"You should. So, tell me about last night. I assume you were at the club?" She took a sip of her coffee and lifted her eyebrow at me.

"Yeah. I met a handsome billionaire type. Stupid expensive car, smelled like heaven, offered me a ring." I shrugged and bit into my breakfast, taking time to ignore the world and enjoy the luxury of such goodness.

"And... how do you know what type of car he has? Did he talk about it all night?"

"Um, no. We, well… you know.” I picked up my coffee as her mouth dropped open.

"Lila. Shit. You could have been hurt, kidnapped, or dumped in an alley."

"Oh, he put a hurt on me all right," I smiled trying to suppress a naughty giggle, and shook my head. "No berating me. Seriously. I want to have a little fun and get it out of my system. James was a dick and totally ruined my life. I'm not ready to trust men again or give them anything but a blow job here and there."

Jessie laughed as her cheeks turned a vibrant shade of pink. "God, you're like a hooker."

"Jealous?"

"Hell yes I'm jealous. We made soup, snuggled and passed out on the couch." She rolled her eyes and took a bite of her own muffin.

I held back my response and ignored the dull ache in my chest as I pictured her evening. I remembered those nights. Snuggling and planning a future with someone you stupidly believed when he said he loved you.

Stop it. Fuck him. Fuck all of them.

"New subject. The bank denied yet another loan request from me." I let out a short puff of air and took a bigger bite of my breakfast, hoping to save myself from having to speak for a few minutes.

"No. Really? That's horrible. What do they want from you? You're young. How could you possibly have successful business history on the books yet? Shit. Everyone has to start somewhere." Jessie's voice grew louder as she ranted.

I took another quick swig of her coffee and laughed. "I know. It's all good though. My portfolio is just getting better and better. Soon they won't be able to deny me. I'll have my spa in the next few years and then I can quit working for other people and start building my own future."

"I wish I could help. I would if I could."

"I know that, silly. It's going to work out. This job I have now is paying the bills and I get to spend most of my day with you. Playing matchmaker when you don't believe in love anymore sucks horse dick, but whatever..."

"Horse dick... really? Great image to give me to think about all day. Thank you." Jessie chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"It's only fair. I'm thinking about it, so you should too."

"You are not. That's disgusting." Jessie tapped her fingers on the table as realization rolled over her face. "Oh. The guy last night was hung?"

"Like a horse." I laughed so hard at the look on her face my coffee almost came out of my nose. It was good to start my day off with someone that loved me. Most likely the only someone.

6 - Asher

I couldn't get her out of my mind, but sitting around the house figuring out how to find my naughty Cinderella without even so much as a glass slipper was out. I had too much to do and honestly it was time to find someone to actually join me in life, not just for a night. But shuffling through a bunch of greedy neurotic women sounded like hell, so I would simply do what most men with my financial status did... I'd hire an elite match making agency.

I was scheduled for lunch with the owner of one of the top ranked agencies, and though I really wanted to cancel and go back to the club looking for clues on my girl instead, I had a thing about missing appointments. I didn't want people wasting my time, so I tried like hell not to waste theirs.

Pulling in front of the upscale restaurant in Beverly Hills, I waited for the valet to come over before getting out of the car. He smiled and tried to act less excited than he was about driving my Maybach. I chuckled and gave him a warning look before walking into the restaurant.

The smell of the ocean filled my senses and I breathed in deeply, glancing around and enjoying the wall to wall fish tanks. It would be nice to take the boat out one more time before winter hit. The beautiful creature from the night before would look good lounging on the deck, her tanned flesh on display for me to see, to touch, to...

"You must be Mr. Harrington?" The host moved toward me, a polite smile on his face.

"I am. I'm here to meet..."

"Me." A rather attractive middle aged woman moved up beside the young man and extended her hand. "Gisele Markum. Nice to meet you Mr. Harrington. I have a table for us near the back where the sunlight comes in beautifully."

"Ah, perfect." I nodded to the host, took my menu from him and followed the woman to our table. She was known around the city as the match maker, but like any good business owner, she had quite a few good employees working for her from what I had read. I wasn't sure I was comfortable really letting her into the depths of my desires for the type of wife I wanted, but the lunch would soon tell all.

I pulled out her chair and waited until she was seated to take my own.

"A gentleman. I like it." She smiled and reached up to run her hand along her heavily sprayed blond hairdo.

"My mother raised me right, I suppose." I smiled politely and stifled my thoughts about fucking a hot woman in the ass in the back of my car the night before. My mother would keel over, as any self-respecting mother should. What was I thinking?

I was supposed to be moving toward becoming a better man. Getting married, making amends to those that I'd hurt. The last thing I wanted was to end up like Geoff, and have nobody show up at my funeral.

The image of the gorgeous girl from the club brushed across my mind as I envisioned that day. She was in a black dress, her hair pulled back tightly with strands of grey running through it. Her tears were real and heartfelt in my mind, her body more frail and bent over as she cried in the small sanctuary.

Need filled me and I realized that it was her. The woman I met the night before was quite likely the one I should have been looking for today, not some quick fill in distraction.

"Mr. Harrington?" Gisele touched my arm and I blinked a few times.

"My apologies. Long restless night. Guess I was a little more nervous about today than I imagined." I forced a chuckle and glanced down at my menu. After ordering, I turned my attention back to the match maker, though it felt like a bit of a waste after coming to the conclusion that I was going to go look for the girl who'd been the first to steal my breath away... ever.

I'd only exchanged e-mails with Gisele thus far, so it was interesting to see her in person. Especially seeing that her left hand bore no wedding ring. Not that everyone wore rings in the twenty-first century, but how odd would it be to have a match maker that wasn't matched? I was still debating between her firm and one other, but leaning heavily toward her due to the fact that her firm was established both in the US and internationally. I wasn't beyond finding a match with someone from a foreign country. Something about it almost felt exotic, or forbidden.

"I bet. One can only imagine the life of a wealthy bachelor." She laughed and I couldn't help but find it pleasant.

I smiled and lifted my hands. "Well, obviously it's not all that great or I wouldn't be here, right?"

"Very true. Tell me about yourself and about your ideal woman. I'll be taking notes, but please don't hold back or be uncomfortable. We're interested in finding the perfect fit for you and your lifestyle, so I might make suggestions here or there. Just be candid as I'm not in the business of wasting your time, or my own." She smiled and I nodded.