“Jay? What the hell are you doing here?” Thomas walked over to the bed. “Brittany is a few cubicles down getting treated for an allergic reaction. People don’t seem to understand that allergy to nuts means she can die if she eats them. Fortunately we had her EpiPen with us and we got here in time so she’ll be fine.”
Jay made the introductions. He shook Thomas’s hand so hard the other man winced.
“Well . . .” Thomas wiggled his fingers by his side. “You certainly don’t seem ill.”
“I’m not,” Jay said, his voice firm and loud. “Not at all. I was just about to head back to the office. This was just a . . .” What the heck was he supposed to say? He couldn’t tell Thomas the truth. Taking a deep breath, he shot Zara a quick, desperate glance, praying she wouldn’t talk about cauldrons. She caught his gaze and gave him the barest of nods.
“He’s trying to be modest,” Zara said quickly. “And stoic. J-Tech was providing on-site security work at a celebrity party where I was a guest. You know how crazy celebrities can get.”
Thomas nodded. “We have several entertainment clients.”
“Well, then, you know how quickly things can get out of hand,” Zara said. “Jay and his team had it under control in no time, but in all the craziness he took a blow to the head. He said he was fine, but as a personal injury lawyer, I recommended that he get it checked out. You can’t be too careful for both legal and medical reasons when it comes to head injuries even if the injury would not in any way affect the ability of an individual to perform at a hundred ten percent efficiency as Jay always does.”
“Good to know it’s nothing serious.” Thomas moved away. “I’d better get back to Brittany.”
“Thanks for the save.” Jay relaxed back on the bed after Thomas had gone. “That was the investor who’s hopefully going to fund our international expansion.”
“I remembered him from the Mexican restaurant.” She perched on the end of his bed. “I thought you’d want to assure him you would be back to work tomorrow and ready to dominate the world of security services.” She stretched her arms over her head and yawned. “Good thing he didn’t want to stay and chat. I’m beginning to crash and I don’t have any gummies in my purse for an extra boost.” She shrugged when he lifted a quizzical brow. “It’s a weird energy thing. My dad is the same. We can push past our limits but then we just run out of energy and BAM. We’re out.”
“Why don’t you lie on the bed beside me?” He turned on his side and shifted to leave a space on the bed, although there wasn’t much room to move.
“It wouldn’t be . . . appropriate.” The longing in her eyes when she looked at the space he’d made for her belied her words.
“If you’re worried that you’re supposed to be finding my perfect match, I promise not to let her know we shared a bed.” He edged farther to the side, grateful for the railing that kept him from falling. “I have no ulterior motives, especially with all these people running around, and I don’t think there are any rules against it. The couple across the way are lying together and no one has said anything to them.”
“Since you put it that way . . .” She squeezed into the tiny space beside him, resting on her side. Three seconds later, she pushed herself up on one elbow. “As much as I appreciate the offer, this bed isn’t big enough for both of us.”
Jay eased onto his back, wrapped one arm around her and settled her head on his chest. “How about this?”
Zara snuggled beside him. “Acceptable.”
It was more than acceptable. Despite being so uncomfortably out of his element, and in a place that usually sent his pulse skyrocketing, he felt curiously calm.
“I used to play with the hospital equipment when my mom was going through her cancer treatment.” Jay’s lips brushed Zara’s hair. “I couldn’t just sit there and worry. I needed to do something with my hands.”
“Is she okay now?” Zara looked up, her forehead creased with worry.
“She had her five-year check and everything was good.” He hesitated, wanting to share his concerns with someone, but not sure if he could. “I was worried about her when she asked me to promise to try and find a partner so I wasn’t alone. It was an odd request. She knows how important my work is to me, what I want to achieve. I thought maybe the cancer had come back and she didn’t want to tell me. I’m still not sure.”
“You’ll have to ask her. Things like that are too important to go through alone.”
She was right. The discussion was long overdue. He’d been avoiding asking the question because he was afraid of the answer. But it wasn’t about him and his fear of losing his mom. It was about her and giving her support even if she said she didn’t want it. Much as Zara had just done for him.
Zara toyed with the edging on his gown. “My entire family takes things to the next level. They don’t ask for promises. They force-feed me men. I’m surprised one of my aunties hasn’t popped up here saying she was just in the neighborhood and look who is with her—a hapless eligible bachelor who let himself be dragged across the city by an auntie he barely knows because he’s that desperate for a wife.”
“Why don’t you tell them to stop?” Her hair was soft on his cheek, the floral scent partially masked by baby powder and ham kebab. She had changed out of her costume and washed off her makeup before calling the Uber, but her hair still carried the telltale scents.
“Same reason you made that promise to your mom.” She smiled, her dark eyes warming. “I love them. They’re my family.”
A tidal wave of emotion flooded through his veins. “I want to kiss you right now,” he murmured softly.
She tipped her head back and looked up at him through long, silky lashes. “That could be the head injury talking. I had the same feeling in the alley after I ran into the door at the art show.”
“Maybe it wasn’t the head injury.” He brushed his lips against her forehead, delighted when she softened in his arms.
“What kind of matchmaker would I be if I sampled the goods?”
“A thorough one.”
“I can’t do this, Jay.” Her breath whispered over his lips. “My life is one disaster after another. If you’re not already hiding something—wife, kids, criminal past, cat allergy, weird fetish, cult membership, double life—then I’ll unconsciously sabotage our relationship and you’ll never want to speak to me again.”
“I’m not asking for a relationship,” he said. “Just a kiss.” He traced the curve of her jaw, a feather-light touch over soft skin.