Mismatch - By Nana Malone Page 0,52

Auntie Jess to pick up her shoes from the shoe repair and pick up some fruit. You want some fruit?”

“Kara want walk.”

Figured. Though Jess had a feeling how this would go. They’d walk, and Kara would last exactly ten minutes then want to be picked up, and Jess would be forced to carry her for the rest of the errand. But if she grabbed the stroller now, Kara would howl with indignation. She hated being treated like a baby. Jess hated to break it to the kid, but she was barely two. She didn’t really get to have an opinion on such matters.

Hand in hand, they skipped past the fountain and skirted the Stuart Weitzman store. Jessica averted her gaze and distracted Kara with a well-timed, “Hey, do you want to get ice-cream later?” Never mind that Kara wasn’t supposed to have too many sweets. Jess would deal with that later. The key was to distract her from the shoes. If Kara had her way, she’d be playing in a pile of stilettos for hours. Which was how Izzy’s pair of Louboutins got scratched up.

I feel you, kid, but there’s no way we have time for this. Once we get home, I need to go and prep for dinner with another potential client. If she kept up this pace, she’d be a full-fledged working girl. She shuddered at the thought. But she didn’t have any time to wallow. That opening would make or break her. So much for a life of leisure. Seems like she was never meant to be a debutante anyway.

As they picked up the shoes for Izzy, Jessica let Kara play with some of the model shoes in the window. Thankfully, she was able to find a cobbler who specialized in high end shoes. Otherwise, Jason would have gotten his way and just bought Izzy another pair. And Izzy wasn’t having that.

“Come on, munchkin, one more stop, and we’re outta here. Fastest shopping trip ever.”

“Jaja?”

Jessica stroked Kara’s hand with her thumb. “What’s up, kid?”

“Want up.”

Jessica rolled her eyes and scooped her up. “How did I know this was going to happen? I gotta tell you, honey, you ain’t light.”

As they made their way to the farmer’s market, Jessica managed to avoid the magazine stand with its candy and glossy covers that sometimes featured Jason. Last thing they needed was for Kara to advertise to the paparazzi that she was out in public by shouting, “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!” Izzy would kill Jessica if one of the photogs snapped a photo of Kara.

They also managed to avoid the Mr. Softie stand. Though Jessica might have promised ice-cream, there was no way she was giving the kid Mr. Softie. She knew better. There was a low sugar, organic ice-cream stand on the way back to the house.

Lucky for her, Kara was immediately distracted by the bright colorful fruit of the farmer’s market. Jessica made quick work of grabbing the provisions and was paying for it when her heart slammed against her chest.

Kara must have noticed the jolt in her body because she put her hand on Jess’s faces and asked. “Jaja, what happen?”

Eli Marks happened. Across the farmers market, she saw him standing at the flower mart, picking up daisies with a striking brunette. Shit. He casually swung an arm around her shoulder, and nausea rolled through Jessica’s body.

When the cashier handed her the bag, she barely mumbled a ‘thank you’ as she grabbed it and hugged Kara to her. She had to sit down and get out of sight. God, how humiliating would that be if they ran into each other? Hi there, Eli. Thanks for the fuck last night. Who’s your friend?

White hot jealousy seared through Jessica’s veins. Rounding the corner, she followed Eli and his friend through the crowd. He no longer had his arm around her, but they still had that look of two people who were intimately acquainted with each other.

She had to sit down. If she kept this up, she’d run right up to him and fire herself as his manager. And that would be no good. And yeah, she might have some new talent coming onto the roster, but none of them as vibrant as Samson Marks, so she couldn’t do anything crazy like finding the children’s play area, scooting Kara inside, and texting, Been thinking. Last night was a horrible mistake. Let’s keep things professional. Pretty daisies, btw.

Instead, she called Izzy.

“So I need you to explain to me why you're so upset,”