Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right

Jace turned to look at me, like he was waiting for my reaction. “You know what he regrets missing out on?

Oh, he was testing me. Trying to see if I got the whole Wayne–likes–you thing.

I played it cool. “Guess only Wayne knows what he missed.”

Jace didn’t push it. We kept walking, and when we passed a koi pond, he casually mentioned, “He’s got a lot of fish in there. I heard when he calls ‘Dinner time,‘ they all swim right up to him.”

“Wait, so Wayne’s a fish whisperer now? I laughed.

“Don’t believe me? Let’s test it out,” Jace said, grinning as he led me to the edge of the pond. Sure enough, the water was full of koi–red, yellow, white, even some speckled ones. They looked plump and healthy, like they had their own personal chef. And they were way too cute.

“Go ahead, give it a try,” Jace encouraged. Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

I reached out to touch the water, but as soon as I did, the fish scattered like I was some kind of monster.” Uh, how exactly am I supposed to try this?”

*Just call out ‘Dinner time,” he suggested, laughing.

“But I don’t have any food. If they actually come over, look like a total fraud.”

Jace cracked up. “I’ll grab some food,” he said, already walking off toward a container.

Feeling like a complete dork, I cleared my throat and shouted, “Dinner time!”

But the kol? They completely ignored me.

Jace turned around, his grin getting bigger. “You gotta be louder. They can’t hear you from underwater.”

I rolled my eyes, knowing he was just messing with me, but I raised my voice anyway. “Dinner time! Dinner

time!*

Still nada. The koi were like, ‘No thanks, we’re good.“‘

I was convinced Jace was totally messing with me.

He returned with the fish food. “Why didn’t it work?”

“Because you’re pranking me,” I huffed.

“I swear, I’m not! Maybe we just didn’t get the timing right. Next time, we’ll ask Wayne for the secret.” He handed me a handful of fish food. “Throw some in. They’ll definitely come for that.”

I couldn’t summon them with my voice, so I figured I’d try the universal language: food.

As soon as the fish food hit the water, it was like a feeding frenzy. The koi practically jumped on it. They weren’t even scared of me–one of them swam so close I could’ve pet it if I wanted.

After the fish had their fill, Jace led me up to the front door. He rattled off a string of numbers, and I typed them in, unlocking it.

The interior was understated but still had that vibe of quiet luxury. It wasn’t like Jace’s style, which was all sleek and modern. This house had a cozy, homey feel to it–like a place you’d want to hang out in, not just look at. I stepped inside and instantly felt at ease, like I belonged here.

Jace noticed me taking it all in. “Wayne designed everything here himself,” he said, gesturing around. Every single thing–from the decor down to the teacups–was personally picked by him.”

I

“He really knows how to make a place feel… welcoming,” I said, genuinely impressed.

“Yeah, Guys like him? Always a hit with the ladies,” Jace added with a hint of humor, which reminded me of what he’d said earlier about Lindey setting Wayne up on blind dates.

Curious, I asked, “Did any of those dates work out?”

“Nope, he didn’t like any of them. But apparently, one of them was super into him.” Jace chuckled.” Classic drama-‘I love you, but you don’t love me.”

I didn’t respond to that, but right then, Jace’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen. “It’s Wayne,” he said before answering. “Yeah, Rea’s here. She even fed your fish… Yeah, I’ll let her take the call.”

He handed me the phone.