Page 1 of A Heart to Find
Chapter 1
Keira smoothed wrinkles out of the paper she kept in her coat pocket, searching the document for a way out. She had made a hasty decision and couldn’t follow through on her plan, even though she had already stepped off the ferry.
She focused on the words at the top of the contract she had enthusiastically signed. Red ink and a bold font mocked her poor decision-making skills. She was a different person when she signed that…
“Money-back guarantee.”
How about a life-back guarantee?
She left behind a perfectly adequate boyfriend, risked the wrath of her cat, and, just to be sure she was thorough, potentially risked her job. And for what?
Love.
Yup. She shook her head, the new bangs fringing the sides of her temple banging into her eyes.
She put everything on the line for the promise of finding her true love.
Why did that promise sound so ridiculous to her now?
It certainly hadn’t bothered her when she transferred most of her savings into her checking account so she could enroll in what promised to be a life-changing experience.
It hadn’t bothered her when she told that perfectly adequate boyfriend that she didn’t see things going any further than the polite weekly dates they had somewhat enjoyed for the last six months, nor when she gave him a kiss on the cheek to say farewell.
It hadn’t bothered her when she told her principal she had lined up a substitute to cover her kindergarten class for the week after February vacation.
But okay, it bothered her more than a little having to tell her cat she’d be gone for a solid two weeks. She may have overcompensated with the super-expensive homemade cat food her cat liked so much from the shop in downtown Healing Springs.
The memories played in her head like a badly written movie. A movie where it was impossible to feel sympathy for the protagonist because it was so painfully obvious she made nothing but bad decisions.
And here she was. Wondering how to get out of something she knew she couldn’t get out of. Because that “Money-Back Guarantee" came with carefully articulated conditions in the fine print.
Which she had read multiple times.
And which wasn’t even in fine print–it was bold and in large font because they didn’t want anyone to sign the contract without fully understanding what they were getting into.
You chose the produce, Keira. Time to eat the salad.
Keira’s grandmother’s voice resonated deeply in her soul, reminding her of why she made the choices she made. Reminding her why she was there on a freezing cold matchmaking island off the coast of Maine instead of in her cozy apartment in front of the fireplace with a good book and a pan full of freshly baked brownies.
She wiped away the moisture that gathered at the corners of her eyes, cleared her throat, and tucked the wrinkly contract into the front pocket of her luggage.
All of her decisions led her to this place, to this situation, and she had to make the best of it.
So back to picking out what to wear to the matchmaking orientation.
A knock on the door of her hotel room—also known as ridiculously-amazing-resort-that-she-never-imagined-she’d-be-able-to-afford-to-stay-in—forced her to grab one of her new blouses and toss it over her head.
Keira flung open the door with a tense smile, but the smile turned genuine when she saw her new-as-of-a-few-hours-ago friend, Megan, standing on the other side of the threshold.
“You look amazing, Megan. Your match will fall head over heels in love with you.”
“You think so?” Megan twirled around so her dress would spin, making Keira wonder if she should have gone with something more dressy than the dark jeans and floral print blouse she settled on.
“Definitely. You’re gorgeous.”
“And so are you, my friend. That shirt does amazing things for your eyes.”
“Really? I wasn’t sure if?—”
