Page 79 of Forty, Flirty & Fake-ly Yours

LOVE BYTES

Heart& Soul Connections, Seattle, WA

ROSALIND

One day until Valentine's Day, and I'm trying very hard not to think about how I've inadvertently created the perfect romantic disaster.

Seattle's eternal grey has deepened into evening, but I'm still at my desk, surrounded by client files and the comforting smell of whatever William's panic-baking in the office kitchen. Our newest hire – recruited last week after Dani discovered his sourdough had "emotional healing properties" – has turned out to be surprisingly good for business.

Nothing puts nervous clients at ease quite like warm bread and someone more anxious than they are.

"Another batch of comfort challah?" I call out, now able to recognize the distinct aroma of his signature recipe.

"The knots told me to!" William's voice carries from the kitchen. "They say there's emotional turbulence in everyone’s auras.”

"The bread knots told you that?"

"No, um, Frank the friendship bracelet guy Dani’s dating did. But the bread agrees!"

I'm saved from responding to that particular piece of logic by my phone buzzing. Emily Hanning's name flashes across the screen for approximately the fortieth time this week.

Except when I answer, it's not Emily.

"Rosalind?" The raspy feminine voice on the other end carries that particular tone of someone used to getting what they want. “Rosalind Carpenter?”

“Uh, yes. Who is this?”

There’s hesitation. Then: “This is Jessica Gordon, Miss Carpenter. It’s nice to speak to you again after all this time.” A beat of silence passes then disappears. “Do you have a moment to talk?”

Talk? I can barely breathe, let alone form words. "I?—"

"I've been trying to reach you about the TechCast feature. Emily says you're hesitant to discuss how you matched me with James, but surely you understand?—"

The rest of her sentence disappears as Grayson walks through my office door.

He looks devastatingly handsome in his perfect suit, silver threading his temples like a sexy tinsel.

For a moment, all I can focus on is how much I want this to be real. Him coming to see me after work, bringing that slight smile that makes his eyes crinkle at the corners...

Then I remember I'm still on the phone with his ex-fiancée.

"I have to go," I manage, ending the call before Jessica can finish whatever she was saying. I put the office phone back on the receiver just as Grayson takes a step inside my personal office.

"Everything okay?" he asks, and the genuine concern in his voice makes my chest tight.

Dammit. This is not how this was supposed to go.

I was supposed to figure out my crap with Emily Hanning way before she could call in reinforcements.

And now it all feels too late.

Too late to back up. Too late to kill the story.

Too damn late to confess.

Because how the hell do you tell the man that you’re seeing-slash-not-seeing that you’re the reason his ex-fiancée found her "perfect match"? That Emily Hanning wants to write about how Seattle's most traditional matchmaker succeeded where his algorithms failed?

That you’re the reason his ex found the love of her life…one who happened to not be him?

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