Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Jackson
I stared at her as she danced on the dance floor. Her body was every man’s dream. Five foot seven, long slender legs, lean figure, long, bouncy blonde hair, and beautiful blue eyes. She was as smart as a whip. Strong, independent, and hated relationships as much as I did. She had just become the perfect woman to have fun with when I needed it. She was career driven, just as I was—anti-relationship, just like me. I’d never met anyone like her before. I took notice of her that day in her shop. She piqued my interest because she was so beautiful. I had thought about returning to the store a few times after that day but decided that I was already dating too many women at once, and adding another to the mix wouldn’t be a good idea.
As I watched her, Kami walked over and hooked her arm around me.
“Are you ready to go?” she asked.
“Not yet.” I continued to stare at Emily as she had my full attention.
“Are you staring at that blonde that was sitting at our table?” she asked.
“And what if I was?” I glanced over at her. “We aren’t in a relationship. We both are unattached. It’s not a crime to stare at another woman.”
“No, it’s not a crime. It’s just rude and disrespectful. You know what? I’m tired of these games with you. I’m leaving.” She stomped away in a huff.
I sighed, and Emily walked over to me as the song ended.
“What’s wrong with Kami?” she asked.
“She got mad at me and left.”
“What did you do to her?”
“Nothing. That was her problem.”
“Poor girl.” She smirked. “Evelyn and I are going to go. It was a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Caine.” She held out her hand.
“The pleasure was all mine, Miss Wade.” I placed my hand in hers and brought it up to my lips. “I hope you get your man drama sorted out.”
“That’s my goal.”
I watched as she walked away and out of the ballroom. I would let her sort out her man drama, and when the time was right, we’d reconnect, and I’d take her to my bed.
One Month Later
Emily
“I just wanted to let you know that I think I’m going to take a break from dating for a while. It’s nothing against you, I swear. I need some time to focus on me. Have a nice life, Emily.”
“YES!” I shouted as I raised my hands in the air and did a little dance in the store.
“What’s that for?” Katie asked as she glanced over at me.
“Bruce doesn’t want to date me anymore.” I grinned. “The last of the man drama, and now I can put them all behind me.”
“Gee, I wonder why? Maybe it’s because you ignored his hundreds of text messages and phone calls after your date last week.”
“He wasn’t taking me seriously when I told him I didn’t want a relationship. I had no choice. I couldn’t stand his text messages anymore, with him telling me every move he made. Waking me up at five a.m. to let me know he was going running. Texting me at six thirty to let me know he was getting in the shower and then again at nine to inform me that he had arrived at the office. OH MY GOD, I thought I was going to rip my hair out. And when I told him that I didn’t need to have a play-by-play of his day, he just laughed and said I was too cute. I’m over it. I’m taking a long break from dating.”
“That’s a good idea. But I still think you should seek therapy. You find flaws in everyone you meet. You always have. Just like your mom did,” Katie spoke.
“It’s not that I find flaws with them. it’s just that they want more and can’t seem to respect my decision about relationships.”
“To be honest, and I’ve told you this before,” Katie hung the last dress on the rack and walked over to me, “your views on relationships suck.”
I shrugged.
The past two weeks were some of the most relaxing weeks I’d had in a very long time. I wasn’t dating and only focused on my shop and the online fashion boutique I wanted to start up. My phone was silent, and after a long day at work, I retreated back to my apartment, took long hot baths, cooked dinner for myself, drank wine, and binged watched Netflix. Life was good, and I was enjoying my non-dating life.
It was Friday morning. I stopped at Starbucks for my usual morning coffee on the way to work, opened the store, and began going over yesterday’s sales. Noelle, my other sales clerk, strolled in ten minutes late.
“Sorry, I’m late, Emily. The cab I was in on the way here got into a fender bender.” She sighed as she set her purse down behind the counter.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just got out and walked the rest of the way.”
“Well, if you start to feel any post-accident effects, let me know.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“We got a shipment of new jewelry in last night before we closed. Can you price them and put them out?”
“Sure. I’ll get right on it.” She smiled.
As I was sitting behind the counter with my laptop, the door chimed, and I looked up. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Jackson Caine step inside my shop.
“Good morning, Emily.” He grinned as he walked towards me with his hands tucked neatly in his pockets.
“Good morning, Mr. Caine. What brings you to my store today?” I casually smiled back.
“I was in the area and decided to drop by and see how you were doing. Actually, to see if you got your man drama straightened out.”
“I did. Drama free and loving every minute of it.”
“Good to hear. How would you like to have dinner with me tonight? No man drama from me, I can guarantee you.”
I sat there momentarily, staring at his intoxicating sexiness in his dark gray tailored designer suit. I wouldn’t lie and say I didn’t think about him and our conversations at the wedding that night. There was a connection between us. I felt it and believed it was because our thought processes about relationships were the same. We had something in common, and I took comfort in knowing that. A nice dinner with him and great conversation wouldn’t hurt. I found him interesting and actually wanted to get to know him better. Not only was he handsome as all fuck, but I was also attracted to his personality.
“I would like to have dinner with you tonight. Thank you for the invitation.” I smiled.
“Excellent. If you’ll give me your address, I’ll pick you up around seven.”
“You pick the restaurant, and I’ll meet you there. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine. May I have your phone number to keep in touch if something happens?”
“You’re not going to text me your daily activities, are you?” I asked with a twisted face.
“What?” He chuckled.
“Like that, you’re leaving the office. You arrived home. You’re getting in the shower. You’re eating a snack.”
“Absolutely not. Do men actually do that?” His brow arched.
“Unfortunately.” I looked down.
“I can promise you that I would never do that. If I’m going to text you, it’ll be because I want to say hi or I have information for you, such as the name of the restaurant for dinner tonight.”
He pulled out his phone and added me to his contacts.
“I’ll text you later. Have a good day, Emily.”
“Thanks, Jackson. You too.”
He gave me a wink and began to head towards the door. Before opening it, he turned and looked at me.
“By the way, I love your store.”
“Thanks.” I smiled.
Just as he walked out, Evelyn walked in.
“Was that Jackson Caine?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Did he buy another one of my designs?”
“No. He came to ask me to dinner.”
“And you said?”
“I said yes.” I gave a small smile.
“What happened to taking time off from dating and man drama?”
“He’s different. Remember, he’s just as anti-relationship as I am.”
“You two should get along really well, then.” She laughed.