Unleashing Chaos

Chapter Six

Jace never asked me for any more details about what happened with Patrick after he determined that I really was all right, just made me promise not to go to any more nightclubs alone unless I did some research on their reputations first.

So the next time, I just stuck to the dating apps, and scheduled a date with a twenty-six-year-old real estate agent named Hunter who appeared to be perfectly normal from our conversations and his photos.

But as I sit here at this fancy cocktail bar on the ritzy side of Denver, all dressed up in a short fit and flare black dress with a single strand of pearls, my hair piled on my head in a mountain of curls, sipping on my third gin and tonic, I am questioning all my life choices.

Hunter was due to be here an hour ago, and I am still sitting here waiting like the pathetic demon I am. I just need to give it up. He's not coming.

"Did that asshole stand you up?" a deep voice says from right next to me, and I crane my neck to look up into bright blue eyes.

"Yeah, looks like it," I grumble, motioning for my roommates to sit down. Jace sits in the chair next to me, and Cannon plops down across from us. "So much for y'all watching one of my dates from afar to tell me what you think is going wrong—or to make sure he's not a creeper. He didn't even have the common decency to show up." I down my gin and tonic and set the empty glass on the table so hard it almost shatters.

"I have to admit that I wasn't really down with spying on your date anyway." Jace rolls the sleeves of his button-up shirt to his forearms and takes a swig of his craft beer.

Cocking my head to the side, I turn and lean on my elbow. "Why did you agree to do it, then? You don't seem like the kind of guy that goes along with things you don't want to do. In fact, you seem like the total opposite of that," I retort.

"It was a long day of reading through contracts and starting on a new project for a bigger client. I thought I could use the laugh if this all went wrong. I didn't expect your date to completely avoid you." He glares at Cannon across the table. "Not to mention that this guy here doesn't take no for an answer."

Cannon grins. "When Desi said she wanted us to help her, I couldn't say no. I mean look at her," Cannon says, gesturing toward me. "It's impossible."

"Well, I'm glad my horrific dating life can provide you two with entertainment for the evening." I fold my cocktail napkin over and over into a tiny square. "In all seriousness...do you think there's something wrong with me? This is like, the sixth attempt at a date I've been on, and not one of them has been a success. I'm seeing a common denominator here..."

"It's not you, Desi. You are looking for it too hard. Good things have a way of finding you when you least expect it," Cannon says.

I sigh and sit back in my chair. "I guess I'm going to just cool it with the dates for a little bit; maybe the right guy will just march right up to me at the mall and tell me how gorgeous he thinks I am," I say with a breathy laugh, taking a sip of water from the glass the server had brought me earlier.

Jace rubs his lips together and stares at his beer. Over the last couple of weeks, I've learned to read him a little better. When he gets quiet like this, he is usually working through his thoughts before he voices them. "You might be struggling through the dating stuff, but you seem like a smart woman. I don't understand why it's so important to your father that you get married. People run successful businesses and hold it together just fine without a partner. You said the other night that your dad would settle for you picking a friend. Why don't you go that route? Wouldn't it be easier?"

"It would be easier, but if I did that, I would never be able to go back and change my mind. Whatever we choose is for eternity." He raises one eyebrow over his glasses, and I backpedal. "For life. And then, I'd never be able to marry for love. And I want that too much to give it up."