My Darling Jane (The Darlings)

Jane looks up at me, wide eyed, and places her free hand over her chest. If she were wearing pearls, she’d be clutching them.

She’d never make it as a spy. She sucks at it. Not to mention that she’s too beautiful to get lost in a crowd. And she’s damn cute when she’s blushing after getting caught red handed.

I let her wrist go and smirk. “You all right?”

She nods. “You scared me. I was just—”

“You were following me.”

She blurts out, “What? I was just having a lunch when I saw—”

“And that’s why you were hiding in the back behind that screen. Sorry, but you stick out, angel.” I’m beyond delighted that she was there, watching. It was the best part of the date.

I can’t help but feel a surge of anticipation tingling inside me. There’s something about her that gets under my skin, making me crave more than just her banter. It’s as if she’s deliberately pushing me away, only to leave me wanting her even more.

I quickly shake off these thoughts, reminding myself that this is just a dance we’ve been engaged in since the moment we met. But now it feels different—more charged, more dangerous. The line between attraction and irritation has blurred since the Jane Orgasm.

When she doesn’t respond, I add, “You knew we were going to Cool Beans.”

She looks away and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “Was your date today? You have to realize, I set up dozens of meetups all—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.”

“It’s true! Anyway, I don’t have time for this. I have to get back to—”

“I get it. Work, right? Don’t let me keep you from making the world a more loving place.” I move aside to let her pass. “See ya, matchmaker.”

Chin up, she stalks past me. I watch her leave, taking in the dressy shorts that hug her heart-shaped ass. No stockings. Heels. Little sweater. Goddamn.

It’s almost a shame that she whirls around, just as I’m trying to commit that back view to memory.

She wags a finger at me. “If you must know, it was a professional matter. That’s all. I often look in on dates to make sure they’re going all right.”

“Sure.” I don’t believe that for a second.

Her cheeks pinken. “I do!”

“And how did ours look?” I ask, tilting my head.

“Well, to tell you the truth . . . I was concerned,” she admits, her eyebrows knitting.

“About what?” I play innocent, but I know exactly what she’s getting at. “Ah, maybe that it was going too well, is that it?”

She hitches a shoulder slightly. “Well . . . you got up so fast . . .”

“You thought I was taking her home. Is that it?”

I can just about see her pulse, going crazy beneath that creamy white skin of her throat. Her breathing gets more rapid, and she looks away. “Well . . .”

“You’re right. It was. We got on like a house afire.” I look behind myself, at the alley there. “We decided, why wait to get to my place? We did it right here in the alley.”

Ah, and there it is. Her mouth opens, and she looks horrified for a second, before her lip curls. “Fast finisher, I guess?”

“Then I told her to get lost and kicked her to the curb.”

She stares at her shoes, then looks up at me, those green eyes making my heart twinge. “I know you’re just giving me a hard time. I swear I was at Cool Beans to promote my business.”

I lean against the side of the building and cross my arms. “Lie detected.”

She looks at her shoes again. I smile because it’s her tell when she’s guilty.

Sure, I like getting laid. But it would be better with someone I’m really into. I’d even wait for the third date for that. Or the fourth. Hell, if it was Jane, I might even wait as long as she wanted. Something tells me she’s worth it.

Jane stares at me. “So are you going to see Erin again?”

I decide not to answer right away, because that’s the only thing I have, keeping her dangling. Erin was a sweetheart. She talked mostly about the new puppy she recently got to help her get over her ex. She even teared up a little talking about the lawyer who broke her heart, so I held her hand.

“First I need to rate my date with you, don’t I?” I reach into my phone and open the app. It’s already prompting me to provide the rating. Thankfully, the rating system is only for Jane to see how it went and help her make better matches.

She comes closer to me, watching as I hold my phone. She gasps. “Only three stars? Seriously?”

“For a reason,” I say, thumbing in the rest of the review. “She’s still recovering from a breakup. She didn’t even ask me anything about myself.”

“Oh, it’s all about you. I see.”

“Not at all. She really just needed a friend to vent to.”

She presses closer, leaning in, and I inhale her scent, sweet like honeysuckle. It must be her shampoo. When I finish, she grabs the phone. “‘And she looks like George Washington with long hair’? What?”

I shrug again.

“She’s beautiful! You’re so mean!”

True. Erin is gorgeous and doesn’t look like a dead president, but I freaking love getting a rise out of Jane.

“We just didn’t connect,” I try to explain. “She was more like . . . vanilla. Nice, but meh. And I want chocolate-brownie explosion. You know, the orgasm-in-your-mouth type of thing?” I clearly recall Jane’s orgasm. Under my tongue.

She hands me the phone. “You two really looked like you were getting along well. You were flirting. Leaning into each other.”

“Yeah . . . I do that. Even the lady with the mustache at my dry cleaner’s. It’s called ‘charm.’”

“But you don’t do that to someone you’re not interested in,” she says heatedly, waving her arms and accidentally poking a passing runner in the ribs. She winces and calls after him, “Oh, sorry!” but he keeps going and doesn’t look back.

“I do,” I say with a shrug. “That’s why everyone likes me. You should try it,” I suggest. “Maybe more people would like you.”

This time she pokes me in the chest with her finger. “You know what that’s called? Being a phony. No one likes a phony. Trust me. They might, at first, but when they find out it’s all an act, they won’t like you anymore. I’m real. What you see is what you get.”

I grin. “You’re hot when you’re angry, angel.”

Her eyes narrow as she backs away. “Don’t call me that.”

Before she can turn to run off, I say, “So . . . do I get another match?”

“Your three are up, which means your money is mine.”

“Is that a yes?” I ask as she marches away, taking that beautiful ass with her.

No response.

I say, “I’m telling you. You just have to have a date with me.”

She glares.

I grin. “I really feel bad about making you have to work so hard to find me a match. Why don’t you come over to my place tonight, and I’ll make you dinner? I might even let you put a tiny little photo of me on the website.”

Before she can open her mouth to deny me again, I add, “I’m kind of a celebrity. That’s probably why I have a multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with Gatorade and more on the way.”

She rolls her eyes. “So what?”

“Just that I’m sure you’re looking for positive reviews about your little side hustle, huh?” I say lightly. The reviews for the business itself go on the website for everyone to read.

“Well, one from me . . . would probably be worth a lot. Then again, a negative review . . . not so good.”

She gasps. “You wouldn’t!”

“Jane Darling.” Her name drips from my lips. “Just say yes.”

“Fine,” she says. “I’ll come.” She winces and then adds, “For dinner. Just to talk business.”

I suppress a laugh and smile. “You can peel me back, layer by layer, find out everything you need to know. It’ll be . . . fun.”