Mister Match (The Match Series Book 1)

by Morris, Catherine Avril

  Lisa leaned on her elbows, still processing the information. “I thought you said you worked in computers.”

  “Yeah, I lied,” he said miserably. “I was in the IT industry, until I found out this paid better.”

  Lisa raised her eyebrows. “Wow. That’s so cool.”

  He looked at her in careful surprise. “You’re not freaked out by that? You realize, I make my living by putting my crotch in women’s faces. Sometimes men’s faces. And I make them grab my butt. It’s all part of the act.”

  Lisa couldn’t help but laugh, envisioning a naked Roberto grabbing her hands and rubbing them down his washboard abs.

  Then she stopped laughing as she realized that the image did nothing for her. Her internal temperature didn’t rise even one, single degree.

  “No, I can’t say it freaks me out. I think it’s hot,” she fibbed. What was a little white lie between friends? Besides, he was hot. She could see that objectively, even if she couldn’t feel it, the way she did when she looked at Adam.

  “Oh.” Roberto’s face changed slowly to a hopeful expression. “Well, good, then. Wow. I’m glad I got that off my chest, and within the first hour, too. I think we’re off to a great start.”

  He grinned and raised his glass to clink it against hers.

  “Seriously,” Lisa said, “I can’t imagine why any woman would be scared of your job. I mean, you’re not a prostitute, right?”

  “Oh, God no,” Roberto said, and the amount of horror in his expression told her he was telling the truth.

  “Then what’s the problem? I’d think that would up your marketability by a lot.”

  “I guess not many women are as open-minded as you.”

  “Then they must be crazy,” Lisa assured him. “I’d imagine almost any woman with a pulse could fall for you at ‘hello.’”

  He watched her carefully as she spoke, and when he smiled, it was both patient and understanding. “But—not you. Am I right?”

  She didn’t answer for a moment. She didn’t want to say yes, but she couldn’t very well deny it, either.

  Roberto squinted and steepled his fingers together in front of him. “Let’s see. I’m actually pretty good at reading people, and I had a feeling about you from the minute you walked in.” He tapped his fingers against his lips while Lisa sat miserably, watching his hands.

  They were good, strong hands. Capable ones. And he had a great mouth. Nice, wide lips, humor in their lines. And an amazing body. He was a stripper, for God’s sake. Why couldn’t she drum up even one lick of heat when she looked at him?

  “You recently got your heart broken,” he said after a moment. “By someone you really liked. You fell hard and fast, but then it was over, just all of a sudden. And now you’re trying to pick up the pieces and move on, but that’s impossible because you really, really liked this guy, and you just don’t want to move on.”

  Eyes wide, Lisa felt herself sit up straighter in her chair. “How—how did you know that? That’s exactly right. How did you—?”

  He smiled enigmatically. “I’m just good like that.” Then he chuckled. “No, not really. First of all, it takes one to know one. I recently got out of a relationship, myself, and I still feel a little bit bruised and vulnerable too.”

  “But how could you tell all that about me?”

  “I recognize the look in your eyes, for one thing. You look like you’re hurt but you’re trying to be brave about it. And your mood swings are a dead giveaway.”

  “Mood swings?” Lisa repeated.

  “Sure.” He grinned. “One minute you’re smiling and flirtatious, and the next you’re sad and lonely, a million miles away. It doesn’t take a genius to read the signs.”

  “Wow.” She wasn’t sure whether to be impressed by his powers of observation or nervous about his overly close scrutiny.

  He eyed her for a moment longer, then shook his head. “All right, I have to be honest. I’m not just the most observant guy in the world. I also have this embarrassing little addiction to Rag magazine. Something I picked up from my ex. She always kept it in the bathroom to read while she, well.” He shrugged. “You know.”

  Lisa laughed, and then sighed. “You must have seen the spread about me and Adam.”

  He nodded sympathetically. “I saw your picture in there a few days ago, and I knew I recognized you from somewhere. And then when you walked in tonight, I put it together. You’re the one they’re saying cheated on Mister Match.”

  Lisa blinked, hard, and then huffed out a breath.

  Of course. Of course. Thanks to Adam, she couldn’t go anywhere now without everyone knowing her business—worse, a warped and twisted version of her business.

  She scrubbed at her eyes. “God, is it everywhere? I mean, does the whole entire world know about my stupid love life?”

  “Hey, it’s not that bad. Shoot, I’d kill for some publicity like that. It would really help me jump-start my modeling career.”

  “Well, look out, fame, fortune and Hollywood,” Lisa said sourly, “because we’re probably being photographed right now. ‘Mister Match’s Mistress Steps Out with Her New Boy-Toy.’” She snorted.

  Roberto glanced around. “Really?” He sat up straighter and smoothed his shirt over his pecs.

  The guy was very, very nice, Lisa thought, but he was vain as hell.

  It was always something.

  “You look fine,” she said flatly. “You know, I hate to cut this short, but I think I should probably head home.” She no longer felt the need to tell him about Clare and Willow and the puppet strings. He wasn’t going to be hurt by their non-date, and that was all she cared about.

  “Of course,” Roberto said instantly. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  He paid the bill while Lisa waited, feeling as if a fist had just gone through her chest. Her nonexistent behind-the-eye throb had suddenly reasserted itself, times a hundred—it seemed to have swelled into a full-blown, massive, three-alarm headache.

  Roberto rejoined her. “Ready?” At her nod, he guided her outside to walk through the late-evening, canyon-like streets of downtown.

  They walked for a few moments in silence. Then Roberto looked down at her, his eyes serious. “Can I give you some unsolicited advice?”

  She glanced up at him. “Sure. I guess. What is it?”

  “I can tell you really care about this guy. That’s not something to play around with, you know? I mean, by all means, give him hell for a while, if you need to—make him pay for being such a dumbass that he almost lost you. But then, take him back.” He shrugged. “I just think that when you find love, you should hang onto it, no matter what your pride tells you to do.”

  Lisa felt tears pricking her eyes, pressing like a hot ball in her throat. “You’re right,” she started to say, but then she glanced ahead, down the sidewalk, and stopped.

  Her heart gave a fast, hard tumble before picking up the pace double-time.

  There was Adam, standing ten paces away, as if frozen, staring right at Lisa and Roberto.

  Chapter 34

  ____________________________________

  Adam’s homecoming already hadn’t gone exactly as he’d planned, and now—now this was happening.

  He’d called Lisa at work, but she’d been with a client and hadn’t returned his call.

  Dan had, though. Dan had called him about fifty times since that morning, after Adam had left the message on Dan’s voicemail, letting him know he was canceling the interview in San Francisco, the Dream Date for that weekend and everything else on his schedule, because he had to go back to Austin and make sure the woman of his dreams wasn’t falling for another man.

  Adam had finally set his phone to block Dan’s calls. He’d deal with him later, and with the destruction of his company, his life, his dreams.

  As long as he had Lisa, he’d be okay.

  But he hadn’t been able to find her all day, much less patch things up quick-and-easy, as he’d fantasized. By mid-afternoon, he’d
faced the fact that he didn’t have anyplace to stay. Booking a room at the Keiko had really been his only option, though it was hollow comfort compared to his vision of sleeping in Lisa’s bed, curled up with Mr. Monkey at his back and Lisa in his arms.

  And then he’d gone down to Indulgence, where Clare, working late, had calmly informed him that Lisa was out on a date with her current yahoo. Clare had even been so kind as to tell him exactly where he could find the lucky couple, probably so he could go watch the woman he loved and her new yahoo feed each other sips of wine and coo like doves at each other, while Adam’s heart was slowly ripped out of his chest.

  The entire day and its succession of events would have tried the patience of any man.

  And now the yahoo was staring at him, nearly expressionless, apparently sizing him up. Adam found himself wishing, briefly but fervently, that they were living back, oh, about twenty thousand years ago. Then he could just pick up the nearest tree branch, club the guy over the head, toss Lisa over his shoulder and drag her to his cave.

  Things sure were a lot easier in the Paleolithic period.

  “It’s Mister Match,” the yahoo said, amazement in his voice. “I can’t believe it. Adam Match. It’s an honor to meet you, man.”

  Lisa rolled her eyes.

  Adam scowled. “You know,” he started, and then stopped. Maybe leading with both guns wasn’t the best tactic. “Look, hi,” he said, addressing the yahoo. “I’m Adam Masters. Lisa’s boyfriend. Nice to meet you.”

  “It’s great to meet you,” the yahoo gushed, grabbing his hand. “Seriously. I mean, I entered the drawing for the Austin Dream Date, but I didn’t win, so I never guessed I’d get to meet you in person.” He gulped, visibly.

  Lisa, watching the guy in disbelief, snorted. “Don’t trip over your tongue,” she said irritably to the yahoo, who looked instantly contrite.

  “Look, Lisa,” Adam said, “I came to find you because Clare told me you were—”

  “Clare?” She narrowed her pretty eyes and crossed her arms, and shifted her weight onto one foot. “Clare told you where I was?”

  Clearly, he’d better play this delicately, or he might be paying for Clare’s funeral by tomorrow morning. Or at least her hospital bills. “I pried it out of her, okay? I basically threatened her with—” He could have made it a plausible story if threatening people were his style at all. But it wasn’t his style, and he hadn’t pried anything out of Clare.

  Better be honest. “Ah, look, I didn’t threaten her with anything. I just told her the truth—that I’m crazy about you. I’m head-over-heels in love with you, Lisa. So when I heard you were going out with someone new, I just—” He raised his hands, dropped them again. “I needed to come see you. To see if I could stop you from making a mistake.”

  “A mistake?” she repeated, incredulously.

  “Yeah,” he tossed back. “You and I were meant to be together, Lisa. Not you and this guy. Not you and those other yahoos your friends set you up with. You and me.”

  She glared up at the yahoo. “Roberto, would you mind walking me back to my car now, please?”

  At least the guy had the decency to clear his throat in obvious embarrassment. “Of course, but... Look, Lisa, if you need to talk to your boyfriend—”

  “He’s not my boyfriend, and I’m out with you, not him. Please walk me back to my car.” She grabbed the yahoo’s arm and charged along the sidewalk with him in tow, her shoulder bag bumping against her hip as she went.

  Adam dogged their steps, doing his best to ignore the feeling of dogginess that came with it. “Let’s go talk somewhere. Please. We can all three go, if you want.”

  “No, thanks,” Lisa said flatly. “I’ve already done more than enough talking for today.”

  “Lisa, there are some things I really need to tell you.”

  “Funny, because I have very little to say to you.” She stopped at the crosswalk, apparently waiting for the little figure on the signal to light up so she could go, though there was no traffic in sight. Her date stood by, looking generally uncomfortable.

  “There aren’t any cars coming,” Adam pointed out after a moment.

  “I know that,” Lisa hissed acidly, and marched out into the street. Both Adam and the yahoo jogged to keep up with her.

  “I hope you’ll forgive me,” Adam said, “when I say I don’t believe you. You’re this pissed off at me, and you’ve got nothing to say?”

  Her eyes held fire when she glanced at him. “Oh, I don’t think you really want to hear what I’ve got to say.”

  “Actually, I do.” He might hate conflict, but he’d take a screaming-mad Lisa in his face over a cold, silent Lisa stomping away from him, any day of the week.

  “You do?” She paused for a second, as if weighing her options, then swung insolently toward him. “All right, then. You asked for it. You didn’t call me, not once, but you called my best friend to check up on me. That’s absolutely cowardly.”

  “I kept hoping you would call—”

  “I’m not finished,” she said with deadly calm. “This has been a hell of a day. First I do six massages, pretty much back-to-back, which, in case you’re wondering, isn’t easy. Especially when you’re already feeling crummy. And then, right when I get home and think I can finally relax for a little while, I find out my best friends in the world have been pulling the strings on my love life, like I’m some kind of marionette. Like I can’t possibly make my own decisions, good ones.”

  “I don’t think that’s how they meant it, at all,” Adam said, carefully. She seemed like she was about to blow a gasket.

  “And then I find out I have to come meet this guy—” She pointed a thumb at the yahoo. “—because he’s already out someplace, waiting for me, not realizing he’s actually been messaging with my supposed best friend the whole time, and not me.”

  The yahoo looked confused. “I have?”

  “Yeah. Sorry. That’s what I came here to tell you. It was my friend Clare all along. I had no idea you even existed until about five o’clock this afternoon.”

  He looked taken aback. “Whoa. Okay, that actually makes sense. I wondered why you seemed so different in person. Your messages were so...sexy.”

  She gave him such a scathing look that Adam actually felt bad for the guy, for a second.

  “I don’t mean it like that,” he backpedaled. “I just mean, some of the messages were pretty over the top, and then in person, you seemed a lot more reserved—”

  “You might want to stop,” Adam advised him, “before you dig yourself in any deeper.”

  The yahoo fell into uncomfortable silence.

  “As I was saying,” Lisa said severely, “as if all that wasn’t enough for one day, things were actually looking up just a little bit—I mean, I was having fun with Roberto, even if he and I both knew it wasn’t going to lead to a second date—”

  Adam’s heart lifted like a bird taking flight.

  “And then you show up,” she finished.

  His heart crash-landed back to Earth. She’d as good as snarled it, as if seeing Adam were the worst possible thing that could have happened on such an already craptastic day.

  A car honked at them. Quickly, Adam took Lisa’s elbow to lead her out of the road. He was grateful to be touching her again, even if it was just that tiny part of her arm.

  Which, of course, she snatched away once they were safely on the sidewalk.

  “Clare said you talked to Willow about me behind my back,” she hissed him. “I was just trying to get over you, and then you called her up and—” She stopped abruptly and narrowed her eyes. “Wait a minute. Were you in on it too?”

  “In on what?”

  “Adam,” she said, warningly, her voice rising. “Did you scheme with Willow and Clare on the Mister-Match dates?”

  “Of course not!” He was appalled she would even think that for a second. “Absolutely not. I would never do that. But I’m glad I talked to Willow. That’s how I knew where to find yo
u.”

  His voice had risen too. He didn’t realize it until Lisa hissed, “Keep your voice down. Someone might overhear. Hell, someone might take a video and post it on the Internet. ‘Mister Match Has Public Brawl with Ex-Fiancée.’ You can’t afford any more bad press.”

  Suddenly, he felt pissed off—angrier than he’d been in a long time. “I don’t give a goddamn about any of that, Lisa.”

  “Yeah, right, you don’t.” She kept her voice low, but it dripped with sarcasm. “All you have in the whole world is your reputation. Don’t tell me for one second you don’t care about it, because I know you better than that.”

  “Actually,” he said, and took a deep, cleansing breath. “You don’t.”

  She looked at him hotly. “Excuse me?”

  “I canceled an interview in San Francisco this morning to be here,” he said. “And the Dream Date that was happening in D.C. this weekend, too.”

  “You did what?” She looked at him as if he’d gone completely insane. “Why would you do a stupid thing like that?”

  “Because I haven’t spoken to you or seen you in twelve days,” he said, “and being away from you is killing me.”

  That seemed to take the wind completely out of her sails.

  In the beat of silence that followed, Roberto raised a hand. “Um. Excuse me?” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “I’m just going to—I’ll just say goodbye, now.”

  Adam had actually forgotten the yahoo was still there. “Sure, buddy. Take care.”

  “It was really nice to meet you,” the yahoo said. “I love Mister-Match.com. It’s got all the best women. And for the record, I think you two make a really good couple.”

  He grinned, and Adam felt a little bad for calling him a yahoo in his head.

  “Bye,” Lisa said, listlessly, a beat too late. Roberto was already several paces away.

  And now, it was just the two of them.

  “Have you missed me at all?” Adam couldn’t help but ask—although he didn’t want to hear it if the answer was no. But somehow, he had a feeling that wasn’t the answer. She wouldn’t be this angry with him if she didn’t care about him, at least a little.