Page 11 of A Heart to Find
He’d waited this long. He had never hoped or dreamed he’d have another chance with her. No way would he mess it up with impatience.
Jared nodded politely to another couple who joined them to his right. He was too mesmerized by the ethereal giggle coming from Keira to attempt conversation.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I start by saying that you all look fantabulous?” The crowd cheered as the petite woman, who introduced herself as Mrs. Love Maker, started the conversation as she paced a makeshift stage with a microphone attached to her shirt. “And dare I say that I think I sense love in the air?”
The crowd hooted and hollered their approval. Jared felt his cheeks burn. This was so far from anyplace he had imagined himself being. So different from anything he’d typically take part in.
When had he become so desperate?
But like he told his friends (who had ribbed him endlessly when they heard his plans to bail on a trip they had been planning to Bangkok in favor of trying his luck at love at a matchmaking resort—he had left out the part about his deceased wife insisting on it), it wasn’t desperation. He had no trouble meeting women. This was born of a desire to find something deeper. More meaningful. Something like what he had lost.
Something to show his daughter that fairy tales weren’t just words on paper.
And since Elizabeth had researched and booked this thing, he couldn’t mess it up.
He never imagined he’d actually get another chance at the very thing he had lost when he had deserted his small hometown. The very person he had lost.
He tuned back into the woman addressing the crowd just as she was instructing them to move their chairs to face their partner. A facilitator would join each table for a getting-to-know-your-partner game. Each couple was supposed to do their best to guess the correct answer. The winner at the end would be given a special date opportunity.
Jared would have thought it unfair since he and Keira knew each other, but how well could they actually know each other after all this time? They had been kids when they were together. A lifetime had passed.
But he still intended to win.
He leaned forward to whisper to Keira as she settled her seat in its new position. “This is going to be too easy.”
“Ha. I wouldn’t be so sure. I don’t think you know me half as well as you seem to think you do.”
“I guess we’re about to find out.”
The facilitator at their table was a round, cheerful man named Dan. He gave them a brief overview of how he had met his match here on the island four years ago and bragged joyfully about how they were celebrating their third wedding anniversary next month. He often volunteered to help out because he fully believed in the program and, aside from his bride, he loved nothing more than witnessing couples finding love.
His speech should have given Jared the willies. Instead, it inspired him.
He watched Keira draw squiggly lines in the margins of the notepad Dan handed her. Some things never changed. She had always been a doodler. Back in high school study hall, he could always tell what kind of mood she was in based on what shapes the doodles formed. For her, squiggly lines had meant confusion. Whether she had been struggling with remembering timelines for history class or dealing with a problem with one of her best friends, he had always known that squiggly lines meant he had to provide her with chocolate and a listening ear before the end of the day.
“Okay, for the first round, Partner A will be answering for Partner B. Partner B will jot down the answer on the pad so that it can be confirmed. Security is tight, so no trying to peek! We come by love the honest way around here.” She waited while the laughter from the audience died down, then read the first question. “And now it’s time to see how much effort you put into getting to know your match during the mingling session. If your partner were an animal, what would he or she be?”
Keira didn’t look at him as she scribbled her answer. With the way things were going so far, she’d probably say a snake.
He wrote down the animal he most identified with, knowing it was a long shot that she’d get it, but wanting to be honest just the same.
When the buzzer went off, they held their papers up at the same time.
Dan checked all the responses and boomed to announce a point for the winners of the round. Keira had correctly guessed that Jared had said he’d be a humpback whale.
“How did you guess that? It’s not the kind of answer we usually see around here.” Dan shoved a microphone in Keira’s face, waiting for a response to his question.
“My partner here mentioned that he likes to roam long distances. And he likes the ocean.”
The winning couples from each table were instructed to move to the center of the room, where chairs were hastily set up. The couples who didn’t answer correctly were invited to fill their plates from the cheese and fruit buffet.
Sweat gathered around the edges of his scalp as pressure built. She had guessed a difficult question. If he didn’t get this one about her right, he’d never forgive himself.
“Okay, love matches! Get those pencils ready for the next question. Here goes! What does your partner value above all else?”
Relief released the tight hold anxiety held on his throat. Easy question! He jotted down his answer and sat back in his chair, pleased that he hadn’t had to think too hard.
“We have a winner! Keira and Jared—well done. How did you guess that family bonds were what she valued above all else?”
