His jaw dropped. Was she serious? “You think only a woman who’s desperate would sleep with me?”
“No,” she said quickly, her lips flattening in a grimace. “I meant I’m not so desperate for a celebrity introduction that I would sleep with someone to get it.” She tilted up her chin. “But I could find someone for you if that’s what it takes . . . whatever the cost.”
He stared at her aghast. “You’re going to hire a hooker?”
“Jay.” She heaved an exasperated sigh and fell back in her chair. “Why do you always think in extremes? I’m a matchmaker. I can find you a match.”
“For a hookup?” His brain was still stuck on “hot sex” and wouldn’t let go.
A slow smile spread across her face. “I can do better than that. I’m going to find your perfect match. It will be my ultimate challenge. I will save you from the time-consuming perils of the dating pool and a life of singles table loneliness, all for the low, low price of a simple celebrity introduction.”
Jay didn’t need a match. He didn’t need a girlfriend or a wife or even a hookup. Work was all consuming. His goal was almost within reach. Loneliness was a small price to pay for success. But he’d made that promise to his mother, and now the woman who had shot him in the ass was offering him a way to fulfill it.
He couldn’t deny she had piqued his curiosity. And it wasn’t just about a match. She had touched something inside him. Something he had buried beneath the darkness that woke him night after night. He could feel when he was with Zara. She had crashed into his life like a hurricane, and after years of feeling numb inside, he was tempted to ride out the storm.
“Hello? Jay? Are you in there?” She rapped his head with her knuckles, and every nerve ending in his body fired at once. “Do we have a deal?”
Even as he hesitated, his betraying mouth was forming the word, “Yes.”
“Yessssss!” She pumped her fist in the air. “This is going to be fun. I know that word isn’t part of your vocabulary but by the time I’m done with you, it will be.”
“That sounds like a threat.” Why had he agreed to this? He didn’t want “fun.” He didn’t even want a match. Maybe she’d put something in his wine.
“It’s a promise.” She bounced in her seat, her enthusiasm almost infectious. “I need to get to know you better so I can find your perfect match. Why not enjoy the time we spend together?”
“Can’t I just fill in a form with my details and you find someone with similar interests?”
With a sigh, Zara shook her head. “Jay. Jay. Jay. My matchmaking inventory consists of people I know. I’m not going to hook up a friend or relative with some random dude I just met at the singles table.”
“I’m not some random dude,” he huffed. “We met at paintball and then again at the sangeet. We’ve been sitting here talking all evening. I’m a simple man. You’ve seen all there is to see.”
“I’ve seen the surface. Now I need to see what lies underneath.” She gave him a broad smile. “Don’t look so worried. I won’t take up much of your time. Maybe two or three interviews at most. How about Wednesday afternoon? I’m in settlement meetings Monday and Tuesday, superior court on Friday and Wednesday morning—”
“My lawyer will be in superior court on Wednesday morning,” Jay said, interrupting. “We’re trying to get a case against our company thrown out of court.”
“Perfect. “I’ll come to your office Wednesday afternoon and you can tell me about the kind of woman who rocks Jay Dayal’s world.”
Jay had no idea what kind of woman would rock his world, but the prospect of spending time with Zara alone was not unpleasant. Maybe there was a woman out there who could handle the darkness inside him.
After a quick number exchange, she stood and lifted Aphrodite’s head. “I’d better go and turn this in. I told the manager I’d look after it until after dinner. Do you want to give her a kiss for luck?”
“No.” He tipped his chair back, holding up one hand to ward her away.
“Just one kiss.” She took a step closer and tripped over his foot, falling against him. With reflexes developed through years of military training, he caught Zara as momentum carried them crashing to the floor.
It was only seconds after they hit the ground that he saw a familiar face looking down from above.
“Hello, Mother.”