Page 4 of A Heart to Find
Hailey leapt into his arms and pressed her face into his neck. He hugged her tight. This wasn’t the first time he had left her—she often stayed home with her mom while he traveled. But he hadn’t traveled since Hailey’s mom died, and something told him he wouldn’t be the same man when he returned this time. That these two weeks would change him in ways he couldn’t wrap his head around.
He only hoped it would change him for the better.
“Okay, pumpkin. I will see you in two weeks. But I’m only a phone call away if you need me.”
Meredith called Hailey away from Jared. “We’ll be far too busy to be bothering you while you’re finding love. But we’ll be happy to see you when you return.”
Meredith hugged Jared and whispered in his ear, “Go find the true love of your life. The one you thought you’d never want.”
And though Jared hoped he’d get matched with the person most compatible with him, the only one he saw when he closed his eyes was his truest regret, the one Elizabeth had always said he shouldn’t have left behind. And as his eternal best friend, Elizabeth was seldom wrong. Especially in matters of his heart.
He only hoped his wife guided the matchmakers from her new ethereal home. That a woman who could measure up to his biggest love would be his match. Elizabeth had thought he deserved this effort. He hoped he could prove her right.
Chapter 2
With laughter fresh on their lips, Keira and Megan walked arm in arm into the conference room, where the kind staff in the lobby directed them for the orientation.
The Matchmaking Moment, as it was playfully referred to.
“Can you believe this place?” Megan mumbled low enough so only Keira would hear her.
Keira could only shake her head.
She had seen photos on the resort’s website, but nothing could prepare her for the Sweetheart Island Resort live and in person.
The conference room was large and filled with more people than she could count. Soft lighting illuminated small, cozy tables tucked away in all the corners. Waitstaff mulled about, delivering drinks to desperately anxious guests. Keira grabbed two from a passing tray.
Megan thanked her, but Keira threatened to keep both for herself. She needed something to quell the raging wildfire in her belly.
Handing the drink over somewhat begrudgingly, Keira fought the urge to leave.
Then again, maybe leaving would be the smart thing to do.
She didn’t really need a love like her grandparents had, did she? She didn’t need companionship. She didn’t need romance. She had a full life, a great job, friends who were always there for her…
More introspective than she had allowed herself to be over the past year of tribulations, Keira wondered if she had invested in this matchmaking thing for the right reasons.
Megan nudged Keira, bringing her back to the present and the warm-in-spite-of-its-size room.
“There are so many cute guys here. I’m dying to know which one is mine.”
Mine.
Such a simple word.
But one Keira hadn’t related to for longer than she wanted to remember.
“Are you seeing them all, Keira?”
“To be honest, I was fixated on those portraits on the walls of all the happy couples.”
“We’ll be featured on those walls one day, my friend!”
Before Keira could respond, someone tapped on a microphone. The buzz of conversation in the room died down in reverence to the speaker at the podium.
“Hello everybody, and welcome to the Sweetheart Island Resort. My name is Hannah Willows, and I am one of the founders of this beautiful, life-changing place. Who’s ready to have their dreams come true?”
Nervous laughter turned into applause after someone in the front bravely started clapping.
