Just His Taste

by Candice Gilmer

  Didn’t help she was about to go nuts, stuck in here. She wouldn’t put it past Cupid to take advantage of her being unavailable.

  Why did I spend any time with that jerk? It didn’t make sense. She would be mad at him, and wind up still going back to his place, or him to hers.

  He was the God of Love, but still, that didn’t explain why he would have such a pull on her. She needed to get back to her job. Do what she was supposed to be doing instead of worrying about Cupid’s shit.

  “I need to get back at it,” she muttered as she watched Jason’s day. He’d gotten an early phone call from Tessa. Then he’d gone out, taken pictures of a young lady and headed over to his office—a little suite he shared with another private investigator.

  Had that been in the files?

  Ava waved her hand in the air, and Jason’s file materialized. Ava nodded, and the pages turned so she could read more details about Jason’s job.

  “Oh, so he works with his dad.” Ava glanced at the image of Jason at his dinky office. She panned it out to show the other man.

  “Totally his dad,” she said, grinning. Man had the same severe haircut as Jason, though mostly white. Same jawline, same brown eyes. Just an older version.

  “Well, Jason’s going to grow into a handsome older man,” she said, giggling. And then blushed, realizing how inappropriate the comment was. Why would she care if Jason’s dad was handsome? That wasn’t part of her job.

  Ava turned back to the file. Flipped to the last page.

  Her shoulders drooped when she saw that the file had changed. Before, there’d been an open space, signifying there was a possible second HEA, instead of just Tessa. Ava hadn’t been too fond of Tessa at the wedding. No particular reason, except how she’d scowled at Ava. But that really didn’t mean anything.

  Not logically, anyway.

  But Ava didn’t have to like her.

  Now, though, Ava would have to deal with the woman since the file had changed, and the only listed HEA was Tessa.

  “Maybe I’m wrong about her,” she muttered.

  Yeah.

  Maybe she was. That was what she was going with, anyway.

  The file had never led her astray before, and while she didn’t always dive into it immediately, she did eventually read it. Though most of the time her hunches were spot on, without looking.

  This time, though, she seemed to be off her game.

  A lot.

  Maybe guys were just different…

  “Miss Avalynn?” One of the healers floated into the room. “How are you feeling today?”

  Ava waved her hand, and all the crochet disappeared as the healer advanced toward her. “Better. Ready to get out of here.”

  “That is a good sign,” she said, smiling. She fluttered around Ava, checking her wings. Ava didn’t wince as the lady moved her sprained wings around. “These wings are looking much better.” She flitted around some more, and Ava was unable to see what she did. “Yes, yes, dearie, these look much better.”

  “So can I go?”

  “You can leave today, under your own care, but I would be careful how I used those for the next few weeks.” She put her hand on Ava’s shoulder. “Is there any way you can pass off your charge? Possibly get someone to take it over? A member of your trio, perhaps?”

  Ava shook her head. “We just started.”

  “Ahh.” She came around front and crossed her arms over her chest “Well, if at all possible, try not to use your wings right away. They could still use a little rest. Maybe try to do a little of your work in human form.”

  Ava smirked. “I can do that.”

  “Good. Then you’re free to go.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Thursday Night

  Shit, I wore a tux for this? Jason thought. It was the driest chicken he’d ever tasted.

  He glanced around the fancy ballroom, equipped with the perfect lighting to highlight the bling on the guests. So much bling, Jason felt like he was stuck on a J.J. Abrams film, complete with lens flair.

  Guess this is more for the atmosphere than the food.

  He forced himself to shovel another dry bite of meat into his mouth, all the while thinking of the bazillion ways he could have made the meal better.

  So much better.

  “What’s the matter?” Tessa whispered to him, jabbing her elbow in his side.

  He leaned in, getting a whiff of her cologne. The smell should have been enticing, sweet and subtle. As strong as his feelings for Tessa had been over the last few days, he should have been hard as a rock and ready to jump her bones.

  Yet it didn’t feel right.

  “Jason?” Tessa said again.

  “Chicken’s dry,” he replied.

  She sighed. “Well at least look like you like it.”

  “Sorry.” He painted a smile on his face. Took another bite and followed with a big gulp of tea to cleanse his pallet.

  He pushed the green beans around, unimpressed with the catering as a whole.

  “Not hungry?” the blinged-out lady to his left who could have been his grandmother asked.

  Jason held his pleasant grin. “Ate before I came.”

  She leaned in a little. “I’ve tasted better chicken at Kentucky Fried.”

  Jason smirked. “Not how I would have done it, that’s for sure.”

  She smiled back at him. “You like to cook?”

  “Yep.”

  The lady sat up straighter in her chair, the bling glittering across the table. “Well, what do you know? A man that likes to cook.” She glanced at Tessa. “You have a gem there, honey. Not many men like spending any time in the kitchen.”

  Tessa patted Jason’s arm. “I know. He makes the best ribs.”

  Jason glanced at his date, keeping his face neutral at her compliment. “Thank you.” It was so weird hearing her being supportive of his hobby. She’d never cared before.

  “So what do you do with your ribs?” a man from across the table asked.

  “I can’t tell my secrets,” Jason replied.

  The man laughed. “We’re all friends here.”

  Uh-huh, Jason thought.

  “Jason is one of those barbecue pitmasters,” Tessa added. He glanced at her, and she winked at him. “Well you are. How many competitions have you won?”

  Jason shrugged. “A few.” Keeping his answer vague made it sound much more impressive than it was. Granted, winning anything always looked good on a resume, but most of the stuff he’d placed, or even won, had been on the local level, working with his dad.

  “Oh, you must tell us one secret,” the blinged-out woman said.

  “Go on, honey,” Tessa prodded.

  Jason winced at the term of endearment. “Well, the rub is important.” He began explaining the use of dry rub before cooking, and even continued with the difference between a marinade and a dry rub.

  The entire table paused and listened. Some were so intent he wondered if they were taking notes on their phones.

  “Really? Brown sugar?” the man who’d prompted him asked as Jason wound down his little lesson.

  “I’m diabetic. I can’t use real sugar,” another man said.

  “Splenda makes a brown-sugar substitute,” Jason said. “Though you use half the substitute than what’s called for in the recipe.” As he continued, he glanced at Tessa.

  She seemed quite impressed.

  Huh. Go figure.

  After the food lesson, and having his brain picked for the rest of the meal, Jason was almost glad when the mayor began his speech.

  Almost.

  It was a nice speech, with puns and jokes that got smirks from the crowd in all the right places, but it bored Jason to bits. When it was finally done, more hobnobbing began.

  He knew he’d done this as a favor, but he w
as about done with being around people. Tessa took him by the arm, leading him from group to group. In her element, Tessa smiled, talked—generally being a social butterfly.

  Jason was…

  Well…

  Not.

  Jason broke away, calling a bathroom break, and ducked out, feeling less suffocated out of the ballroom. He took care of his business, but before going back in, he found himself hovering by the door.

  From a distance, Tessa looked great. She was still doing what she did, moving about the crowd seamlessly, even joining the mayor at one point. She smiled, flirted, laughed. Everything that was required.

  It really was what she was good at.

  It would be something he’d have to get used to.

  He tensed at the thought as he crossed the threshold back into the ballroom. There it was again, that strange attraction that he couldn’t explain. It gnarled at him, digging around inside in a way that he couldn’t control. It wasn’t normal. Not even when he and Tessa had been dating had he been overcome with attraction to her.

  Granted, she always was attractive, was from day one, but that buzz hadn’t been there like it should have been. That buzz like…

  Shit.

  What was it? Who, rather? Who was it that he’d gotten such a buzz over?

  Had Tessa been the mystery woman he’d had drinks with after the wedding? He didn’t think so. Whoever it had been, it wasn’t the same as this new attraction for Tessa he’d felt ever since the wedding. It was something else. More, for this mystery woman.

  Get a grip.

  He was mooning over a woman he couldn’t even remember. It must not have been that exciting. It had been a while since he’d actually been on a date. A real one, anyway.

  Maybe that was why the mystery woman had him so intrigued. Loneliness. Mixed with a weird sort of need to settle for something that was there, instead of pressing on.

  After all, if he met her again, he would probably not feel that same desire. He’d probably made it out to be more than what it was.

  He shook his head. That didn’t sound like him at all. When did he become so…so girly?

  “Having fun?” came Lucas’s voice.

  Jason glanced over his shoulder and crossed his arms. “There’s a lot of people and bling here,” Jason replied. He noticed Lucas seemed a lot more relaxed in the hobnobbing than he did. Lucas always had been—Jason had always thought the guy would wind up a politician.

  Lucas nodded. “You never did care for politics, did you?”

  “No.”

  Lucas didn’t say anything for a moment. “So, you going to tell me now what’s up with Tessa?”

  Jason raised his eyebrow. “You care a lot about your ex-girlfriend.”

  “So do you.”

  Jason tipped his head, conceding the point.

  “Did you like the speech?” Lucas asked, sipping on his drink.

  “Sure.”

  “I wrote it.”

  That’s right, Lucas worked in the mayor’s office. Jason had forgotten that particular piece of information.

  “How come that’s not you up there drumming up funding?”

  “It basically is. It’s my words that make him look good.” Lucas finished off his champagne. “I prefer to work behind the scenes.”

  “Easier to get things done.”

  Lucas nodded. “Part of the reason I’m talking to you.”

  “You trying to do something behind the scenes?”

  “You don’t need to be dating Tessa,” Lucas said.

  Jason raised his eyebrow. “I bet your date over there wouldn’t like hearing you say that.” He’d seen Lucas wandering around with a pretty brunette—the antithesis of Tessa.

  Lucas crossed his arms. “Tessa doesn’t rebound very well. Makes bad choices.”

  “You should know,” Jason countered.

  Lucas glared at him. “I was her recovery from your asshole behavior.”

  “Yet here we are,” Jason said.

  “Don’t you dare fuck her over, Jason Gregorian. I don’t want to spend another four years hearing about how you treated her so badly.” Lucas walked off.

  Jason blinked.

  I treated her badly? Seriously?

  Jason shook his head, wanting to find Tessa and figure out what the hell Lucas thought he’d done to her during their short-lived relationship. Evidently Tessa saw their past very differently than he did.

  His pocket buzzed—not his private cell phone, but his work one. Which meant something had happened.

  “Yeah?” he said, answering.

  “Hey. Lead on the Miller case. Just saw him walking into a strip club.” His dad’s voice graveled through the phone.

  “Uh, he owns a strip club,” Jason replied.

  “It wasn’t his. It was Dollies, down on Forty-Ninth South.”

  Interesting. “Okay, I’ll… Shit. I’m downtown at a fundraiser.”

  “A date?”

  Jason almost said “sort of”, but caught himself in case Lucas was close. “Yeah. At Hardwin Hotel.”

  “Be there in fifteen,” his dad said.

  “Got it.” Now, Jason just needed to find his date.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Thursday Night

  Ava watched her charge talking to his date. Meandering around the party in human form had been probably the most boring job ever, and she really hated having to be in that state.

  Twice she’d been approached by men at the party, so she decided to make herself male for the party—short, stubby and a little fat. At least then she’d be able to meander around without too much attention.

  And she could watch Jason better. He looked incredibly handsome in his black tux—basic, simple and sexy as sin, unlike so many others who wore bling like it was another outfit layer. Jason made her think of James Bond—subtle and striking.

  She had to make herself focus several times, and not let herself get sucked into the beauty of her charge.

  Good grief, this was why she didn’t take on men—they were far too handsome.

  And good kissers.

  She shook off the thoughts.

  He obviously wasn’t affected by it as much as she was—he’d hardly thought about it in fact. At least, not that she could outright tell in his aura. She couldn’t read his thoughts, but if they affected his aura, she could see that. And he hadn’t shown any sign of being attracted to anyone except his HEA.

  Jason approached Tessa, and Ava, still dressed as a man, crept over, trying to be subtle as she listened.

  “Tessa, I’m sorry,” Jason said. “It’s work.”

  “How do you think that’s going to look?” Tessa said through gritted teeth. “My date sneaking off before the evening’s over?”

  “I’m not sneaking off. It’s my job. It’s not a nine-to-five one. You know that.”

  “You’re not a cop anymore, Jason. You don’t have to run off when a call comes in.”

  Jason tensed. “No, I’m not. But if I expect to get paid, I do. Unlike a cop, I don’t get a salary. I have to earn my money.”

  She let out a harrumph and turned, walking back toward the crowd. Tessa turned and flashed a fake smile, then disappeared into the crowd.

  Jason smiled back, though he doubted she saw him, turned and almost ran into Ava. “Oh sorry, man,” Jason said.

  “No problem,” Ava replied, hoping she sounded male.

  Jason continued.

  She let out a sigh. He didn’t pause, so she must have been convincing.

  “Okay,” she whispered to herself. “Now I need to figure out where he’s going.” She raised her hand to pull out her wings, and caught herself before she burst them out of her jacket in front of everyone.

  Some habits were hard to break. Even for her.

  Instead
, she headed, slower than she wanted to, toward the exit to follow Jason out the door.

  Just as she reached the entrance, she saw Jason hopping into a dark-blue sedan, and the car taking off.

  Shit.

  “Okay, I can’t fly. So now what?”

  She looked back and forth, and saw a yellow taxi idling at the curb.

  Ava hopped inside, barely giving the driver a second to think. “Follow that Chrysler at the corner, and I’ll pay you double your rate.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And don’t look back here again.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Gah, how do mortals get anything done when they spend all their time driving around?

  Ava shook her head, the magic still making her look like a short, round guy. It felt like she’d been in the cab for eternity. Really, though, it was only long enough for Jason to drop off his dad, and now he was pulling into a coffee shop.

  “Park here,” Ava said.

  Jason parked and climbed out, still dressed in his fancy penguin suit, and headed inside. If he noticed the cab, he didn’t acknowledge it. As the taxi glided to a stop, Ava materialized a one-hundred-dollar bill and shoved it through the plexiglass divider to the driver.

  True to his word, he didn’t turn around. Which was good because Ava couldn’t stand this body another minute. A quick wave of her hand, and Ava transformed into a downplayed version of herself—hair pulled into a messy bun, backpack, mondo-huge sweatshirt, jeans and a pair of glasses. She shuffled out of the car, just another nerdy college student looking for caffeine to fuel her studies.

  She followed Jason inside the coffee shop. The store was narrow and long, with tons of chairs and tables set up, a few couches and heavily padded chairs littering the room. The few bookshelves, filled with homey knickknacks and books, made the place look more like someone’s grandmother’s house than a coffee shop.

  All the proper coffee-shop noises came from the barista working behind the counter, but Ava’s eyes darted to the small display that held cookies, muffins and other pastries.

  Her stomach growled, and she felt like she hadn’t eaten in days. The crowd, not terribly heavy, was scattered around the numerous sitting areas with all ages of patrons. Some with computers or tablets, others visiting in soft voices.