“Oh my God.” Jessie’s eyes lit up as she smiled from ear to ear and she shook her head slightly from side to side. “That’s right. I didn’t even think about that. I was too busy trying not to lo…”
A blush crept up Jessie’s face as her words trailed off. Zach had never met anyone who seemed to be as much of a contradiction as the girl sitting in front of him. Usually, he could read the opposite sex within a few minutes. What they were about. What they were trying to hide. What they wanted.
It wasn’t just the opposite sex. Zach had always been able to read people in general. Their weaknesses, strengths, insecurities, fears. It had come in handy in his career. Boxers always had tells for when they were at their weakest, hurt, or even sometimes scared. Zach instinctively knew the exact moment to go in for the kill. Which was why he was undefeated. He held a twenty-and-o record with sixteen knockouts.
“You were too busy trying not to what?” Zach asked, hoping to get a clue to this mysterious beauty.
He watched, captivated, as several different emotions played out on her flawless face. A strand of honey-blond hair gently fell across her forehead, and Zach’s fingers itched to touch it. His palms grew moist with sweat at the thought of the silky feel against his fingertips.
A thought occurred to him like a light bulb turning on in his head. Maybe the reason that Jessie seemed to be so unreadable to him was because he couldn’t seem to control his response to her. Every time she spoke, smiled, looked at him, did anything, it was like his body didn’t just take notice. It consumed him.
His physical reaction must have been clouding his usual people-reading skills. All of his instincts were on the fritz because his hormones were on circuit overload. Since the first moment she’d looked up at him with those huge brown eyes, all he’d wanted to do was strip her naked and drive himself inside of her. His overwhelming desire for her was all his mind could process.
“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.” She waved her hand dismissively as she lifted her chai tea to her mouth, wrapped her pouty, pink lips around the plastic straw sticking out of her cup, and sucked the amber liquid up.
Damn. Zach had never been jealous of an inanimate object before, but he would give his left nut to be that straw right now.
As she set the cup back down, she took in a shaky breath. Placing her hands flat on the table top, she said, “I realize that we have found ourselves in an unusual position. I’ve been thinking about it, and I feel like we can make it work so that we are both satisfied with the outcome.”
Holy hell. He knew he was in trouble when just Jessie’s speaking the words ‘satisfied’ and ‘come’ in the same sentence made his dick grow so hard that he was worried it would lift the table.
“What do you have in mind?” Zach’s tone sounded much raspier than he’d meant it to.
Jessie lifted one dark-brown brow, and a small smirk pulled at her lips as determination burned brightly in her glowing brown eyes. “Well, I want the brownstone, you want the brownstone, and Margie wants to rent the Brownstone to us.”
Zach nodded as a smile spread on his face. He was really starting to enjoy the fact that, in one moment, Jessie seemed vulnerable and open and in the next, she seemed totally in charge and unstoppable.
In an all-businesslike tone, the blond bombshell continued. “I don’t mind having a roommate. I’m not going to be around much. I work long hours and have family close by that I plan on visiting often. My only stipulation is that I take the master with the attached bathroom. But I am willing to pay ten percent more of the rent for it, which would leave your share at forty percent, and then we can split utilities fifty-fifty.”
When Zach didn’t answer immediately, Jessie reached out her hand and asked in a challenging tone, “Deal?”
The look in her eye made him feel like she was daring him to shake on it. Raising his hands in mock surrender, Zach asked lightheartedly, “Don’t you think we should get to know each other a little bit before we do anything crazy and permanent like a handshake deal?”
Irritation flashed across Jessie’s flawless face before she quickly masked her reaction and lowered her hand. With an unreadable expression, she stated flatly, “No. I don’t see any reason that would be necessary. Unless there is something in your background that would prevent us from getting the place. Do you have a criminal record?”
“Not even a speeding ticket.” Zach had gotten into some trouble as a teen, but once he had become an adult, it had been expunged from his permanent record.
“How’s your credit?”
His credit was great. His mom’s was the one that had suffered because of all of her medical bills. “Good.”
“Do you know your credit score?” she shot back.
This girl really did not beat around the bush. He liked her style. “Eight hundred and twenty. Do you know yours?”
Jessie’s lips pursed, and for a moment, he didn’t think that she was going to answer him. Zach couldn’t care less what her credit score was, but he found himself anxiously waiting for what her next words would be. She wasn’t predictable, and he was finding out that he really liked that.
Finally, tilting her head, she let out a small sigh. “Seven hundred and ninety.”
It was blatantly obvious that the admission had pained her. Zach tried not to smile, but he felt his lips twitch in amusement. “It’s not a competition.”
“Everything is a competition,” she stated firmly as she separated the two applications, handing one to him. Looking straight into his eyes and using a no-nonsense tone, she asked, “So do we have a deal?”
“You honestly don’t have any other questions for me?” He had no idea why this girl would be willing to move into a house with a complete stranger. But for some reason, it bothered him. Sure, he knew he was a good guy, but she didn’t.
Not missing a beat, she answered, “Your credit and criminal record are all I’m interested in.”
“Really? That’s all you’re interested in?” Zach honestly had not intended to imply anything sexual in his question. But as the words had left his mouth, he’d felt the energy between them shift.
A flush rose up Jessie’s neck, and she licked her lips nervously. “Yes,” she breathed.
Zach’s body immediately noticed that Jessie’s voice was not nearly as strong as it had been just a few moments before. It was now laced with a sensual tone.
“Well, what if that’s not all I’m interested in?” Again, the question came out sounding much more lascivious than he’d meant it to.
The energy between them was so hot that he wouldn’t be surprised if they set the small corner coffee shop on fire. Zach’s eyes lowered as his gaze was drawn to the small line of cleavage that was peeking out. Up and down, her chest rose and fell as her breaths became heavier.
“Fine. What are you interested in?” Jessie’s soft-spoken question sent all kinds of fiery darts of arousal, spiraling through Zach’s entire being.
That was a loaded question.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
Her almond-brown eyes narrowed. “Are you hitting on me?”
Leaning forward slightly, being pulled to her like she was surrounded by a magnetic force field, Zach felt a slow-building smile spread across his face. “If I were hitting on you, I promise you wouldn’t have to ask.”
Tilting her head in suspicion, she asked, “Then why are you interested in my relationship status?”
“I don’t want to have to have kick some guy’s ass who shows up and isn’t happy about our potential living situation.”
“Oh.” Jessie’s eyes looked a bit surprised. Then, sitting up a little straighter, she once again was all business. “No. I’m not seeing anyone currently.”
That piece of information made him much happier than it should have. He wasn’t quite at the Tom-Cruise-jumping-up-and-down-on-Oprah’s-couch level of happy, but it was getting dangerously close to that territory.
“What about you?” Jessie countered.
“I don’t date this close to a fight.”
Zach never let his personal life interfere with his career. He’d tried a few serious relationships, but they never worked out. In the early days, before he turned pro, he would break things off with whoever he was seeing about six weeks before a fight. Now, he just never took things to that next level. Casual. That was the name of his game.
“A fight?” Jessie’s left brow rose once again, and it sent a shot straight to his ever-hardening length. He’d never considered eyebrows sexy, but something about the way Jessie moved hers made him want to pull her across this small table—or better yet, lay her down on top of the table.
“I’m a boxer,” he said, trying to stay focused on the conversation they were having because it was important. This conversation was going to determine his living situation for at least the next year. “My next fight is in eight weeks, on New Year’s Eve.”
“I see.” Jessie’s expression was unreadable.
Usually, people (women) had a lot more to say or at least a clear reaction to that little piece of information about his life. But he honestly could not tell what she thought about what he’d just told her.
After a few moments of sitting in silence, Jessie asked, “So is that it? Are we good?”
For some reason, it bothered him that she seemed to be in such a hurry to get out of there. Which was a problem. One of several that made him more than a little hesitant to move in with her.
First of all, the chemistry they’d shared in the basement, in the kitchen, and now sitting across from each other at Rise and Grind, was more intense than anything he’d ever felt before. And Zach was fairly certain that it wasn’t one-sided. If they were to live together, odds were they would end up acting on it. In his opinion the only thing worse than dipping your pen in the company ink, was shitting where you eat or in this case live. Zach never slept with his neighbors, much less a roommate.
Still, if their attraction was the only issue, Zach could pretty easily overlook it. The brownstone was perfect for his needs. Even more perfect now that they would be splitting the rent. There was no way he was going to let her pay more than fifty percent, no matter what bedroom she had.
Zach had no issue with the fact that Margie thought he and Jessie were a couple. She had jumped to that conclusion all on her own and then Jessie had decided to run with it. He’d basically stood by silently. He would be a good tenant, and going purely off instincts, Jessie would be too. Definitely a lot better than the frat boys or daddy’s girl he’d seen today.
So the real issue was not that they were going into this under false pretenses. It wasn’t that Jessie’s body made him want to do things that would make grown men blush. The problem was Zach liked her.
He wanted to get to know her. He was intrigued by her. He was already looking forward to the next time he saw her.
How in the hell could he live with her and keep his distance?
“Zach?” Jessie’s sweet voice cut through all of the thoughts that were rioting in his brain.
Suddenly, he had clarity. He was an up-front guy. If they were going to do this, he wanted their cards on the table. “Are we going to talk about what happened in the basement?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Jessie snapped, her arms crossing in front of her defensively.
Zach smiled at how damn cute she was when she got all snippy. “So you weren’t about to kiss me before Mabel and Margie interrupted us?”
Jessie’s mouth fell open with an audible exhale before she shut it. After opening it to speak, she just closed it again. She repeated this several more times without actually saying anything. Then, leaning back against her chair, she spread her fingers out, laying them flat on the table as she took a deep breath.
Her eyes locked with his, a look of steely determination in them as she said, “What happened in the basement stays in the basement.”
Zach’s head fell back as he burst out laughing. That was the last thing he’d expected her to say. She was basically admitting that something had happened but in a way that showed she wasn’t taking it too seriously, nor did she want to discuss it further.
When he stopped laughing, he looked back at her to find her smiling broadly. The sight of her looking happy, relaxed, and open caused a catch in his heart. Damn, this was not good.
“Look,” she said, leaning her elbows on the table. “Whatever attraction that we may feel for each other is really not an issue for me. Nothing is going to happen between us. I can handle that. Can you?”
She really was good. He’d met his share of manipulative girls in his life. Zach wouldn’t say that Jessie fit into that category, but she definitely used what she had to her advantage. He just had one more question.
“What do you do for a living, Jessie?”
“I’m in PR.”
That made perfect sense. No wonder she had been able to come up with the story of how they’d met on a dime. She spun things for a living.
“So… Do. We. Have. A. Deal?” Jessie spoke each word deliberately.
“Yes. We do, roomie.” Not knowing if this was the best or worst decision of his life, Zach extended his hand. The second he felt her smooth skin touch his, his body tightened with need.
Holy shit. The scales were definitely leaning towards worst decision.
Chapter Four
Jessie could not process what her eyes were seeing. She moved her mouse and clicked on the icon to at the bottom of the page that read ‘show more results.’ The page populated with more pictures of Zach.
Zach with models. Zach with actresses. Zach in the boxing ring. Zach in shirtless publicity shots.
After typing ‘Zach Courtland’ into the Google search bar, she’d done a double take when she’d seen that instantly there were over ten million results. Countless articles had been written about him. Jessie had been poring over them for the last two hours and had learned that, not only was Zach a light heavyweight world champion, he was also undefeated and had the nickname “Playboy.” From what she’d been able to glean, he’d picked up said nickname because, when he was training in a gym, the “ring bunnies” multiplied exponentially.
Part of the reason that Jessie was having such a hard time processing all of the information she was seeing and reading was because the person in these pics and articles was not the person she’d met in the basement, stood next to in the sunny kitchen, or gone to Rise and Grind with. That Zach was nothing like what these images and words depicted.
Being in marketing and advertising, Jessie obviously knew that all of this “press” could just be hype. After working at SPC for only a few months, she’d been promoted to vice president of public relations. They had several athletes on their roster, and Jessie knew that athletes, much more than actors, could be very difficult to market. It was obvious that, whoever Zach’s publicist was, they were doing a damn fine job. He was everywhere. On lists. In magazines. Featured in entertainment reports. There was a delicate balance between good exposure and overexposure, and Zach’s team was walking that line beautifully.
Jessie’s eyes scanned down the page, landing on a shot of Zach hitting a speed bag. Every single muscle on his bare chest, shoulders, and arms was chiseled to mouth-watering perfection. Right-clicking the thumbnail, Jessie let out a little sigh as his image filled the entirety of her eighteen-inch screen.
She looked over every inch thinking that this pic had to have been Photoshopped. There was no way a man with that face could have that body. Jessie could spot a Photoshopped picture from a mile away, and after carefully scrutinizing every inch, she came to the conclusion that Zach had not been digitally enhanced. The only way she could rationalize what she was seeing was that God must have been in a really good mood the day he made Zach.
“Daaaayamm! Who’s the man-candy?!” Krista’s voice startled Jessie, and she jumped about an inch off the kitchen chair.
“No one.” Jessie clicked the corner of the screen, closing the page, trying her best to regain h
er composure before Snoop Doggy Dogg, a.k.a. her sister, picked up on how rattled she was.
“Oh good, there’s coffee!” Krista exclaimed as she made her way over to the fresh pot of coffee sitting on the marble countertop beside the sink.
Of course there’s coffee…because I made it. Just like I do every morning.
Krista blew on her fresh, steaming cup of coffee as she padded back to the table. After setting her ceramic mug down, she wrapped her blue robe tighter around her as she slid into the light-oak chair on Jessie’s left and raised her brows suspiciously.
“I don’t know who that is, but he is definitely not no one. He is a fine piece of grade-A—”
Jessie interrupted what was sure to be a descriptive assessment of Zach’s assets by saying, “Don’t you have a fiancé you should be Skyping with?”
“He’s doing a morning show radio interview.” Jessie’s sister lifted her wrist and looked at her silver watch. “I have at least another hour or so before Skype-time.”
“So how are things going with Chase being on the road so much?” Jessie asked. Mainly because she wanted to get Krista’s super-sniffer as far away from the Zach Courtland trail as possible, but also because she really did want to check in with her sister.
Krista and Chase had gotten engaged a few months ago, and since that time, he had to be on the road promoting his first solo album. She knew that it must be hard on her sister. After spending ten years apart, they’d just reunited before he had to head out on tour.
A genuine smile of love spread across Krista’s face. “Things are going great. He has a week off for Thanksgiving, and I plan on keeping him occupied every second of it.” Her sister bounced her shoulders up and down as she wagged her eyebrows.
“TMI,” Jessie said flatly as she turned her attention back to her computer and opened her email.
“Since you are the reigning Queen of No Info, I don’t think that you get to qualify anyone else’s sharing as too much information.” Krista drummed her manicured nails on the kitchen table and waited several beats before asking again, “Sooo who is the man-candy?”
Actually Love - Jessie & Zach (The Crossroads Series) Page 4