MisMatch (A Humorous Contemporary Romance)

by Nana Malone

“I don't know why, but I'll find out.”

  Chapter 26

  “Mom, why do you look nervous?”

  Jessica’s mother shuffled from foot to foot, readjusting her hair. “Oh, you know. I want to make sure I'm making the right decision.”

  Jessica sighed. “It’s like you told me, Mom. Love is a gamble. You never know if you're going to get it right, but when you do, it's amazing. Sometimes it’s painful. And sometimes you run, but you can always believe in it.”

  “I said that?”

  “Something like it, with my own added Jessica flair.”

  “I can’t believe you came all the way to Vegas to watch me renew my vows to Karl, honey.”

  “That’s 'cause I came here to run. Mom, I told you before that I wanted to support you in whatever you wanted to do. I love you and want you to be happy. That’s what I’ve always wanted for you.”

  Her mother rolled her eyes. “I’ve just been happy so many times, you see.”

  Jessica barked out a laugh. “Well, Mom, sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs. Right? But I'm glad you and Karl are making it work again. He's always loved you.”

  “He's so different from your father.”

  “Which is why I think it works.”

  “Jessica, I loved your father.”

  “I know that. And he knew it, too. I think you've been married so many times because you’re trying to recreate what you had with him, and I don’t think it's working for you. With Karl, it's something else. He's very different and maybe that's what you need.”

  “He is different.”

  “And he makes you happy.”

  “And what about what makes you happy?”

  Jessica blinked rapidly to ward off the impending tears that sat just inside her lids, ready to spill at a moment’s notice. She would not cry again. She’d already spent too long crying over Eli. “I'm happy and happy for you.”

  “You might be happy for me, sweetie, but like your grandmother used to say, you ain't happy.”

  “I keep thinking about the whole Eli situation and wishing I’d done something differently. Maybe if I hadn’t freaked out as easily, or made it easier for him to tell me, or maybe listened more.”

  “You stop that now. I think Izzy probably already told you this, but let me give it a shot. After all, I am your mother. Everything in life was supposed to lead you to this moment right here. It’s what you do with the information you have that matters. You can’t change the past. You can only move forward. You think I didn’t wonder if Karl would forgive me and take me back?”

  “That's different. Karl has loved you since you two met on that old folks’ singles cruise.”

  “I'm not old.” Her mother slapped Jessica on the arm.

  “Ow, yeah, okay. But Eli didn't love me. At least he never said as much.” And when he did it was in desperation. “He needed me and went about it the wrong way.”

  “But he tried to find you. I called home, and Rosa said he'd come there looking for you.”

  “Izzy said the same thing. But it doesn’t matter. I will never know how he actually feels about me because he lied in the beginning. The whole time we spent together is tainted with it.”

  “What about starting fresh? Can we start fresh?” Eli asked from the doorway.

  Jessica whipped around, her breath catching. Goosebumps rose on her flesh as her heart thundered. This was a dream. Had to be a dream. She missed him so much that her brain had conjured an image of him.

  As usual, he was dressed impeccably in a suit. Charcoal this time. He wore no tie, but his bright blue shirt made the jade green of his eyes even more startling. God, the man looked good enough to eat. She straightened her legs, mentally bolting them to the ground before they betrayed her and ran over to him.

  Jessica’s mother’s eyes widened. Then she whispered, “I’ll just—”

  “Oh, no you don't, Mom. Did you call him?”

  “Just once, let me play the meddling mother, would you? Talk to him.” With that, she teetered on her high heels and paused in front of Eli. “You hurt her again, and I really will kill you. You understand me?”

  Eli's jaw went slack. Jessica barked a laugh. Well, well. Mom was full of all kinds of surprises.

  “I’ll only take a minute,” he murmured. “I know this is a big day.”

  Jessica couldn’t believe her mother. “Eli, I don't want to do this. I don’t want to fight anymore. I want this to—”

  “Sassy, please. Hear me out. If you don’t want to see me ever again after this, I’ll go. I'll leave you alone. You won’t have to worry about me going all stalker ex-boyfriend on you, as you say.”

  She chuffed a laugh. “Doesn’t have the same connotation, but whatever.”

  “I know I fucked this up. Every which way that I could have fucked this up, I did. And I know it. Every step along the way, I kept thinking now, now I can tell her. And then there’d be some real or imagined reason I couldn't. Some of the reasons were for your safety or for the sake of the case, but in all honesty, I just didn’t want to give you up. I knew that once you realized I was only the guy in the suit and not the artist, any attraction for me would have been long gone. I knew that if I wasn’t dangerous or exciting, or all wrong in some way you, wouldn't want me, so I lied. I’m not proud of it, and every step of the way I knew it would cost me you. And I still couldn’t do it.”

  “Eli, I—”

  He put out a hand. “Please, let me finish. I tried to tell you that day in Malibu that you'd already changed my life for the better in more ways than I could ever tell you. You reminded me to have fun again. You’re impetuous and free spirited, and frankly, scare the shit out of me, but there it is. And that night, after the exhibition, when you told me about the sculpture, I knew I ruined it. Instead of saying thank you or telling you how much that meant to me, I did what I always do—attempt to drug you with sex. It was the only way I knew to say the one thing that I couldn’t. I love you.”

  A chill settled over Jessica’s body, followed quickly by prickling heat. Her heart hammered as she watched his lips continue to move, but she didn't understand a word past I love you.

  “Y-you love me?”

  “God, yes. I should have just said the words instead of thinking the actions were enough.”

  Her brain stuttered on something he'd said before his confession of love. “Wait, you said you were so happy about the sculpture. But that’s Samson's work.”

  His bronzed skin turned a pale shade of red, and he immediately stopped talking. The longer she stared, the redder he grew. Finally, he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away. “Yeah, uh, the sculpture is mine. Samson doesn't sculpt. I do. It was the one medium I excelled in. It was the only thing that was mine.”

  “You, Eli, did that piece?”

  “Yes.” He still wouldn't look at her.

  Only then did she understand that he thought his work wasn't worth anything. When he'd taken her into the sculpting room at his place, he'd called himself a failed artist. And she got it. Why he'd given up being an artist for Samson to shine. He'd never thought himself good enough. “Eli.”

  He shrugged. “I’ve never shown anyone that room. Vince asks why I have a three bedroom place with a room I never use.”

  She frowned. Vince? Exhaling a long breath, she sank down onto the bed. “You realize we're going to have to re-have a shit ton of conversations. What do you do, exactly?”

  Eli blinked at her several times and shook his head. “Oh, uh, I work as an art authenticator and retriever for Banes Insurance. I also consult for the FBI. White collar crimes essentially.”

  “FBI? And Vince is your handler?”

  “Yeah.”

  She nodded. “Wingman. Got it.”

  “I have no right to ask, but maybe you'd be willing for us to start over. Maybe let me take you on a real date or two. I've been a complete mess without you. Please say you'll think about it.”

  There. He was hers. Finally, a guy that she could
count on. One who was available, with a normal job. And he loved her. He wanted to be with her and no one else. She ignored the twinge of mistrust. He was hers. She loved him. Had since she’d sold his sculpture work. There was something so tender in it. So open. She didn't need to start over with him. She might not have known his name, but she knew him at the core.

  Standing on shaky legs, she walked over to him and laid a hand on his chest.

  His eyes were grave. “Sassy, please don’t tell me to go. I don’t think I can take another night like the one in the hotel.”

  “Eli, I love you. You see past everything and see me. Of course, I love you.”

  His arms snapped around her so quickly her breath choked out.

  “Oh, God. I wasn’t sure you’d ever take me back. I will spend every minute of the rest of my life telling you every way I can how much I love you.”

  She grinned. “That’s an excellent start.”

  Epilogue

  Lights twinkled above Jessica’s head, and she couldn’t resist a twirl in her vintage Tom Ford chartreuse dress.

  Strong arms wrapped around her from behind, and she sighed into the embrace. “You look beautiful, Miss Stanton. I’m very proud of you.”

  She smiled. “Well, I couldn’t have done it without these artists I know. Twins. Can you imagine? One this fantastic sculptor. He was the real find, honestly. The other a gifted painter with a flair for the dramatic.”

  Across the room Samson escorted two models. Several patrons had already tried to pay for him to do a private in-home exhibition. Jessica shook her head.

  Eli’s voice was a low rumble in her ear. “Don’t go feeling bad for Samson. He’s having a ball. This is exactly the kind of opening he’s always dreamed about. Thank you for helping make his dreams come true.”

  Jessica turned in Eli’s arms and kissed him. “And what about your dreams, Eli? Did I help you realize them?”

  The crooked grin was back. “The moment you said you’d be mine, all my dreams came true. Making me into an artist was icing on the cake.”

  “Will you two love birds give it a rest? Some of us are currently single.”

  Jessica turned to see Vince approaching and raised an eyebrow at him. “Something tells me your single status is by choice. What happened to Carla?”

  Vince smoothed an imaginary wrinkle on his tux. “I’m too handsome to be tied down. Besides, now that Eli is off the market, there will be plenty more women for me. I have to keep my options open.”

  Jessica rolled her eyes, and Eli just chuckled.

  “Same old Vince.” Eli muttered.

  His partner grinned. “Well, besides giving you guys a hard time about the lovey dovey crap, I wanted to tell you that Jocelyn has agreed to testify against her father.”

  Samson chose that moment to come over. Jessica still did a double take when the two of them were in the same room. It usually took her a second to tell them apart, but she always managed it.

  “You guys look like you’re discussing something serious. I figure it’s the case?”

  Eli nodded and squeezed Jessica tighter to him. “Jocelyn is going to testify.”

  Samson’s jaw set. “Good. I hope you’re not taking it too easy on her though.”

  Vince shook his head. “Don’t worry. She’ll still do time, but her testimony will be critical in putting Michael Ellis away for a long time.”

  Sam cleared his throat. “Did she or Ellis ever say why they went so far?”

  Vince shifted his feet before answering. “Apparently, you weren’t the only one with a drug history. When his daughter missed out on some scholarships and got involved in some recreational drug use, she stopped painting. Things got worse after you went to jail. She blamed herself. She couldn’t create anything new at that point. She could only copy. Ellis blames you.”

  Sam frowned. “But that’s stupid. She made her own choices.”

  “According to Ellis, she was in love with you.”

  Samson shook his head. “What a mess.”

  Eli clapped him on the shoulder. “But it’s over now. You’ve got your dream come true.”

  Samson smiled at Jessica. “Thanks to Jessica here. Thanks for not firing me as a client.”

  Jessica smiled back at him. “You’re lucky your brother is a very good kisser.”

  Eli kissed the top of her head. “Looks like Izzy and Jason have arrived. The press is going insane outside.”

  Jessica craned her neck to check on her family. The moment Izzy’s gaze met hers, her best friend beamed and gave her a thumbs up.

  Jessica scanned the crowd again. Her mother and Karl were discussing one of Eli’s pieces. With Jason’s and Izzy’s arrival Jessica had everything she needed. But still, she wanted to rub it in Destiny Shane’s face just a little.

  Eli whispered in her ear. “Who are you looking for?”

  She blushed. “Destiny,” she said sheepishly. “I know it’s petty. But she made my life miserable for months. I wanted to gloat a little.”

  Vince cleared his throat. “Well, you can look all you want, but she’s not coming.”

  “What do you mean?” Jessica asked.

  “She was working with Ellis, having her artists create multiple prints of their works and selling them at exorbitant prices, even though they were copies. We’ve got her on conspiracy.”

  “Is it bad that I really want to smile?” she asked.

  Eli shook his head. “Nope.”

  Jessica kissed him lightly on the lips. “You know what? Forget Destiny. I have everything I’ve ever wanted.”

  Eli grinned. “I plan to keep it that way.”

  The End

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  About Nana Malone

  USA Today Best Seller and iTunes Breakout Books author, Nana Malone's, love of all things romance and adventure started with a tattered romantic suspense she borrowed from her cousin.

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