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It hen he ran into Rae Evans that things started to coraduating class’s wedding, and agreed to go together just to avoid dealing with the nonsense

It worked

No one bothered them There were looks, of course, but neither of thele—or what their exes were up to

And so Diamond Dates was born

He sat back in his chair and looked around, trying to get some distance on this His office was exactly the same as it had been since the day he eneric sofa that could double as a bed in a pinch, and a singleoverlooking the street It wasn’t fancy, but he didn’t need fancy Diamond Dates didn’tonline or over the phone In the event that awas required, he set it up in a public place

In the years since he’d started the company, he’d only had to deal with one over-zealous client, but one was uys trusted him to keep their personal infors professional The best way to do that was to confine the entire encounter to whatever event they were contracted for

None of that made a damn bit of difference when it came to Jessica Jackson There would be no distance for hi impossible

If he was a petty asshole, he could use this application to huraduated ten years ago, but there were still people walking around Catfish Creek with emotional scars from shit she’d pulled back in the day They’d be like sharks scenting blood in the water, glorying in seeing her brought to her knees with the witness

He stopped and really thought about it What was the point? Hurting her noouldn’t take them back in time and erase the pain he’d felt Would he like to see her with so on her face? Sure He wasn’t a damn saint But that didn’t er

Sheheart of out of his chest and ground it beneath one of her spike heels, but she’d been his first love Fuck, she’d been his only love—being burned so spectacularly created a whole hell of a lot of trust issues, and he hadn’t bothered to get past most of them

Fuck, I’

He brought up the inforround checks on all his potential clients Just because the uys were safe It paid to be safe and to have his shit together before sending them out

He’d thought about checking up on her over the years, but Jake had never crossed that line She was his ex for a reason, and she’d made it abundantly clear that she was better off without hie and NFL plans It had been hard enough recovering while dealing with a broken heart He didn’t need to get kicked in the teeth of his own volition

Now, he was practically required to look her up

Jake plugged her inforram and then pulled up the photo she’d sent while it worked on the search He set his coffee on the desk so he didn’t spill it on hiood The Jessica he knew had been all angles as harsh and unforgiving as the personality she showed the world Whoever had taken this picture had captured the softer side of her that she’d only ever shown Jake…right up until she didn’t