3 Bianca #3
This guy needed a serious relationship that lasted until the end of the month.
For her to win her own bet, Cora’s SoulMatch date needed to stick around for a month.
What if... ?
“Two-minute warning,” the emcee called out, and again the time appeared on the big screen.
Luke slid onto the stool next to her and put two drinks and a paper tray full of steaming calamari on the table. “Looks like
our order came out just in time.”
“Who’s that?” Bianca gave a discreet nod of her head in the direction of where 007 now sat alone.
“Who? Him?” Luke, on the other hand, was not as discreet. He popped a couple of steaming calamari rings into his mouth. “That’s Jax Verona.”
“Is he from around here?”
“Yes and no.”
“That’s a cryptic answer.”
“He’s a cryptic guy.” Luke grabbed another couple of calamari and dunked them in the rémoulade sauce. “He’s part of a longtime
Sunnyside family. They own Padua Resorts, a chain of coastal boutique hotels. But Jax is somewhat of the black sheep. He’s
the only family member who doesn’t work for Padua Resorts and sometimes he disappears for months at a time.”
“What does he do?” she asked.
Luke shrugged. “No one knows for sure, but there’s a lot of speculation. My favorite, and frankly the most believable, is
that he’s a hit man. But a lot of people make the case for international art thief.”
Bianca gave him a warning look.
Luke held up his hands in a don’t kill the messenger gesture. “I didn’t make it up. I’m just giving you the facts.”
Bianca studied 007. The last thing she wanted was to put her sister in danger. But this man looked kind. Yes, it was kind
in a tough sort of way, but maybe that was a good thing.
Besides, the beauty of SoulMatch was that they would do a background check. If there was something sketchy about him, they’d
never get matched in the first place.
“I want to meet him.”
Luke looked surprised. “The hit man?”
“First of all, he’s dressed way too nice to be a hit man. I’m leaning toward art thief.”
“Hit men have a dress code?”
Bianca rolled her eyes.
“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Luke started to move off his stool in the direction of the table next to him, but Bianca caught his arm. “Wait. Let me beat
him first. I think the conversation will go better that way.”
Luke chuckled. “I love your confidence.” He settled back on his stool as the first question popped up on the screen.
Twenty questions later, Not Wrong had another winning round under their belt.
As soon as the emcee announced them as the winners, Jax Verona shifted to look behind him. He shot her a half-congrats, half-impressed
look.
“Now,” she whispered to Luke.
Luke stood up. “Hey, Jax. Good to see you. How’ve you been?”
Instead of answering, Jax studied him as if he were trying to assess the threat level of the question. Or maybe he was assessing
the threat level of the questioner .
Either way, the stare caused Luke to back down. “Great.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’d like to introduce my old friend
and one of my tenants, Bianca Prestly.”
Bianca gave him her friendliest grin. “Nice to meet you.”
Jax maintained his same serious look. “Bianca Prestly, are you cheating?”
“Are you saying that just because I’m a woman, I couldn’t possibly win?”
“I’m saying you haven’t gotten one wrong yet. Not even the one about the stolen van Gogh being in an IKEA bag. No one got
that right.”
“Except you,” she said. And to be fair, he’d buzzed in before she did because it took her a second to remember the whole story
she’d read.
“I had an advantage.” He paused, letting those words sink in. “I was there.”
The confession caught her off guard. Luke wasn’t wrong. There was merit to the occupation theories.
But maybe that was just what Cora needed. He was independent. She was independent. He was interesting. She... liked interesting
people? Regardless, they were a match made in heaven.
Plus, and possibly most importantly, he was committed to sticking around for a month, which meant Bianca would win her bet. She had to admit, the idea of Jax being Cora’s SoulMatch was becoming more and more interesting. Now all she had to do was convince him to do it.
And figure out a way to guarantee they would match. But first things first.
She got up and slid into the seat his uncle had just vacated. “And even that experience wasn’t enough to qualify you for the
job you want?”
He narrowed his eyes on her with a questioning look.
She shrugged. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation earlier.” Maybe it would’ve been more accurate to say didn’t want to avoid overhearing his conversation, but why get tangled up in semantics? “But I might be able to help you with your little problem.”
“Convincing my uncle to let me run the family company because I’m the most competent choice?”
“Helping you find the committed relationship to prove you’re serious.”
He studied her with a look that could only be classified as amused. “Are you offering to date me?”
“I’m engaged, thank you.” She held up her left hand to put the ring on display. “Besides, if you’re going to meet someone
who seems serious enough to marry, I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be in a bar.”
“Technically, this is a tavern, which is closer to a restaurant.”
Yeah, he was going to be perfect for Cora. They were cut from the same cloth.
“What I’m proposing is a matchmaker app,” Bianca said.
The amusement vanished and he turned away. “Like Tinder? No, thanks. Not really my thing.”
She raised an eyebrow. “How about winning bets with your uncle? Is that your thing?”
He studied her for several long seconds before answering. “And what’s in it for you? Is this your app?”
“Nope. I’m just a satisfied customer in a happy relationship who can’t help but pass on the recommendation to everyone I meet.”
She tried to glow. She wasn’t entirely sure one was capable of forcing that kind of thing, but it wasn’t going to be for lack
of effort on her part.
Apparently her effort didn’t work, because he didn’t seem convinced. If this plan was going to work, she was going to have to up her sales pitch.
“Hear me out,” she continued. “This isn’t just another dating app. It’s a virtual matchmaker whose job is to help you find
a long-term, committed relationship.”
“And you think I can’t find that on my own?”
“In... How long did you have, again?” She could tell her argument had struck a chord with him when he glanced down, ever
so briefly, at his hands. So, she continued. “The main benefit here is that everyone on the app is also looking for something
long-term. You automatically weed out anyone who’s looking for something more... fun.”
When he still didn’t look convinced, she tried again. “Or, your other option is to pull up your contact list and see if there’s
anyone who would be willing to give you a second chance.”
She could tell he was starting to come over to her side, but he was still suspicious. Being an international criminal probably
did that to you.
“What’s in it for you?” he asked.
She gave him her most innocent grin. “What can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic.”
It wasn’t entirely true, but it wasn’t a flat-out lie. Besides, she still stood by her claim that SoulMatch was a great way
to find your forever-person. Plus, it was possible he wouldn’t get matched with her sister, which meant Bianca was really
doing this out of the goodness of her heart.
Of course, she could narrow the search radius to as small as she wanted. And really, how many people were joining tonight
in a twenty-mile radius of this tiny town? Plus, she wasn’t above helping him structure his answers so the computer could see the same potential she did.
Not that she didn’t believe in the system. She did. The success rate didn’t lie. But even fate needed a gentle nudge every
now and again.
In fact, maybe she should recommend he put in a fifteen-mile radius, just to be on the safe side.
Who knew? Maybe she and Cora would be planning a double wedding.
“So, what do you say?”
Jax studied her with an expression she couldn’t read. After what felt like an eternity, he shrugged. “Okay. I’m in.”