Page 23 of Matched By Mistake
“That I read him wrong,” she said. Misha was the one person she’d always been brutally honest with.
“I know, hon. But Jericho isn’t Randall and you know he’s not going to balk at signing any prenup. In fact he’ll probably ask you for one.”
“Mish—we aren’t going to get married. We are going on five dates over two weeks. What are the chances we’ll even fall into strong like?”
“Well, my app predicts heavy chances of that very thing,” Misha said.
Maggie just rolled her eyes and shook her head. She hadn’t mentioned the side bet. The one that she’d made with Jericho to see who could hold out the longest sexually. After saying out loud how much she wanted him, she realized it was going to be harder than she expected.
But she wasn’t one to back down. She never had been. That wasn’t the Del Rio way. And though she didn’t work for the Del Rio Group, she knew she was very much a Del Rio in temperament.
“When is the first date?”
“Oh, he’s going to join me tonight at the wine and painting event I’m hosting. Want to come along?”
“I might. I’ll have to check my schedule. I saw a bunch of matches from my app were going. Isn’t that a date thing?”
“It is. Maybe use k!smet to find someone to join you.”
Misha laughed and then sort of shrugged. “Maybe. I’m just slammed with work right now.”
They started talking about their favorite TV show from the UK that had singles go to an island and hook up and try to find true love. As they were dishing about their favorites and the people they wanted to see go, Maggie realized in a way the public dates she and Jericho had agreed to might up being viewed by Royal as something similar.
And suddenly the behaviors of the participants weren’t as funny as they had been before. She knew a television show was different, but the fact of the matter was, being viewed while you were dating was awkward.
“Ugh.”
‘What?”
“Do you think thatRoyal Tonightis going to cover our dates? What if people start rooting for Jericho to break up with me?” Maggie asked.
“Hon, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I mean you don’t have a love chateau that you’re going to retreat to and then discuss later. Or do you?” Misha teased.
“No,” she said, blushing at the thought of being in a love chateau with Jericho. Honestly, maybe the fact that the participants in that show didn’t hear in real time what was being said about them made it not matter. She would just ignore the gossip sites as she always did even as she knew they’d try to court them so that everyone could see the success of the k!smet app.
“What are you wearing tonight?”
“Something sexy. Jericho told me he wouldn’t kiss me again unless I asked him to,” she admitted. “I’m going to tempt him until he gives in.”
Misha started laughing. “Yes. I love it. So you both decided it wasn’t wise to sleep together?”
“Yeah.”
“ So you two have a side wager?”
“Yes. As soon as he said he wouldn’t touch me again, I was like, ‘Oh yes you will,’” Maggie said. “You know how competitive I can be.”
“I do. Well, I’d say may the best person win but I know you will. You just don’t quit,” Misha said.
“No I don’t,” she said. And she wouldn’t when it came to this bet with Jericho. In the midst of the stuff she was nervous about, she had no anxiety toward him. She knew that men wanted her and she knew how to turn on the charm and the attraction. And she also knew she needed a check in the “win” column when it came to intimacy and men.
Jericho parked his sports car in the parking lot at The Courtyard Shops where MaggieInk had a storefront and where her wine and paint session was being held that evening. He’d seen on the k!smet app that a number of meetups were using this event so he had a feeling that this would be a very public date.
He’d never really been a fan of painting but he could sketch and draw. He had always carried around a sketchbook when he’d been in college, mainly to jot down inspiration when he saw an element in the landscape that he thought would be challenging to turn into a functional building. But he had also at times sketched in it mainly architecture and building designs but sometimes he’d add in landscapes that he wanted to try and incorporate into designs.
He wore a pair of faded jeans and a designer button-down shirt and had toyed with shaving, but he liked the beard scruff so left it. He didn’t want Maggie to think he was trying too hard, but he knew he was. He’d offered to pick her up but she had insisted they meet here. He was impressed with The Courtyard Shops, which were repurposed from a renovated old ranch. The design honored the ranches in the area and the complex was located about four miles west of downtown.
He was a bit early and when he walked into MaggieInk, he saw Maggie was running behind. Something he was beginning to realize she did frequently. “Want a hand?”
