Page 63 of Playing Mr. Perfect

“Always,” she says. “No matter what was going on at work, we left it behind and had dinner at our favorite restaurant every Friday night like clockwork. Because when you care about someone, you find time for them. Gramps taught me that.”

I happen to know she still has dinner there every week. “Exactly. I know Pepper is as into me as I am into her.” I feel it in my bones. “So, yeah, I’m sure she’s busy, but something isn’t adding up. I think there’s more to it.”

“Do you think she has a boyfriend?” Flynn asks.

“No. She’s not the type to cheat.”

“Wait a second. Are you saying you think she’s the one?” Victory asks.

Holy shit. Am I?

They’re looking at me with bated breath.

“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it that way. All I know is, there’s something real between us.”

“I love this for you,” Sutton exclaims. “You’ve been Mr. Cool since I met you, and suddenly you’re hiring a private plane and pining after a woman. I am totally invested. Let’s figure out how to get you your girl. I can talk to Andi, and she can talk to Amber.”

Flynn laughs. “Clay’s own personal cheerleader.” He tugs Sutton into a kiss.

“Thanks, Sutton. I don’t need a cheerleader,” I say. “I just need to figure it out.”

“Is there any chance Pepper is scared?” Seth asks.

“Of what? We had a great time.”

“Maybe that’s the wrong word,” Seth says so fucking calmly, it’s irritating. He’s always been the king of calm. The voice of reason. “Could she be intimidated?”

“By what?”

“You,” my siblings say in unison.

I look at them like they’ve lost their minds. “What the hell does that mean?”

Seth levels me with the big-brother stare he’s used since we were kids. The one that says he has something important to say and I need to listen. “You have a tendency to barrel into situations and make things happen the way you want them to.”

“Yeah, because I’m a strategic thinker on my feet. You know damn well I’d never put a woman in a situation she didn’t want to be in. I’m not a prick.”

“Of course I know that,” Seth agrees. “I’m just saying that patience is not your virtue, and that can be intimidating.”

I grind my teeth, knowing he’s right.

“In Clay’s defense, that comes with being a public figure.” Victory turns her attention to me. “But it’s still true. You walk into a room and people take notice, which in part is why you expect to snap your fingers and make things happen. But it’s also who you are. When you set your sights on something, you get tunnel vision and make it happen. Remember how you used to put together football teams overseas?”

“He didn’t even speak the language half the time,” Seth adds.

I smile at the memory. “That wasn’t easy.”

“Nothing easy is worth a damn,” we all say in unison, and then we laugh.

Flynn lifts his glass. “To Gramps and his words of wisdom.” We all drink to the toast.

“What I’m trying to say,” Victory explains as she sets down her glass, “is that laser focus can be intimidating to someone who needs time to ruminate.”

“I’m sure Mom and Dad bringing in coaches for personal training added to that sense of privilege,” Seth says evenly.

“They did shit like that for all of us,” I remind him. “Or did you conveniently forget all that investing crap Dad set up for you when we were kids and living overseas? I’m not saying you’re wrong, but we’re successful because they supported us and taught us that where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“I agree with you,” Seth says. “I’m just saying there are reasons beyond fame that make you, and the rest of us, who we are.”