“Now, listen. It’s a good cause.” Her face started to get red. “And, well, I spent my own money.”
“Jamie, what money?”
“I work part-time.”
“Yes, and you were saving your money for school. Books and such.”
“Right.” Her gaze skittered away. “I’ll get by. Most of the books are online anyway these days.”
“What did you spend the money on?”
“I told you, I spent it on you.”
This was like pulling teeth. “How?”
“Aight. Remember the part I said would be good for you, but you wouldn’t like?”
“Yep.”
“That’s this part . . . I purchased a three-session package for you to meet with a relationship coach to help you with your dating skills.” The words rushed out in a tumble, then she held her breath.
He didn’t like it. Not one bit.
When he didn’t say anything after a few seconds, she blew the breath out.
“What the hell is a relationship coach? And why do I need one?”
“Come on, seriously, Dad? I don’t see women beating down your door.” She cleared her throat. “And it’s important to me to know you’re settled before I move away to school.”
“What the fuck?”
“Language,” she reprimanded.
“Who’s the daughter here? And who’s the parent?”
“Not my fault if you act so immature and cuss all the time.”
“I’m an adult. I’m allowed.” He frowned. “You didn’t answer my question, what is a relationship coach? And why did you waste a grand on one?”
“Someone who helps you navigate dates and meet new women. Kind of like a matchmaker in the old days.”
“I’ve already met the woman I want to date. Daphne.”
“Yes, but she ran away.”
“She did not. Why is everyone saying she ran? I did not scare her away. She was whisked away by Jezebel.”
“Jezebel who? I don’t know a Jezebel.”
The sexy blonde at the bar with the big boobs who’d been hanging on Jason, propositioning him while his fiancé chatted out in the lobby with Daphne. That Jezebel, that’s who. But Mark wasn’t about to say those words to his daughter. “Never mind.”
“So, you’ll have to meet with her. She’s agreed to help you through three dates, and the aftermath.”
“Aftermath? You make it sound like PTSD.”
“Well, might be a little shell-shock on her part. You’re not the easiest man to deal with these days.” Jamie crossed her arms over her chest. “Just saying.”
He growled, “Why does everyone say I’m not easy? I’m the pleasantest man in St. Augustine.” It was not lost on Mark that he was glaring at his daughter while he asserted his amiability. Damn.
“Because you growl a lot?” She contemplated him, an expression etched on her face that declared him deranged. Or stupid. “And you scowl.” She came around the desk to place the folder in front of him. Then she smoothed his forehead, her thumbs manually flattening his brows. “There, that’s better. You need to practice. You seem a little scary to outsiders. Only those of us who love you know differently.”
He hugged her around the waist, burying his cheek in her belly for a second before he let her go. “You’re all that counts.”
“No, you need to get a woman to love you. Not your family, who must love you no matter what.”
He gave her the stink-eye.
“There you go again. Stop it.” She swatted him. “Meanie. You need help to lighten up and I have just the person.” She tapped the folder. “She’ll be great for you.”
He opened the folder to find a brochure describing the services provided, the mission of the counselor or coach, and a checklist of what to bring to the first session. Shit. He couldn’t do this. He tossed the brochure onto the desk. “I’ll get your money back.”
“Nope. No can do. It’s non-refundable.” She crossed her arms defiantly.
“You’re under eighteen. It’s not legal for them to take your money. They have to give it back.” He grabbed his keys. “I’ll go now.” He picked up the brochure to find the address. “Where did you say they’re located?”
“She’s based at Essence. But Dad, you’re not getting my money back. Gabby signed for me. Besides, you need to do this. Please. I can’t leave for college in the fall if you’re not settled, or at least on your way to making better inroads with the female population.”
“Wait a second. What do you mean?”
Her mouth firmed. “I mean I won’t go. Period. I see how lonely you are. Once I’m gone, it will only be worse. I can’t leave you all alone, knowing how handicapped you are in the relationship department.” She shoved the brochure he held toward him. “It’s only three sessions. It will be good for you and it’ll give your daughter peace of mind. Please do it. For me.” Her eyes filled with tears.
Dammit. He didn’t do tears.
Mark sucked in a deep breath through his nose, slumping in defeat. “All right. Whatever. I’ll do it.” He shook his finger at her. “But you are leaving for school come August twenty-fifth.”
Jamie squealed and launched herself at him, arms tight around his neck. She kissed him on the cheek and let him go. “Thank you. Your first session is tomorrow. You won’t be sorry, I promise.”
She waved as she departed.
Mark sat back down in his chair and flipped through the brochure. On the back page, the picture of the relationship coach jumped out at him.
Jezebel.
He was already sorry for his promise.
Chapter 4
Oh, Hell, No
“First off, let me start by saying, I don’t want to be here.” Mark settled in a chair across the desk from Athena, aka Jezebel. “I don’t need you and I don’t particularly like you.”
“Well then, good morning to you too, sunshine. Glad we’ve got it all straight from the beginning.” She rose and came around the desk to perch on the edge. “Anything else you’d like to get off your chest?”
“Not at the moment.” He shot her an irritated glance.
But a certain part of his brain noticed she wore a black skirt that hugged her curves and displayed her long, tanned legs to mid-thigh. A pretty tank top accented her breasts to their best advantage. He shoved the thought away. He didn’t need animal attraction muddying the waters. Not with this woman. He had plans.
“Alrighty then.” She cleared her throat and leaned back a little on her hands. “Let’s start with why you think you don’t like me.”
“I don’t think, I know.”
“Okay, fair enough. Why?”
“I know your type.”
“My type?” She eyed him. “And what type am I, Mr. Cage?”
Mark noticed a flush on her cheeks, and her eyes sparkled in challenge. “Always searching for the new experience, the new guy.” Your next fuck-buddy.
He didn’t say the last, even though the thought lodged in his brain. He had too much respect for her, even though he still didn’t like her, to say something so mean out loud.
“Whoa, that’s a bit harsh, judgmental, and rather rash, don’t you think? You know nothing about me.” There was a steel edge to her voice he hadn’t heard before. She studied him intently as if he were a lost cause. “You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?”
Then, she cleared her throat softly. “Let me try a different tact.” She tapped her nails on the desk. “You could say it’s an occupational hazard, I guess. It’s part of my job. So what? I’m often on the make for new clients. But I don’t sleep with them. First and foremost, I am a businesswoman, Mr. Cage.” Her white teeth flashed. “And I’m damned good at what I do.”
Did he imagine the he
at behind her words? Who cared? She had been coming on to Jason.
“You often find clients who are attached or married men?” He settled back into his chair, stretching his legs before him.
“I’ve never knowingly solicited a client who was married or attached, as you say.”
“Bullshit.” His own brows slammed down now at her outright lie. “You were coming on to my best friend’s fiancé the other day.”
She stared at the ceiling, as if searching her mind. “Now exactly when would this have happened?”
“You know very well. Jason. At the bar.” His tone savage, he didn’t care he’d ripped her a new one. “How does it work for a relationship coach to lie? Isn’t truth integral to working relationships?”
She stared him down. “I don’t lie, Mr. Cage. Period.”
“Apparently, you do, if you can recognize it.”
“Damn, are you this pleasant with everyone? No wonder you’re having a tough go at dating.”
“I tell it like it is. What you see is what you get.”
“Well, Mr. Cage, there are times when you’re going to have to hold back and fight your, ahem, better nature because it’s damned unpleasant.”
“I don’t appreciate sarcasm.”
“Apparently, you do.”
He clenched his jaw, feeling his temperature spike. This woman infuriated him.
“And I don’t lie. I didn’t proposition anyone.”
He mimicked in a falsetto voice, “Come on, Jason, give a girl a chance.”
She waved him off. “Oh, it was nothing.”
“See. Told you. A proposition if I ever heard one.”
“No, Mr. Cage. I was not propositioning Jason in the way you’re assuming. We go way back. We’ve been friends since elementary school. Romance is not on the table with Jason. Never has been.”
A dirty image, of taking her hard and fast on a table, popped into his head and brought a bead of sweat to his forehead. Mark frowned, shaking off the thought. He would not be attracted to this woman.
Would. Not.
She continued, “It was a business proposition. I was asking him to let me sponsor a dating event at Ocean Breezes Resort next door. All those hunky, single golfers. I could match them up with lots of my clients.”
He snorted in disgust. “Right. Not buying it.”
“Mr. Cage, you can believe what you want about me. I don’t really care. But you will need to work with me for the next couple of weeks.”
“Weeks? I was told three sessions.”
“Depends on if you’re a quick study. Do what I say. Make adjustments to adapt to the world of dating as I recommend.”
“I don’t want to be in the world of dating.”
“Fine, there’s the door.” She waved toward the closed door and hopped off the desk, turning her back on him to take her seat behind the desk once more. “Nice meeting you. I’ll send a refund to your daughter.”
Jesus. He rubbed his forehead. Jamie would be pissed, and she’d threatened not to go to college. He really couldn’t do this on his own. He needed this woman’s help, no matter if he liked her or not.
“Wait.” He jumped up and stalked to her desk. She ignored him until he placed his palms flat on the desk and leaned in.
She finally looked up at him. “You needed something else, Mr. Cage?”
“Yes. Jamie would be devastated if you sent the money back. She believes you can help me. And she has her heart set on this dating concept.”
Athena sat back in her chair, assessing him. The corner of her mouth lifted. “Wow, there is a heart in there. I’m impressed. Point for you. Very attractive.”
Her bright smile punched him in the solar plexus. He pushed off her desk, standing tall, and rubbed the spot between his heart and gut.
Confusion and pride warred. Curiosity won. “What’s attractive?”
“Your concern and soft spot for your daughter. A man being a good dad is always attractive to a woman. It’s one of the biggest requests I get from clients, believe it or not.”
Against his will, a smile tugged at his mouth. “That’s good, right?”
She closed one eye and her cheeks hollowed as she studied him. “Yes, but you’ve got a long way to go, sir. You need to learn the finer skills of interpersonal communication.”
“I what?”
“You need to learn the finer points of communicating with a woman.”
“Why the hell would I want to learn how to communicate with a woman?”
Her pretty brows disappeared under a fringe of bangs. “Then why are you here, Mr. Cage?”
“I’m here because my daughter is blackmailing me into relationship counseling.”
“I think it’s more.” Her laugh tinkled, then she sobered. “Jamie explained the situation to me.”
He scowled. “What did she tell you?”
“That her dad needed help finding someone.” She paused. “And he was a little rough around the edges.”
“I don’t need help, goddammit. I know who I want.”
“Ahhh.” She studied him. “Let me guess. Daphne Moore.”
“Yepper.”
“She’s all wrong for you.”
“How can you say she’s wrong for me?” He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. Belligerence and anger competed inside him until he bit out his next words. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“You’d be surprised what I know about you already, Mr. Cage. Why don’t you have a seat so we can talk? I don’t like to be towered over.”
He sat. “I don’t care if you think she’s right for me or not, I want to date her while she’s in St. Augustine. See where it leads.”
“Does it matter at all to you she might not want to date you?”
“Well, that’s what you’re here for, isn’t it? To convince her to date me.”
She sighed. “I am not a miracle worker, despite my reputation.”
Mark heard his own growl.
“Let’s start there.” She pushed off the desk and slipped around him. He followed her movements, twisting in his chair to keep her in sight, not quite trusting her. The woman placed her hands on his shoulders and he jumped. “Relax, Mr. Cage. Take a deep breath.”
“What kind of new age bullshit is this?”
“Shhh. Deep breath.” The pressure of her hands guided him to relax against the back of the chair. Why not? He sucked in a deep breath.
“Now let it out.”
He did.
“You’re going to have to agree to do everything I say. Do you understand?”
He managed a grunt.
“And no more growling and grunting.” She tsked. “Neanderthal-speak is so last millennium.”
His mouth twitched and he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped.
“Better.” She smoothed the fabric of his shirt, moving her hands back and forth to help him relax.
He liked the touch of her hands on him. They were strong. Sure.
A hum of pleasure came from his throat.
“Much better,” she whispered in his ear.
And damned if he didn’t get chills from her sexy voice scraping against his need. No. Not this woman. He wanted sweet Daphne in his life. Mark instantly replaced the image of a naked Athena that had popped into his head unbidden at her soft words, with an image of Daphne sitting in the garden in her flowy skirt, butterflies landing on her. He sighed. Much better. Exactly what he needed.
“We have our work cut out for us, Mr. Cage.”
His body tightened under her hands. He wanted to growl, but bit it back. For now.
“Good job. You resisted the urge to growl or grunt. You are teachable. Now relax. This is nothing I can’t handle.”
&
nbsp; “You think you can handle me?” He scoffed at her words.
“Yes. I know I can. I am not called the Beast Whisperer for nothing.”
“Beast.” This time he snarled. “I’m no beast.”
She laughed, the sound melodious and musical as it tickled inside his ear and made him want to smile. Which put a scowl on his face instead.
“Okay, maybe they don’t call me the Beast Whisperer. I was poking at you. They actually call me the Date Whisperer.”
He enjoyed her wry sense of humor. Showed her intelligence. And Mark liked nothing more than a smart woman. Sarah had been a Brainiac.
“Don’t poke. I might bite.” He was kidding, but the sound of the purr that came from her made his dick hard.
“I might like it.” He could hear the smile in her voice even though she was behind him.
Did she really like to be bitten?
He didn’t know what to say. How sad was that? He couldn’t figure out how to respond to mild flirtation.
“It’s okay. We’ll work on your skills. Give you the tools to flirt.”
“How’s that? Can you read minds?” The music of her laughter moved something hard inside him. It was kind of nice a woman understood him and knew what he needed.
“No. Your silence. Plus, you tensed. I can tell a lot from body language and responses or non-responses. A non-response is still a response. People don’t often realize the simple fact.”
“Huh.”
“Next we’ll work on the one-word grunt answers.” She sauntered back to her desk to shuffle through some papers. A smile lit her face. She was pretty. Long blond hair, cut in a fashionable style. High cheekbones, square chin, lush full lips, and riveting green-blue eyes that were rather beautiful and startling, this close.
She glanced up and paused when she caught him studying her. Awareness sizzled in the air. “You’ll be spending a lot of time with me over the next week or so. Can you handle it? Even though you don’t like me?”
“Yeah, I’ll manage.” He wasn’t about to admit that he liked her just a little bit more already.
Make Me a Match (The Soul Mate Tree Book 5) Page 4
