it wasn’t the same as having a mother. I prayed that Valerie would come to her senses before it was too late to repair her relationship with her daughter.

  Rick and Valerie were another reminder of why I did what I did. I knew in my heart that I could never fully prevent the demise of a good relationship, but I could at least give it the best possible chance, right? Rick was always the first one to remind me that love and relationships went beyond science. He didn’t quite agree with how I approached other people’s relationships and he really didn’t like my lack thereof.

  Momma still lived in the house I grew up in, on the outskirts of town. It was such a pretty place, a brick ranch with a large front porch. It sat in the middle of two acres, complete with a barn, pond, and a picket fence, though it wasn’t white. Momma loved her place and spent most of her time planting something or other. She had a vegetable garden and several flower beds around the house. When she wasn’t gardening, she was hosting some event at her home, from Mary Kay pa
rties to the bridge club. I knew she kept herself busy so she didn’t have time to miss Daddy. Sometimes I think it worked.

  “Momma,” I called out, letting myself in through the back door.

  “In the bathroom,” she hollered back. I rolled my eyes. She was way too comfortable with herself sometimes.

  I walked into the kitchen where she had left vegetables steaming on the stovetop. She was going to burn down the house one of these days. I checked the vegetables, found them perfectly steamed, and removed them from the heat. I also checked the oven to find parmesan chicken, one of my favorites. Have I mentioned how much I loved this woman?

  Nan Marshall came out with her pants in the process of being zipped up and her short graying hair halfway done. I smiled when she approached.

  “Kennie.” She kissed my cheek, leaving a red lipstick stain. Momma believed that red lipstick was a must for any Southern woman. I had fifteen unused tubes from her back at my condo. I was more of a soft pink or sheer kind of woman, but once in a while, for her, I would classically stain my lips red.

  “Hi, Momma. How was your day?”

  Her eyes lit up. I knew she had some news. “You will never guess what I heard today!”

  “What?” I grabbed two glasses from the cupboard near the sink.

  “Do you remember last week when I told you they put the vice-principal at Lana’s school on administrative leave?”

  “Uh-huh,” I replied almost absentmindedly.

  “You’ll never guess why.”

  I didn’t even try. I knew she wouldn’t take a breath in between to let me. “Cissy’s daughter Debbie works in the attendance office there and she told us that Mr. Wilson was caught with the biology teacher in the lab, and let’s just say they weren’t cooking up any science experiments, unless you count sex.” She laughed to herself. “Well, I guess that could be,” she said more to herself than me.

  “Momma.”

  “Now come on, Kennie, don’t pretend to be embarrassed. I know you ask people all sorts of questions about sex on those little surveys you make people fill out in your office.”

  “I’m not embarrassed, but I don’t think we should talk about it. Doesn’t Mr. Wilson have a wife and kids?”