Ready for Love

  EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2016 Jules Dixon

  ISBN: 978-1-77339-095-6

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Lisa Petrocelli

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  To S and W,

  Happy 1st Anniversary!

  Your love inspires me to dig deeper inside myself for the beauty of all relationships and to write about love without limits.

  To you and your love,

  Jules

  READY FOR LOVE

  Triple R, 5

  Jules Dixon

  Copyright © 2016

  Chapter One

  Jace

  I wanted to be me, but the last few girls I’d dated had claimed that the “me” I was wasn’t acceptable. So I’d changed my outfit ten times, each time into something a little fancier, settling into a mood a little less happy, and overall, a lot less me.

  The exterior security system buzzed, and I glanced at the video camera.

  That’s her.

  “Come on up,” I spoke into the intercom and unlocked the front door from the remote in my bedroom.

  I glanced in the two mirrors that were along the way to my apartment door. Not bad.

  Tickling butterflies in my stomach battled with my raw nerves. I released a cleansing breath while opening the door.

  And there she was. Her tall and lean silhouette showcased in a grey single button jacket, a red silk shirt, and crisp black pants. My off-the-shoulder, formfitting, red dress was perfect. I’d been waiting for this moment for too long. We’d met over four weeks ago, and yet, this was our first date.

  Things got in the way. Those same “things” that every other girl couldn’t stand. In general, me.

  “Hi.” I waved Kai into the room.

  Her milk chocolate eyes widened as her gaze darted around the room. “Wow, nice place.”

  It wasn’t the Taj Mahal, but I had to admit, a lot of twenty-five-year-olds lived in something a lot less swanky.

  “It works. I’m thinking of buying a house soon ‘cause my lease is up in a couple of months, but it’s finding the time for house hunting that’s a problem.”

  “Yeah, renting wasn’t working for me either. I needed more space, and I love gardening. So I finally found a small house to rent.”

  “Love growing vegetables for the summer.” I glanced to make sure my patio shades were drawn. As much as I loved the serenity of gardening, two dying tomato plants indicated my efforts were less than optimal.

  “Speaking of gardening.” She lifted her arm and a bouquet of tiger lilies, daisies, and baby’s breath were clutched in her hand. “For you.” She stepped forward, and her lips grazed my cheek. “You look beautiful tonight, Jace.”

  I tingled from my toes to the ends of my long hair. “Thank you. They’re beautiful and so are you. I love the red.”

  “Apparently we were on the same wavelength.”

  The two reds weren’t perfectly matching hues but they were so close that it seemed fate had planned it to happen.

  “Did you grow these in your garden?” I walked into the steel and stone kitchen that radiated our reflection from all the shiny surfaces.

  “No, but they came from a garden somewhere.”

  “Close enough.” I grabbed a vase and clipped off the ends, arranging the individual stems as they landed into the vase, but the display wasn’t right. I removed all and replaced them one at a time, giving each stem a special space in the vase.

  Kai watched me, leaning her hip against the counter. I stood back and examined the arrangement. My nerves heaved my obsessive-compulsive disorder into a whole new realm of obsessive. I reached for a stem, and a warm hand wrapped around my wrist.

  “I’d love to start our evening.” She lifted my hand to her lips and skimmed the soft flesh over my knuckles, my nerves igniting with anticipation. “I’m dying to take you out and to get to know you better.”

  I nodded and cleaned the kitchen, less than I would have if she weren’t here.

  “Okay, we can go.”

  Sometimes I need to know when enough is enough.

  ****

  We walked into the GLSEN Art+Equality event to support the organization that helped to create safe schools and learning environments for all students. My friend, Presley, had graciously donated a piece of art for the auction, and although I hadn’t seen it, she said I’d like it.

  “Glass of wine or champagne?”

  I waved across the room at Jude and Presley. “Champagne, please.”

  “Be right back.” Kai’s thin hand brushed my lower back, leaving a tingling sensation in her wake.

  Presley rushed across the room. “God, you look incredible. Pulling out all the stops for tonight?”

  I’d made the mistake of telling her that Kai and I’d really clicked at a girls’ night out event that our mutual friend Willow had organized at House of Loom, a funky craft-cocktail bar here in Omaha, Nebraska. I stared across the room. Kai had this commanding presence that a lot of people would find intimidating, and a small part of me did, but most of me found it sexy as hell the way she seemed to have it all together and could pull out a smile that would disarm even the most distrustful of humans.

  Jude whispered in Presley’s ear before he crossed the room to the bar.

  I leaned into Presley. “I changed clothes like eighty times.”

  “I’m sure she’s nervous too.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, but my nervous is always a hundred times more nervous than the normal nervous.” Presley knew what I was talking about. She took worrying to a professional level. With her fiancé Jude in her life, she’d calmed significantly, but I could imagine that she occasionally slipped back into the freak-out mode rooted deeply in her DNA.

  Presley sighed. “I do get that. Here’s the thing. You deserve to find someone as absolutely brilliant and full of life as you are, my friend. Since Kai is my personal trainer, I can attest that she is both of those qualities. I’m down another ten pounds.”

  I stepped back and the little black dress did hug her shape differently. My friend had accomplished what many struggled with, losing over a hundred pounds over the last year and a few months, and then keeping it off.

  Kai’s body told me she took her job seriously.

  Seriously … hot.

  Chapter Two

  Kai

  “Can I get a glass of white, please?” My coworker from Run-Ride-Rock Gym slid in next to me at the bar.

  I turned with Jace’s champagne. “Hi, Jude. I didn’t know if this would be your kind of scene or not.” I lifted my glass of white wine for a sip.

  “Presley has a painting up for auction tonight. She’s afraid that no one is going to bid on it.”

  “What’s it a painting of?”

  “Sorry, it’s a surprise. They actually have it under cover as one of the three VIPs, which I assume means Very Intriguing Paintings.”

  “Well, hopefully it’s not a nude of you, because I’ve seen one too many of those.”

  Jude chuckled. “I forgot about that.”

  Months ago, my previous roommate, Emerson, had stolen a picture Presley had drawn of a butt-naked Jude from some drawing class she was part of and he’d ended up being the nude model.

 
Honestly, the drawing was incredible. Jude was a specimen of man that deserved to be carved in stone or preserved by art, so it wasn’t like looking at the drawing was painful. I loved the human form, and with his personal trainer knowledge, Jude had definitely perfected his. And I helped his fiancée to sculpt hers, too.

  I leaned into him. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

  Jude had this crooked smile that made me smile back. “They both are.”

  “I’m normally not nervous, but tonight I had to go for a long run before getting ready, to get rid of some excess energy. Now I’m kind of dragging, but every time I remember that I’m here with Jace, I can’t help but smile.”

  Jude turned so his back was to Presley and Jace. “Jace’s really nervous, too. You’re both in the same boat. The only thing I’m going to say is that Jace needs someone who doesn’t try to change her.” He glanced back. “Caring about someone means learning to embrace the crazy, Kai.”

  “Presley has crazy?”

  Jude lifted his beer and deadpanned. “Every woman has crazy.”

  I chuckled with him. “Well, whatever Jace’s crazy is, I’d be glad to find out. The way she can effortlessly hold a conversation amazes me.”

  “It’s that public relations and marketing profession. She knows how to put people at ease and asks the right questions. I’ve liked her since the night I met her at Two Fine.”

  “You still work at the bar?”

  “For the time being. But I’m thinking of finding something closer to our place. I’m almost full up on clients at the gym, so I probably don’t even need the money anymore. I want to make sure I have enough to give Presley the wedding she’s always dreamed of.”

  I wasn’t one to get all teary eyed and emotional, but the way he looked at Presley and the gentleness to his words, I had to admit it would be nice to feel that care from someone.

  I adjusted my jacket. The button stretched a little. I’d been doing a little more lifting the last few weeks with Presley. My need to be fit and healthy stemmed more from a family history of health issues than my innate love of the activity. I’d always been the one to lead morning calisthenics in the army, and I’d been the one to go for a five-mile run every night. After getting out of the military, I’d finally had the chance to use my college degree in exercise science. It was a passion, but I could see better things to be passionate over right in front of me.

  “Suppose we should get back there. They’ll start the oral auction portion in a few minutes.” Jude led the way.

  We crossed the room and couple Willow Harper and Kanyon Hills had joined Presley and Jace.

  “Here you go.” I handed off the champagne to Jace. Our hands grazed as she slipped the glass from my grasp. I stepped in next to her, and her subtle perfume caught in my nose. The scent was resonant but relaxing, like a crisp fall evening with a cup of cocoa and a good book.

  “Ready for next weekend?” Jude asked Kanyon as he handed off a glass of white wine to Presley.

  “We are,” Willow and Kanyon said together.

  I’d heard at work through another personal trainer that a wedding was happening soon for the two of them. The way they held each other in that side clutch and the sweetness with which Kanyon placed a kiss on the top of her lilac-colored hair, told me their love was special. I wasn’t sure what that felt like. I’d dated a few girls and had some fun, but not one had any real fireworks. Maybe some people don’t get the happy ending.

  I clutched my glass a little tighter.

  Jace leaned into me. “How’s your wine?”

  “Good.” I smiled a tight smile, but brought a hand over to caress her lower back, pressing lightly into her. “Want to walk around?”

  “Sure.”

  “We’ll be back,” I offered to the group as they talked about final touches for the wedding.

  We wandered the open loft space for the event, finding privacy in a smaller room.

  “Jace, have you ever been in a relationship?”

  She lifted her glass, but paused before drinking. “Ended a two-year long one in April.”

  I counted in my head.

  May, June, July, August, September, October … six months had passed. That’s enough time, right?

  “How did you know she, at least I’m assuming she, wasn’t right?” I stopped to take a look at an abstract of what appeared to be the skyline of Omaha.

  She sighed and stared with me, her head cocking to one side like the painting didn’t make sense. “Yes, she was a she. I’ve never dated a man. And it was wrong for a couple of reasons. First, Taylor moved on way too quickly for it to have been anything close to right.” She finished her champagne in one long swallow. “I saw her five days later kissing someone else at a bar. It hurt, but the whole time we’d been together something had been off.” She moved on to the next painting. “Actually everything. I don’t mind giving my all to someone, but giving in to someone all the time tears a person down. It was always her way or the highway. In the end, I guess she decided the highway looked better. I’m over it, actually kind of moved on pretty quickly myself. Plus, summer’s a busy season at the Wattier & Buchman, there’s a lot to keep me busy.”

  “You like what you do?”

  “Love.”

  The way she said the word was a cool breeze on a sweltering summer’s day.

  Comforting and uplifting.

  And I want more.

  Chapter Three

  Jace

  I’d asked Kai a thousand questions and she’d answered every one of them without hesitation.

  I now knew she’d been in the military as a dental hygienist, but hated it. She never served overseas, but spent ten-hour days cleaning teeth. It was no wonder hers looked like a dentist’s dream. Sparkly and white. And she liked going to outdoor concerts, which was really only a four-month offering in Nebraska, but being from Florida originally, she made due by returning there occasionally.

  “And our final auction item is a painting by local artist, Presley Bradenhurst.” The announcer walked to the covered canvas.

  I glanced to Presley, and she was squeezing Jude’s hand until his fingers appeared the color of a pearl. He moved uncomfortably in his hard metal seat, but he didn’t shake loose.

  Maybe sometimes the hurt is worth it.

  My eyes returned to Kai next to me. Her pixie cut brown hair and big brown eyes held to mine. I reached for her hand and wound our fingers together. Instantly her eyes widened, but she squeezed back.

  I’d fought knowing someone because loving them meant bringing them into my brand of busy. Crazy me.

  I guess I always thought when the right person came along I’d want to slow down. Make the effort to be home at dinner. Meet for lunch. Take trips. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been … anywhere. Maybe the right someone could understand the crazy too.

  Or maybe it’s not fair to put someone through that?

  The fabric curtain was pulled from the easel, and I let out a shriek that was followed by Jude and Kanyon’s chuckle. It was our beautiful friends, Willow and Kanyon, depicted in watercolor, a rainbow of happiness and sparkle, with something special in their eyes for each other. Presley had captured it flawlessly.

  Willow’s eyes filled to ponds of emotion. “You did that for us?”

  “I did that for love.” Presley’s eyes met mine. “Because everyone deserves to be loved and you deserve each other.”

  I wiped a falling tear. That my two friends had found their future made me so happy.

  But it also made me other things. Envious. Sad. Frustrated. Hopeless. A lot of things, I probably shouldn’t be.

  The auctioneer cleared his throat. “And as much as we’d love to sell this one, it’s actually already been bought. Kanyon Hills graciously offered $2,500 for this painting and instead we’ll be auctioning off a gift certificate to Ducati for half off of any motorcycle in stock, up to $15,000 value.” The bidding took off quickly, and by the time it was done the motorcycle gift certificate had bec
ome the biggest earner of the night. “Thank you all for coming tonight.”

  Willow and Kanyon walked off to collect their painting, while we said our good-byes to Jude and Presley.

  “Will you be at the wedding?” Presley searched her purse for her keys.

  “I will. So see you next Saturday, five p.m.”

  Kai said her good-byes and we walked outside.

  “Would you like to come over to my place for another drink?” Kai asked. “I mean, it’s not fancy like your place, but it’s home.”

  “I’d love to, but why don’t we get my car so you don’t have to drive me back out west and I’ll follow you.”

  ****

  She turned the key to the small house in midtown, within walking distance to a lot of restaurants that I’d love to eat at on a nightly basis.

  Kai stopped in the doorway. “Really, Jace, it’s not like your place. I—”

  I pushed past her. She flipped on the light and my gaze jumped around the room. She was right. It wasn’t like my place.

  A plush velvet, grape-purple overstuffed sofa was on one side. A hot pink chair rested in a corner and in the other corner a big-screen TV on a platform. There was color everywhere. Not splashes but bursts and chunks of every color of the rainbow. I walked the room slowly, taking it all in, my chest rising and falling quickly.

  “Are you okay?” She followed slowly in my footsteps.

  “Overwhelmed.”

  “I’m sorry, Ja—”

  “Don’t be. This is you. I love color, just never experienced it surrounding me like this before. It’s like a huge colorful quilt.”

  “I’ll be right back.” She kicked off her shoes and walked the wood hallway to a room, opening the door, and a creak sounded from inside the room. “Calm down. Yes, we have a visitor, but you can’t jump, and you can’t bark. Be good.”

  I smiled as a waggling mass of caramel brown fur sprinted out of the hallway. “Hi there. Who are you?”