Page 13 of Heart's Masquerade

“Tor what? Is that a nickname?”

Jaz groaned. She realized she had no idea. “You know what, it doesn’t even matter. I had the feeling he was hurting or lonely maybe. Either way he didn’t call, so he must not have been interested. I’m not the type to sit around waiting on a guy, so it’s fine.”

“Aw, what a waste,” Lawanda complained. “I thought you were going to tell me some fairy-tale story.”

“It was a Halloween party, nut.”

Jaz recalled how she’d teased him and said he was acting like Cinderfella, except she refused to hunt him down. She hadn’t met anyone like him. Not because of his looks. She had dated sexy guys, but she had spoken the truth about how he seemed lonely, especially wearing the mask. He said he grew up in the area, yet he appeared to be far separated from it. She had no real idea why she felt that way, and it couldn’t be his speech. She’d joked about the accent, but there were plenty of transplants in Boston. Well, it didn’t matter. He didn’t call. C’est la vie.

“Don’t worry,” Lawanna said, patting her arm. “Your Mr. Right is probably right around the corner. You’ll see.”

Jaz hadn’t given up hope at all. She just willed the man for her to show soon because a woman had needs too, and on top of that—lonely sucked big-time.

* * * *

Jaz made it over to the community center by one in the afternoon and headed a class on life skills. Once she had fielded a million and one questions after the session, she left her students to go to the gym. Just as she expected, she found Allen on one of the weight machines, and she approached him.

“Hey, Allen, I thought I’d find you here.”

Her ex blew out a puff of air and let the barbells he held clang against the stand that held them up. A quick calculation told her he’d been pressing two hundred fifty pounds. He sat up and ran a towel over his sweaty skin. Jaz held her breath and moved back. The stench hit her like a boulder to the face. The one thing she hated was how much he smelled when he worked out. She didn’t know if it was in his pores or just his natural aroma. Good thing he had showered regularly while they were together.

“Jaz, come to beg me to take you back?” He grinned, and she crumpled the paper a little that she held.

“No, I wanted to talk to you about giving a little more in your monthly gift to the center.”

He frowned, and his muddy-brown eyes seemed to darken further. Jaz couldn’t help comparing them to a certain green pair she couldn’t get out of her head. “I already give fifty.”

“I know, and we’re grateful,” she said with an ingratiating smile. A fingertip run along his biceps was all she could manage without gagging. “You got these muscles using the equipment here. Allen, the center is in trouble, and we need you to help get us out of it.”

She saw him waver. Nothing got to Allen like feeling like he was some kind of savior. Turning on the feminine charm didn’t hurt either. “Allen?” she coaxed in her sweetest voice when he said nothing.

“Fine, I’ll look into my finances and see what I can spare. He stood up, crowding her, and she leaped back to keep his damp skin from coming into contact with her clothes. She would have to either go home to shower and change or smell like sweat all day. Wasn’t happening. Allen grasped her wrist in one of his big, meaty paws, but he didn’t drag her to him. “You should have dinner with me tonight to show your appreciation.”

“I don’t like being manhandled, Allen.” Her soft, but firm warning caused him to release her in an instant. “I’m working late, so I’m going to have to take a rain check, but thanks so much. I’ll tell the director to expect a check by the end of the week.”

Jaz spun on her heel and escaped. She bit back a chuckle at his grumbling behind her. Before she returned to work, she stopped by the bathroom and scrubbed her hands and wrist where Allen had touched her. Yeah, totally not going back to him.

A couple hours later, after she assisted with the running of another class, she headed to the director’s office and found the woman just hanging up the phone. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. “Jaz, you did it.”

Jaz blinked. “Me? What did I do?”

“We got a huge donation. I think it will keep us in the black for a little while, and I’m thinking we can use this in some way to convince the building owner not to sell. If only it was enough to buy for the community.” She waved her hand. “Never mind, we’re ahead! I’m so excited.”

Jaz whooped. “That’s great news, but we all worked together to pull this off. I think the word is getting out there for how we need the center.”

The director walked around her desk and hugged Jaz. “You’re such a jewel. I’m so glad we got you, and I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you here.”

“Ugh, you’re making me blush,” Jaz joked.

“Well the donor said you’re the reason he wanted to give.”

Jaz froze. “He?”

The director reached for a sheet where she’d written down the information. “He wanted to remain anonymous.”

Jaz had spoken with so many different people over the months she had accepted a position as coordinator and instructor as needed. “Mind me asking how much?”

Jaz whistled at learning the figure. “Nice. We rarely get that much at once. We might even be able to give the leaky pipe in the second floor bathroom a permanent fix instead of a patch job.”

---