Starry-Eyed Love (Spark House)

Later that afternoon, she arrives. I expect her not to look exactly like she does in her social media pictures, but I’m wrong. She doesn’t need any filter to look Insta-ready. She has long, thick dark hair, an incredible naturally tan complexion, eyes the color of coffee, full lips, and a body that has clearly been earned through countless hours of training. In short, she’s gorgeous. And once again, I experience that odd sensation that creeps up the back of my neck and makes the hairs stand on end. Like a cornered cat. Half of me is desperate for her to like me and the other half wants her to leave. I don’t like it. As a result, I’m nervous.

“It’s so adorable!” She stands in the middle of the ballroom with her hands on her curvy hips. She does a slow spin and taps her lip. “So much potential.”

“Thank you. We like it.” I keep my hands clasped in front of me to prevent me from using them to talk.

She comes equipped with an entourage, who she quickly dispatches, moving things around, rearranging the room inside of an hour. Something that took me and my crew almost an entire day. Once she deems the space event-ready, she informs me that she’s going to head up to her room.

“I presume that Jackson and I will be on the same floor,” she says as she sashays down the hall toward the elevator that will take her to the third floor. She has one of the nicest rooms in the hotel, aside from Jackson’s room. The entire third floor is dedicated to executive suites, and we’ve gone to a lot of trouble to make the accommodations as perfect as possible considering the clientele that we’re entertaining this weekend.

“You will.” And now that I’ve seen her in person, I would prefer that they weren’t.

“Perfect. I know he’ll appreciate that.” She affords me a tight-lipped smile.

“Do you work together often?” Jackson has only mentioned Selene in passing—and only in respect to the charity event he’s hosting next month in New York—and that she’s the Teamology liaison. Selene initially hadn’t been slated to attend our event, but apparently she made a last-minute decision to fit it into her schedule, and while Harley loves it, I’m beginning to wish she opted out.

“Mmm. We do.” Selene checks her phone, which buzzes several times in a row.

“You’ve been business associates for a long time, then?” I don’t know why it feels like I’m prying.

She lifts her gaze and gives me a quick appraisal, followed by another one of those smiles that seems to be verging on a smirk. “And friends even longer than that.”

“Oh? I didn’t realize.”

Her phone screen goes black, and she gives me her full attention. “Despite being a public figure, Jackson is a private man, so he tends to keep his personal relationships close to the vest. He doesn’t love speculation or rumors. It’s just not his style.”

“Right. Of course. That absolutely makes sense.”

“Jackson is very protective of the people who are close to him. Especially those of us who have had the privilege of knowing him before he made his fortune.”

“I can definitely understand how important you must be to him, and Trent as well. He needs friends like you to watch out for him.” I mean it. Mostly. Although I honestly don’t know what to make of the prickly feeling on the back of my neck, or the strange urge I have to tell this woman that I’m not interested in Jackson because of his money. In fact, it’s very much the opposite. I like Jackson despite the fact that he could basically buy Spark House and turn it into a freaking amusement park should the desire strike him.

Which I sincerely hope never happens.

“He definitely does. Jackson has a soft, generous heart, which is why he needs people like me and Trent around to keep him in line.” She smiles, so I do in return, but it feels a lot like I’m being given a warning.

“Soft heart or not, I can’t imagine he’s gotten where he is today without a shrewd business sense.” Normally I’m not combative, or even the kind of person to incite conflict of any kind, but I don’t love that this woman, who is very much the reason Spark House has had so much social media attention, is also the bug in Jackson’s ear.

I’m also confused by Jackson’s behavior since I went to New York. First he tells me he’s interested in dating me, and then all of a sudden, it’s Trent who has seamlessly taken over the event without a peep from Jackson. It doesn’t make sense. And I still don’t know if I imagined his lips on the back of my neck or if it actually happened when I was in his place in New York.