Dirty Trick (Perfectly Matched 1)

She groaned and rubbed her temples, trying to ward off the tension headache that had started early that morning and hadn’t let up since. “I’m such a sap. Tell me I’m a sap,” she pleaded.

Serena shook her head slowly. “I can’t. I know I’m supposed to be the ‘Hey, screw him, you can do better’ guy right now, but I’m with you.” She shrugged her elegant shoulder. “He’s pretty frigging wonderful, aside from this one thing, and I don’t blame you for being in love with him.”

“But how can you forgive someone who isn’t even saying they’re sorry? He used me.”

“He didn’t. I don’t know why, but I believe him on that score. You know me, I only believe about ten percent of what comes out of most guys’ mouths, but that I believed. When he told me that he cared about you and was doing what he did to convince you that he was the right guy for you, I could see the truth in his eyes.”

Grace opened her mouth to argue, but Serena pressed on.

“Don’t interrupt me. You weren’t there to see it. And I hate to break it to you, but you’re not the only one with feelings about stuff. I can spot a bullshitter at twenty paces, and Trick is the real deal. If you want to deny it, that’s fine, but I’d bet my best pair of Jimmy Choos that he’s for real.”

Grace stared out the window and cupped her hands around her coffee mug, letting the heat warm her icy hands. “Yeah? Well if that true, then where is he, Serena? Why hasn’t he even tried to tell me that himself?”

Her friend with an answer for everything didn’t have an answer for that. After a few attempts at cheering her up and distracting her, she took the hint, elicited a promise that Grace would call if she needed her, and left.

Grace wished she could leave, too. Just get away for a while and not have to think or remember. The smell of her skin. The feel of his hands. She squeezed her eyes closed against the fresh wash of pain, but the sound of Trick’s car pulling into his driveway had them snapping open again.

Would he come over to talk? Gandalf stood and padded toward the door, his tail thumping against the frame, probably hoping the same thing. She held her breath, the hair on her arms standing up as the car door slammed. Seconds ticked by. And then minutes. And then…nothing. She rolled off the couch and onto the floor, and Gandalf crossed the room and laid down next to her. She tugged him against her for a hug.

“I guess he’s doing better without us than we are without him, buddy.”

He whimpered and licked her cheek. Like mother, like dog. They were both a couple of suckers.

The next two days went by in a blur. She was like a zombie, eating because she had to, phoning it in at work. Luckily Serena took the reins without a word and gave her the space she so desperately needed. If she heard another reassurance or platitude, she was going to commit hara-kiri.

Serena strode into her office and tossed a DVD and some forms onto her desk. She clutched a newspaper in her hand and grinned.

“Those are some new client videos for your approval. But, guess what else?”

She felt like playing the guessing game about as much as she felt like getting a rectal exam, so she gave Serena the dead eyes and waited.

“Fine, party pooper.” She sat down and spread the paper across Grace’s desk with a flourish. “It’s pure gold.”

Grace glanced down, fully prepared to be underwhelmed, and saw an interview piece in the Hot and About Town section titled Getting to the Heart of It.

Subject of the interview?

Chuck Stanhope.

Finding love as a single successful guy might seem easy, but Chuck Stanhope says he’s living proof that it’s not. Enter Serena Finch with her effervescent personality and fresh, savvy sales techniques, and Grace Love—yes, that’s her real name—with her eerie ability to pinpoint the issue and get to the heart of the matter. Chuck claims that after just one meeting, he already feels like there’s been a change in him, one he hopes will help him find the woman of his dreams.

The interview went on to talk about Chuck’s business and other aspects of his personal life, but he closed with another plug for Love Will Find A Way, going on to say how comfortable Grace and Serena had made him feel and that he was looking forward to hosting some Love Will Find a Way mixers at his estate.

“Holy shit!” Grace whispered, the first bubbling of joy she’d felt in days creeping up on her like fine champagne. “This is huge.”

“Huge!” Serena crowed and held up her hand for a fist bump. “We are going to be the talk of the town. You must have really charmed him.”

“No, no.” Grace shook her head furiously. “He wouldn’t have even come in if it wasn’t for you. This is our win. Together.” They grinned stupidly at each other for a second, reveling in the happy news. She couldn’t wait to tell—

Trick.

The gray cloud of sadness that had been hanging over her started to move back in. Nope. Enough was enough. She needed to try to get back to some kind of normal here, and today’s paper was a great start. Someday, maybe not tomorrow, or even next month, but someday she’d be back to good again. Baby steps.

Serena cleared her throat and launched into a business discussion on how to capitalize on this recent coup. Then they brainstormed some possible dates for Chaz—Chuck—with some of their nicer, low key, non-high maintenance clients.

After they’d made their list, Serena stood and gestured to the DVD on the desk between them. “That’s today’s newest videos. There are four total new clients, and each made two prospective videos for you to pick from. Just jot down your preference, and I’ll add them to their folders.”

Grace peeked at her watch and snagged the disk. She had just enough time to whip through the five minute introduction videos and get back home before she ran the risk of running into Trick pulling into his driveway from work. Although, the last few days she’d started to wonder who was avoiding whom. Her bruised heart gave a whimper, and she sighed.

“Sounds good. You can cut out early if you want. We don’t have any more appointments today.”

“Holla,” Serena said and raised the roof. “I’ll call you tomorrow, and you can let me know if you want to get mani-pedis on Sunday.”

She sailed out of the room, likely flipping through her contact list to see what lucky guy was going to get the pleasure of her company on a Friday night.

Grace turned her attention to work, sliding the disk into her laptop and waiting while it whirred to life. The first video came onto the screen, and she adjusted the volume. An attractive man in his early thirties wearing glasses filled the screen. He smiled in a way that lit up his face, and Grace froze. The tingles hit her hard and she looked around the room. Tingles? There was no one else with her. She was never falling in love again. Surely, he wasn’t meant for her—

Serena charged back into the room and scooped up the sunglasses she’d left on the table. “Forgot these,” she called breathlessly and then glanced at the screen. “Ouch, good luck with him. He looks like a real tight-ass.”

Tight-ass indeed. She watched Serena exit the room, and push through the glass doors of the building before looking back at the video. Son of a bitch. The tingles were gone, which could only mean one thing.

Serena and—she glanced at the stats in the corner of the screen—Dr. Bryan Metcalf were soul-mates.

Wasn’t that special? He was the exact opposite of any guy she’d ever be with. Grace watched both of his videos and made a few notes, liking the guy more and more with every passing second. She’d have to put that one aside until she decided how to handle this with Serena. She couldn’t possibly tell her the truth about the tingles, or she’d never even agree to meet him.

Guilt pricked at her, and she sat back. Here she was, miss high and mighty, ready to trick someone so she could do “what was best for them.” How very droll. Maybe it was time to stop waiting to see if Trick was going to apologize and to start asking if maybe they could sit and talk. She’d made mistakes, too. Like not even giving him a chance because of his past relationships despite the fact that he made so many changes, which had apparently been for her sake.

She clicked on the next file, determined to finish her work so she could go home and think with a glass of wine and a giant bowl of soup to help fuel her on.

The screen stayed black, but a voice poured from the tiny speakers of her computer. Tingles assailed her again, and she frantically adjusted the screen to no avail, then froze as the words registered.

“I got you this way that night. Face hidden, with nothing but my words. Only this time, I’m going to tell you the truth. My name is Trick Mathews. I’m thirty years old, and I’ve never been in love before.”

Her pulse went wild, and she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. What the hell was going on?

“I’d been in lust plenty, though. Always thought that was enough. Come to find out, it’s not. I want more than that. I want someone who makes me laugh all the time. I want someone who looks even more beautiful to me when they wake up in the morning than they do in the fanciest dress.” The screen filled with Trick’s face—the face that made her heart ache so badly she wished she could look away. Not likely.

“I want a woman who can have as much fun throwing darts and playing beer pong as she does going to the spa or shopping.”

The camera pulled in closer, and she couldn’t blame it one bit. His eyes were so gorgeous, so sincere and full of need. She was trapped by them and his words. “I want a girl who can pick out a match from a mile away. A girl with a big, dumb dog, and an even bigger heart.”

Her heart had been pounding so hard just a second before, but it seemed to stop altogether as he stood.

“Grace,” Trick said from the screen of her laptop. “I love—”

Her breath caught in her throat as the screen went dead. “No!” She clicked the mouse on the play buttons furiously. That’s what she got for being cheap and buying a—

“Gracie?”

She froze, tingles so strong she could hardly breathe, afraid to do anything to make it stop again.

“Turn around, love.”

She released the mouse and swiveled slowly in her chair to face the doorway where Trick stood, dressed in his SWAT uniform. Her mouth went completely devoid of moisture, and her brain drained of coherent thought. “W-what are you doing?”

“I know I f**ked up.”

His eyes were just as hollow as they’d been that day at the bank, and she wished he were closer so she could touch his face.

“I betrayed your trust, and I’ll never forgive myself for that. But I’m asking—” he crossed the room and dropped to his knees in front of her “—for you to try to forgive me. I know it might take a while, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to regain your trust again. Just tell me you’ll give me one more chance.” He took her hand in his and stared up at her, his eyes shining with regret tempered by hope. “I love you so f**king much.”

He loved her. She tried to stop her hand from shaking, but it was a no go. “When I saw you at the bank, with the ambulance and…” She trailed off and bit her lip to keep from crying. “I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t okay.”

He stood and moved to pull her into his arms, but she stopped him, fear and doubt coming back to cloud her mind.

“Wait. I need to understand. Why? Why did you do it, Trick? Why not just tell me how you felt?”

“What would you have said? If, a year ago, I came to you and told you that I loved you?”

She shook her head, “I don’t know, but you never even gave me the chance to—”

“That’s bullshit, Gracie.” His words were harsh, but his tone was still loving and sweet. “You would have thought about it for two seconds, recalled every time another woman left my house, and shot me down because you thought I was a player. Then things would’ve been weird between us and we wouldn’t even have our friendship. I decided to show you first. To put up or shut up. No sleepovers. Hell, no real dates even, but you didn’t even notice.”