Perfectly Ms. Matched(37)

“That wasn’t nice at all, now was it?” Jo laughed as she made her way to the bathroom. “I’m proud of you, marshmallow. You played her for a change.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes. “I’m learning. How was your date?”

“Horrible!” Jo called out over the water running in the sink. “But it started out good. He’s super good-looking and was very charming while we ate our sushi. He asked me questions about the café, and I asked about the real estate market. Things were going so well, I started to reconsider that hot one-night stand.”

His stomach clenched at the thought of Jo having a one-night stand with some jerk. “So what happened?” He stripped down to his boxers, threw his clothes in the hamper, and then waited on the side of the bed for Jo to finish up in the bathroom so he could get ready next. It was too early to go to sleep, but Jo had to be up by four thirty, so he’d read or something until he was tired.

Jo came out of the bathroom, her face freshly washed and glowing, her hair back in a ponytail. She wore an oversized T-shirt that showed off her long slender legs. She’d never looked prettier.

While he headed for the bathroom, Jo called out, “When we got to the gallery opening for his friend, he turned into a completely different guy. He slammed drink after drink and started getting really handsy. When I went to the bathroom, trying to decide if I was going to ditch him or not, one of the other women made a comment about the nerve we had showing up to ruin Rochelle’s show. That’s when I found out Rochelle was my date’s ex and I was the revenge woman he was parading in her face.”

“Ouch.” Chad hid his grin as he joined her again. Jo probably let him have it.

“Yeah.” Jo was all settled into the other side of his king-sized bed. “I called Shelby on the way over here. She was mortified and couldn’t stop apologizing. She said she’d make it all up to me because Lori had another guy in mind, and this time she thinks she hit the jackpot. We’ll see.”

“Yep.” He didn’t want to talk about Jo dating other men. But it was familiar, and nice, talking with her as they got ready for bed after a long day like they used to. “Is it snowing out?”

“Yes. It’ll be a mess for the morning commute. Lucky for me, no one else is usually out as early as I am.” Jo plumped her pillow and laid her head down. “Did you and Linda talk about custody?”

“I was so busy avoiding her, we didn’t get the chance. I’m hoping to in the morning after Heather takes Ryan to school. If they don’t cancel school.”

“She was so mad when she saw me, she might not be speaking to you at all in the morning.”

“Maybe.” He grabbed his e-reader from the nightstand. “But it forced her to spend time with Ryan. He needs that.”

“I guess.” Jo grunted. “She seemed more interested in you today than Ryan.” She reached out and turned off the lamp on her side of the bed.

“I hope he didn’t notice. Will the light from my tablet bother you, if I read for a while?” He turned off his bedside lamp too. The room was still a little bright from the street lights reflecting off the snow falling outside.

“Nope.” Jo yawned and snuggled into her pillow like she used to before she fell asleep. It was cute. But he needed to stop thinking about Jo like that. He’d made a promise to keep his hands to himself. It was going to be a long night.

After a few minutes, she whispered, “Am I really that tough that I need a Rottweiler?”

He laid his tablet down. “I meant that in a good way. You’re a strong, smart, independent woman, and you need a guy who can handle that. It goes without saying that he needs well-developed pecs.”

Jo nodded. “I like guys who spend time in the gym.”

“There’s that, but he has to be tough enough to withstand the poking.”

A pillow smacked him in the face. Hard.

God, he missed her.

“Thanks, I needed another while I read.” He tucked the pillow behind his head.

She propped her chin up on her hand. “I’m being serious, Chad. I really want to meet a nice guy who wants a family too.”

He was tempted to tell her to give him another try, but all he’d do was hurt her when he started playing football again. “Your problem is that you’re attracted to powerful men, but most don’t get that way by sitting around pining for a family. Maybe you should go for someone much older.”

“No!” She scrunched up her nose. “I don’t want a card-carrying AARP member sitting next to me at our kid’s kindergarten graduation.”