Game, Set, Match (A Humorous Contemporary Romance) (Love Match)

by Malone, Nana

  She managed to relax back in her seat at Nick’s first serve. Without warning, once the serve was over the net, Nick charged forward and returned a forehand volley into the left corner. The referee announced the point to Nick. Wearing a grin, Nick glanced into the stands.

  Izzy beamed and clapped. He was so beautiful, her boy. For all the trouble Sabrina had brought into their life, at least she’d brought Nick into the world. He was Izzy’s universe, and she loved to see him happy.

  She looked at Jason as he returned her grin, but there was something else in his eyes she couldn’t read. Tenderness there and…something else. “You taught him that. He’s usually afraid to go to the net.”

  “I taught him, but he’s the one who tried it.” The pride in his voice, unmistakable.

  For the first time in his playing career, Nick won a match against Adam Michon. Izzy swore Jason cheered louder than anyone else, including herself and Jessica combined.

  When he could, Nick ran up into the stands to join them. He even let Izzy hug him, something he usually tried to dodge in front of his friends. Ah, the world of teenage angst. After all, what kid wanted his mom to hug him in public?

  What surprised her was the hug Nick gave Jason. When she saw them embrace, she knew she deluded herself by trying to pretend there wasn’t the possibility Jason was Nick’s father. Side by side, the resemblance was uncanny. She’d have to find Sabrina and pin her down.

  On the way out of the stands, Jason turned to her. “This was fun today.”

  For the first time in weeks, she’d been able to relax and enjoy herself for a couple of hours. “Yeah it was. Thanks for hanging out with us, and for everything else.”

  He nodded, and an odd smile quirked his lips. “So I know your gallery opening is next week.”

  She groaned. “Don’t remind me. I still have so much to do. I’m a bit behind since I haven’t been at the house or studio the past few days.”

  He stopped her for a moment to let Nick and Jessica walk ahead to the parking lot. “I was hoping you’d let me come to the opening.”

  Let him? “Uhm, well yeah you can come. Why would I stop you?”

  A long steady breath escaped his lips, and he gave her a bemused look. “I know we haven’t had a chance to really talk about Friday, or about that damned picture of Sabrina and I…”

  She cringed and shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, about that. I overreacted about the photo. It just brought back a million memories I didn’t want to deal with. You’ve been great to us for the past few days, and you didn’t have to be.”

  “No, I deserved the response. I’m working at being more honest more often, so I should have told you she came to see me.” Jason took another quick breath. “But I don’t want to talk about that.”

  She raised her eyebrows.

  “Uh, damn, this is harder than I thought it would be. But, I, uh, I don’t want to just go to the opening. I’d like to take you to the opening. As your date.”

  Her eyes widened, heart skipping like river rocks across water. “My date?”

  “Yes. Your date. You do know what a date is right?”

  She didn’t bother to tell him it had been so long since she’d been on a real date she’d forgotten the rules of conduct. “Yes, I know what a date is.” Barely. “I think I can manage that.”

  The sexy smile he often displayed was back and turned into a full scale grin that deepened the creases around his eyes. “Good.” He started walking toward the parking lot to meet Nick and Jessica. “And Izzy?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I promise I’ll show this time.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Izzy hiked up her dress to step into the black strappy heels. Her nerves were having a dance party with butterflies in her stomach. She fastened the teardrop chain, courtesy of the Dubois family. The diamond hit her at the lowest point of the V-neck dress, which unfortunately was very near to her navel. I never should have let Jessica talk me into buying this thing.

  She fastened the dangling diamond earnings to her ears and examined her image. She fixed a stray hair and went in the family room to wait for Jason. She told herself she wasn’t watching and waiting for the pot to boil. “Relax, Izzy. He’ll show today.” She told herself.

  Before an event, she was always too high strung to deal with people, so Nick and Jessica left early. That was their routine. And because she would have to stay late, Nick usually stayed at a friend’s or at Jessica’s. Simon would meet her at the event. He claimed he had no acrimony after their breakup, but their relationship still wasn’t back to normal.

  Thankfully, Sabrina hadn’t made another appearance since Nick’s match. Although, part of Izzy wished she had shown. They had some ground to cover about Nick and Jason. Uncertainty accompanied the now familiar tingling in her spine when she thought about Jason and Nick.

  When she realized she had nothing to do except wait for Jason, she sat on the couch and fiddled with her clutch. Glancing at the clock, she tried to quell the anxiety the last two weeks produced.

  She reminded herself that the police were driving by the house every night. Jason had helped install a new security system as well as provided very discreet security for Nick at school. He’d done so much for the two of them in the last two weeks. Made sure they were safe. The Jason she’d come to know in the past few weeks was very different than the one she’d seen in the media over the years.

  Maybe the bad boy was the persona and this was the real Jason. This was certainly the Jason she’d loved years ago. She was so busy in her own musings, she barely heard the insistent knock at the front door. Only after a more pronounced knock did she recognize the sound. She took a deep breath and checked her image in the hall mirror one more time before she answered.

  Jason, in his Armani suit splendor, stood in the doorway giving her his best prom date grin. Dark eyes tracked over her body, and she felt his raw hunger for a split second before his mask of refined class slipped back into place. Throat dry, she tried to smile and felt her lips quiver. “You look amazing.”

  The grin on his face stayed intact, but there was a predatory gleam in his eyes that made her legs wobbly. He took her hand and pulled her toward him. “That’s my line. Except, I would have delivered the line with more conviction.” His right hand came up to caress her face, and he tilted her chin up. “I would have added ravishing.” He kissed her left cheek just near her lips. “I would have added gorgeous.” He mimicked the petal soft kiss on her other cheek.

  He tilted his head, and as if drawn by a magnet, she did the same in the opposite direction, expecting the kiss, wanting the kiss, needing the kiss. To her frustration, his lips hovered over hers for several beats, and his lips curved into that lazy smile of his. “Or maybe, I would have just said, Wow.”

  When he backed away, Izzy stifled a groan of frustration. The tingling in her belly tracked its way somewhere distinctively lower, and she felt the need to sit down before her knees gave out.

  She searched her mind for something sophisticated to say, but couldn’t think of one thing. Speechlessness was not a usual affliction for her. He was good, and she was out of her league. For once, she gave herself permission to just enjoy it. Who knew how long she’d be able to feel like the most desirable woman on earth? “Wow sounds good. I might use that sometime.”

  He stood close enough for her to feel the chuckle rumbling in his chest. “I’ll give you licensing to use it, but you will have to pay.”

  She smiled up at him. “I’m a shrewd business woman, you know. I don’t want to over pay for licensing.”

  He kissed her cheek again. “I think we can work out a fair price.” Taking her hand, he tugged her to the driveway. “Come on. We can’t have the lady of honor arrive late to her own party.”

  “You’re right, Paris Hilton I’m not.”

  Instead of the two-seater Porsche she’d figured he’d drive, or the Mercedes he’d driven the previous week, a limo sat in the driveway. “Jason, what is this?�
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  “I figured you should probably act like the star you are, so I wanted you to arrive in style. Too much?” His brow wrinkled in worry.

  His concern touched her and made her want to bubble up with laughter at the same time. “A little. This event is just an intimate gallery opening. I’m not a star.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. You’re a star to me.” He escorted her into the back of the limo and slid in behind her.

  Izzy had been in a limo before with wedding parties and events like that, but she’d never splurged for anything as nice as this limo with its flat screen televisions and a bar stocked with Cristal.

  If this is how the other half lived, she could get used to it.

  ****

  Jason didn’t know how he would keep his hands off of Izzy. Holding his champagne glass, he watched her smile and chat with members of the press and the guests that had poured in to see the show. To the casual observer she would appear poised and elegant seamlessly floating from guest to guest, easily engaging in conversation. But he knew differently. He saw the deep intake of breath, the way she steadied her center before she faced each new person.

  With every move of her body, her dress flowed around her. The way her dress sat on her slim shoulders gave the illusion it could fall off at any moment if not for the lush curves of her breasts and her ass. When she’d opened the door at the house, the vision of her in brilliant white had nearly blinded him.

  As far as he could tell, she wasn't wearing a bra, and he’d been almost unable to stop the itching need to palm her breasts and test their lush weight. The diamond chain she wore around her neck only accentuated their full rise.

  For once, she’d worn her hair down. The waves gently framed her face and shoulders, flowing down her back. The combination of her thick black hair, her stark white dress and dark luminous skin forced all the air from his lungs. And he wasn’t the only one staring.

  Every time a male member of the press clamored to get close to her, Jason had to quell the jealous urge to shove the guy through a wall. And that was the least of what he wanted to do to that slick manager of hers.

  For several hours, he’d watched Simon slip his hands to Izzy’s waist and urge her one direction or another. When Simon leaned in to brush Izzy’s hair off her shoulder and whisper at her ear. Jason drained his glass and tried to find something to take his mind off the sight of the interloper.

  He’d been trying to give her space to do what she needed to do. After all, she was technically working. Every half hour or so, he made his way over to her to make sure she didn’t need anything. Or sometimes just to tell her she was beautiful. But for the most part, he stayed out of her way. This was her show, not his.

  Because the press was there, he wanted to make sure this night was about her. Not about his tabloid exploits. Not about his attempt at a comeback. Not about anything that didn’t have to do with her. Their arrival together hadn’t gone unnoticed by the press, but when they’d attempted to talk to him, he’d always directed the conversation toward Izzy.

  For the most part, it seemed to work. He’d deal with any fall out tomorrow when it came. He noticed Nick and Jessica hiding out in a corner, and he went over to join them. After all, the three of them were the misfits of the guests. Neither of them belonging there. Nick looked young Hollywood hip but mildly uncomfortable in his suit. Jessica had her green and blue mane in a bun and wore a simple black dress without a tattoo in sight, looking serene and pretty in her simplicity.

  And of course there was him. He was really the one that didn’t belong here. He’d been part of this world for most of his life, but he’d never been accepted. Never wanted to be accepted. He always did the opposite of what was expected of him.

  Nick brightened up when he saw him. “Dude, my mom’s photos are making a killing. Jess just took stock. We’ve sold all but six so far.”

  Jessica nodded. “Not that you don’t already know we’ve made a ton of sales, seeing as you’ve bought four so far.”

  Damn right he’d bought four. He’d have bought another one as well if the mayor hadn’t beaten him to the punch. “Guilty as charged. There are a couple of these I’ve been trying to get my hands on for years.”

  Nick looked at Jessica. “You think if she sells all of them, she’ll be in a good enough mood to buy me that Vespa I asked for?”

  Jessica laughed. “Don’t push your luck. Not to mention you’re still a couple of years shy of being able to drive.”

  Nick shrugged, but didn’t look defeated. “You just wait. I’ll wear her down.”

  Distracted by the sight of Izzy in his peripheral, Jason half smiled at Nick. Something in the determined set of Nick’s clenched jaw made his stomach flip. Could Sabrina have been telling the truth?

  But he had used a condom. He always had with Sabrina, never trusted her to be faithful. He knew the truth, but it didn’t stop him from wondering, almost wishing. The train of his own thoughts surprised him enough that he looked for a way to excuse himself.

  As luck would have it, he didn’t need one. Simon sauntered toward their general direction. He nodded to Jason. “Cartwright. Nice of you to support your photographer.” He gave Jessica the type of empty vacant look reserved for elevator rides. But to Nick he turned a beaming smile, “What’s happening, Nicky boy?”

  Nick scowled at him. “I hate it when you call me Nicky boy.”

  Jason was relieved he wasn’t the only one not feeling the love for Simon.

  Simon blinked several times as if unsure of how to respond. Jessica, sensing his weakness, sprung her attack.

  “Don’t bother, Nick. This schmuck doesn’t understand the finer points of how to talk to people.”

  Simon turned cool eyes in her direction. “I see you attempted to put yourself together for the event. How does it feel to be without your piercings and combat boots?”

  “Probably the same way it feels to walk around without a soul, the way you do.”

  Jason looked between the two of them. “Look, maybe you guys want to keep your voices down. Today is Izzy’s day.”

  Both turned to him in unison. Jessica’s face flushed, and her eyes went wide. Simon’s eyes dilated and his breathing turned rapid. Jessica muttered an apology, but Simon didn’t bother. He turned his attention to an approaching Izzy, who sent a beaming smile in their direction as she walked by.

  Jason would have sworn he caught the moron staring at Izzy’s ass. Not that he could fault him. The way the material skimmed over pert roundness—Jason had caught himself staring more than once.

  Unfortunately, Nick also noticed Simon’s attention to Izzy. Scowling even harder into his glass of soda, he asked, “Do you have to look at her like that?”

  In total agreement, Jason picked up another glass of champagne off a passing tray and said, “Tell me about it.”

  Jessica looked back and forth between the two of them. “I think things are a bit testosterony for my taste. If you’ll excuse me…” She abandoned them to follow a tray of canapés. Simon stared after her for a long moment before heading in the opposite direction.

  Nick looked up at Jason. “So you gonna ask her out, or what?”

  Having just taken a sip of champagne, bubbles tickled his nose, and Jason choked. “What?”

  “My mom. Are you going to ask her out? I’ve seen you guys sniffing round each other.”

  Somehow this kid always had him off center. “Well, Nick, we are sort of on a date now.”

  Nick pondered that for a moment then nodded. “Okay, good. She hasn’t ripped your head off yet, so that’s a good sign, right?”

  This kid was too astute for his own good. “Yeah, in my experience it’s generally a good sign.”

  Nick looked over at Izzy. “And she looks happy.”

  Jason wondered what kinds of things kept Izzy from being happy so he could get rid of all of them. “I want her to be happy.”

  Nick shifted his eyes from his mother to Jason. “I wouldn’t be cool with it
if you did something to make her unhappy.”

  Jason recognized the territorial pissing and half respected it, half wanted to laugh since it was coming from her son, and not her father. “Understood.”

  Jason spent much of the rest of the opening hanging out with Nick. He talked to the occasional politician and Hollywood type, but funnily enough, he felt most comfortable with the kid. The same kid who pretty much told him if he messed up with Izzy, he was a dead man.

  As the last guests made their way out of the gallery, Izzy discussed instructions for shipping with the gallery owner. When she finished, she walked over to him and gave him a brilliant smile. “Thank you so much for hanging out through the whole thing. I know these things can be a bit dull.”

  He took her hand and pierced her with a look. “First, customary practice is to take your date home at the end of the night and not leave her to hitch her way home. That won’t usually get you a second date.”

  Her laugh was clear and loud and made him want to hug her to him and capture that laugh as his alone. “I suppose that is the custom for dates.”

  Relief washed over him that she hadn’t tried to suggest this wasn’t a date. “Yes, it is. Secondly, I love to see you do your thing. Your photos are beautiful. Everyone should appreciate them.”

  She smiled shyly. “Thank you. Except for everyone to appreciate them, you should have to give up a couple of the ones you bought. Jessica said you bought six.”

  He shrugged. “Let everyone else get their own. I’m keeping my six.”

  She laughed and shook her head. He loved her laugh, the way she threw her whole self into it. “Fine, you can keep the ones you bought, but I really must insist you release the ones you’ve got on order.” She spread her arms. “Where are you going to put all of them?”

  He knew exactly where they were all going to go. “You let me worry about that.”

  “Have you seen Jessica? I need her to sign off on some order and delivery forms with the gallery owners before she leaves.”

  Following her toward the offices and coat check, he asked, “Are you sure she didn’t take Nick home?”