Dating by Design Series Box Set

by Jennifer Peel

  “Welcome, Lyndsey. I’m Kate.”

  “Hello.” She had a sultry alto voice.

  I’d already gone over her questionnaire, but I always reiterated some of the questions up-front to gauge how truthful they had been on it before I got into the heavier questions.

  “To begin, I have a series of questions for you. There are no right or wrong answers. Just be honest with yourself.”

  She nodded.

  “Your questionnaire stated that you are looking for a long-term commitment. Is that still true?”

  Her eyes sparkled. “Definitely.”

  “What qualities are you looking for in a partner?” I always asked this because everyone wanted to sound good on paper and they always put what they thought were the “right” answers, like loyal, kind, good sense of humor, etc. But I found when asked directly without time to think, I got a clearer picture of their expectations.

  She sat up even more. “Good looking, for sure. I love a man with brown hair and blue eyes.”

  Oh, no. Please tell me she wasn’t a . . .

  “And he has to be successful. Really successful.”

  I tried to keep from grimacing. Honestly, most people who used our service were successful professionals due to the fee we charged. We weren’t a run-of-the-mill matchmaking service, but this was over the top.

  “I wouldn’t even mind if he was . . . famous.”

  Great. Another sycophant. Little did she know by saying she wanted a long-term commitment she was totally out of the running.

  She flipped her long, ebony hair back. “I do own my own salon, so I can be red carpet ready at a moment’s notice. And not to brag, but I was the lead in my high school’s rendition of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.”

  “That’s a fun show.” I had no other words.

  “Oh, and,” she continued, “I really want someone who lives on the coast.”

  “Which one?”

  Her eyes looked around my office. “You know . . . the West.”

  Normally I wouldn’t press, because people were free to say what they wanted, but I couldn’t let this go. “Even though you live here?”

  “I would totally move for Nick . . . I mean, the right man.”

  Don’t roll your eyes. Don’t roll your eyes. Moving on. “Do you feel emotionally ready to be in a long-term relationship?”

  If she nodded any harder, her head was going to snap off. “Yes. I take every quiz in Cosmo and I always score high. And I’m so tired of every guy I date leaving after a couple of months.”

  That statement made this an entirely different type of interview. “Why do you feel like your past relationships haven’t lasted?”

  She paused as if she hadn’t ever given it much thought, but she obviously wasn’t going to, either. “They were the wrong guy. I need someone who can give me the lifestyle I deserve. I don’t look this good for no reason.” Her hand waved over her body.

  We did not find people sugar daddies or mommas. I also wanted to tell her that she needed to look deeper inside herself to find things beyond her beauty to love about herself. But I wasn’t her therapist, and she wouldn’t be a Binary Search client.

  At least the next two women weren’t as blatant, and there was a man between them who didn’t want to date Nick.

  By lunchtime I was already looking forward to going home, and then he called.

  “Hello, Kate.”

  “You get another star for your proper use of a greeting.”

  “Was that very proper?” he threw back at me.

  I wasn’t really in the mood to be polite to the man who was making my professional life hellish at the moment, but I mustered up some manners. “Hello, Nick. How are you?”

  “Better now that I’m talking to you.”

  Why must he say things like that? When he did, my body took it all the wrong way. My stomach snapped, crackled, and popped. That wasn’t supposed to happen, and I was sure he didn’t mean it like my body reacted. “That sounds an awful lot like you want something.”

  “I definitely want something.”

  Add tingling to the list. “And what is that?”

  “We’ll get to that later, but for now I’ll take you being there tonight when we shoot the commercial.”

  “Darn. I have a date with the grocery store and my remote tonight. Sorry.”

  He paused. And paused some more. Normally he was quick with a reply. “You’re going to disappoint . . . Skye and . . . my dad.” That didn’t come out as smooth as he normally talked.

  “How?”

  “Skye’s coming along with my dad, and they were hoping to see you. Skye was particularly disappointed you couldn’t have dinner with us last night. She wanted to discuss the book you’ve been reading together.”

  “Oh.”

  I was embarrassed to admit how much I liked the shapeshifting dragon book. I’d started it last night after I got home from the clinic and the male protagonist was interesting. At first, he came off as an alpha-male type, but he had this I-love-a-strong-woman side to him. And thank goodness there was no instant love to their relationship. That was a huge pet peeve of mine. I needed a story to give me real reasons for them to be in love. I liked that the heroine had a healthy dislike for him still.

  “You’ll be there tonight, then.” He said it as a statement, not a question.

  I sighed, trying to think of a way out. Not that I didn’t want to see Skye and Jack. I did. If I thought about it, I realized how much I would look forward to that, but they included Nick. And if I thought about him too much, I would think things I shouldn’t think.

  “How can we discuss the book while you’re shooting a commercial?”

  “There’s always downtime between takes, and we could do dinner after.”

  “Don’t you have Chanel to take to dinner?”

  “Margo, my assistant, is setting something up with her for this weekend.”

  Margo. Figured he had a woman assistant. She was probably more than his assistant. More like a goddess, I bet, who did his bidding no matter what that was.

  “You really should call her yourself.”

  “I don’t have time for that.”

  “You’re calling me.”

  “This I have time for.”

  I rubbed the tension creeping up in my neck. “You confuse me.”

  “The feeling is mutual.”

  “How do I confuse you?”

  “This should be discussed in person. So, dinner tonight?”

  I couldn’t think or speak.

  “You don’t want to disappoint Skye again, do you?”

  “Well, no, but—”

  “And how can you be a good relationship manager if I confuse you?”

  “I could quit.”

  “That doesn’t seem like your style. We’ll see you soon.”

  “Agghhh!”

  “I heard that, Kate. Goodbye.”

  Crap. I thought he’d hung up already like he normally did.

  I leaned back in my chair and breathed deeply, asking myself the same questions I had last night. What did I want? Why did I stifle relationships, even non-romantic ones? Why did I continue to run from my feelings?

  That wasn’t to say I had feelings for Nick. Yes, I was attracted to him, but I knew I had to keep it professional, and the jury was still out on his narcissist diagnosis. That book I bought Sunday said if you found yourself attracted to someone you work with, you should let your mind live out every daydream and fantasy but leave it all there in your mind. Those feelings of attraction would come and go. The problem with Nick was I had daydreamed about him for years. Intimate, detailed, burning-fires-of-passion kind of fantasies.

  But maybe if all the mystery was gone from him and he proved to be the man who first walked into my office, the confusion would all be gone. I would work him out of my system and my life could go back to normal.

  The problem was I didn’t want my normal anymore, and I wasn’t sure how to make it better. That wasn’t true. I was
afraid to make it better. And if I was honest, I was afraid of Nicholas Wells.

  Chapter Twenty

  It was one big party at Binary Search. Not only did we have a film crew and Nick, who counted as like ten people with his big head, but Kenadie’s mom and niece Lana came. Meg was dying to meet Nick, so she was there too. Zander didn’t seem all that thrilled about his wife’s obvious doe-eyes for Nick. Zander kept ahold of her from behind and whispered in her ear, making her giggle. They were cute. I also noticed how his hands rested on her abdomen.

  Nan, Kenadie’s mom, hovered nearby them in mothering mode. Since Meg lost her mother as a teen, Nan had been like a second mother to Meg and really Zander. I think by the way she smiled at the pair she was happier than almost everyone about the baby. I expected Kenadie and Jason, who stood by her side while talking to Jack, would get more sex advice tonight.

  I was happy to see Skye and Lana talking. Lana just turned seventeen, I think, so they were close in age. Then there was most of our staff. Funny how many client dates had canceled for the evening, at least all the ones our female relationship managers had.

  Oh, and how could I forget the actress who hung on every word and limb of Nick’s that she could. I didn’t realize this was that kind of commercial. Most of our commercials featured Zander and Kenadie talking about how and why they created Binary Search and what you could expect using our services. They were more like mini infomercials. By the way the blonde was dressed in a revealing red dress, it was shaping out more to be an advert for 1-800-GET-A-MISTRESS-NOW. We didn’t take married people by the way, not even if they were in the process of getting divorced.

  Nick looked good in a dark suit with no tie. He was in his element and let everyone around him, including the makeup artist, fawn all over him. The director was blocking the scene while a crew swirled around setting up lights and recording equipment.

  I stood as far back as I could, taking it all in until all the praise heaped on Nick made me feel ill. I headed toward the cute teen girls who already looked as thick as thieves.

  When Skye saw me, she immediately came to me and wrapped her arms around me. Whoa. I wasn’t ready for the affection but welcomed it. When I reciprocated, my heart spoke loud and clear saying this is what I needed in my life. I wanted it more than anything. My own daughter to hug.

  “Hey, there.” I naturally stroked her hair, like my own mother had done on several occasions when we embraced. “How are you?”

  She gave me one more squeeze. “Okay. I hate watching my dad work.”

  I pulled back. “Really?” Why did she come then?

  She rolled her eyes. “Do you see the way that woman is pawing him like a cat? Gross. If she calls him bae, I’m out of here.”

  “Bae?”

  “It’s a so yesterday word for boyfriend or girlfriend.”

  “Oh.” I needed to brush up more on teen vernacular.

  “My dad’s last girlfriend called him that. I almost threw up every time.”

  I laughed at her. “I think you’re in luck tonight. I don’t think bae is in the script.” At least it better not be, or I would object.

  Lana joined us.

  “How are you?” I asked Kenadie’s mini-me. Kenadie may have been her aunt, but they looked like sisters.

  She smiled such a sweet smile. “Really good. I’m getting ready to start my senior year and apply for college.”

  I knew she planned on being a veterinarian like her dad and her deceased grandfather.

  “Exciting. How’s your family?”

  “Great. Kind of weird having brothers now, but Daddy and Renee are really happy, and I like having a momma around.”

  I noticed a tinge of sadness in Skye’s eyes when Lana mentioned her new stepmom. I wondered more about where Skye’s mother was.

  We were interrupted by Nan in all her glory. She had aged like a fine Southern belle. Hair and makeup properly done, and dressed like she was headed to her monthly Junior League meeting in heels and a pretty ruffled blouse. She had a kiss on the cheek for me.

  “Kate, darling, how are you?” She didn’t let me answer. She set her sights on Skye. “You must be Nicholas’s daughter.”

  To Skye’s credit, she smiled. “The one and only.”

  “This is Skye, Nan. And Skye, this is Mrs. Marshall, Lana’s grandma.” I made introductions.

  Nan looked between Skye and me with one of her mischievous grins. “You are a gorgeous thing, aren’t you? And you and Kate are friends already, I see.”

  “Kate’s the best,” Skye responded.

  That warmed my heart. I put my arm around Skye. “The feeling is mutual.”

  Possibilities began to swim in Nan’s eyes. I recognized it before when she tried to set me up with her oldest son, Dylan.

  Nick didn’t help the situation. He picked a horrible time to come over.

  “Ladies,” rolled off his tongue.

  I had to stop myself from laughing at the ridiculous amount of makeup he was wearing. I guess it never crossed my mind watching him all those years that he was wearing makeup the entire time.

  “Have you met Lana and Nan Marshall?” I asked instead of laughing.

  “I have not had the pleasure yet.” He held out his hand to Lana first.

  Lana took it and blushed.

  Next up was Nan. “Oh my,” Nan swooned, “I’m a fan.” Of course she was.

  Lana and Skye giggled at Nan’s reaction before walking off. I loved it. Wished I could do the same.

  Then a very interesting thing happened. Jack entered the picture. Jack, who was every bit as debonair as Nick, and from the looks of the Wells smile he gave Nan, he had an eye for her.

  “Who is this lovely lady?” Jack took Nan’s hand and kissed it, making her blush.

  My, my. I glanced at Nick to see what he thought. His eyes seemed to be reserving judgment.

  “This is Nan Marshall, Kenadie’s mom,” I made introductions.

  Jack gave me a wink. “How are you, darlin’?” He focused right back on Nan.

  “I’m happy to see you.”

  “Why didn’t you say that to me?” Nick whispered in my ear.

  And darn if those tingles didn’t appear.

  I leaned away from Nick. “You didn’t ask how I was.”

  We had an audience in Nan and Jack, who were grinning between us and each other. It felt very warm being under the microscope.

  Jack, who still kept hold of Nan’s hand, made it hotter. “Maybe we should leave these two alone.”

  “Good idea,” Nan said with her conspiratorial flair.

  “Please don’t leave on our account. Nick has to get back to . . . well . . . whatever he does.”

  Nick flashed that dang charming Wells smile. “Actually, I do have something to discuss with Kate, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Not at all.” Jack led Nan away.

  Nan giggled like she would when Zander would sweet talk her. Then she left me.

  I placed a little more distance between Nick and myself. My coworkers were staring at us. More like Eva and Cara were shooting darts with their eyes at me.

  Nick wasn’t having it and closed the distance. “You’re always trying to get away from me. Why is that?”

  I leaned against the wall I was near, begging my heart to quit skipping beats and my mind to not replay any old daydreams of him. I tucked some hair behind my ear. “I’m maintaining a professional distance. My coworkers may get the wrong idea,” I whispered.

  Nick erased any professional, and almost all personal, distance. He placed his hand on the wall and leaned in. “What idea would that be?” His eyes were as devious as Nan’s.

  “Do I really need to spell it out to you?”

  “I wish you would.”

  I caught my breath. “Nick.”

  His eyes grabbed mine and refused to let go. “Kate.”

  “What did you want to talk to me about?” I stammered out one syllable at a time.

  A half smile played on his fa
ce.

  Another interruption. Thank goodness. No. No. It wasn’t good.

  The director, Tabby I think I heard someone call her, a no-nonsense roll-up-her-sleeves kind of woman approached and was about to speak, but instead she stared at us before her eyes widened in an aha sort of fashion.

  “Yes. This. This is the chemistry we need. What’s your name?” she asked me.

  “Um . . . Kate.”

  “Kate, have you ever acted?” She started touching my hair that I had kept down in beachy waves today.

  I shied away from her touch. “No.”

  “Would you like to? It’s only two lines.”

  I shook my head vehemently no. What about the blonde bombshell they’d brought in?

  “Are you sure? You two are like screen gold. The chemistry and angst is rolling off you two.”

  Now we had a crowd, as in everyone who was there. I wanted to disappear into the wall.

  “Nick, try and convince her,” Tabby walked off.

  I felt every eye on us even though I couldn’t face anyone but Nick. How did he become my source of comfort?

  Nick surprisingly gave me a sympathetic smile before he faced everyone. “Everyone, will you give us a moment? Kenadie, you should come.”

  I caught Meg’s eye, and she wagged her eyebrows. That wasn’t helping.

  The three of us moved back to the executive office hall.

  Kenadie looked as if she wasn’t sure what to make of this turn of events. She would look at me, then Nick. It was if I could see her debate with herself about what might be going on, but then she landed on me and her shoulders relaxed. “How funny is this?”

  “Hilarious,” I played along.

  “You don’t really want to do this, do you?”

  “I think it might be inappropriate.”

  She thought for a second. “You’re right. Even if it’s all pretend, it might look odd to our clients who meet with you if they saw the commercial.” Kenadie laughed. “Or they might think it was fun.”

  “I’m no actress.”

  We all heard the real actress getting huffy. “You’re still going to pay me even if I don’t shoot this—it’s in my contract.”