Page 7 of A Heart to Find
Without hesitation, Hannah Willows barreled through the crowds, seemingly without fear of having her bare toes crushed in the sea of high heels and giddy romantic anticipation, and disappeared in a cloud of Keira’s unwanted, unshed tears.
She would not shed a tear in front of this man. He didn’t deserve to see her upset.
“Keira, can we please go somewhere to talk? I don’t want this thing to get messed up before we try.”
Jared’s deep voice tore through her mental fog and threatened to destroy the air of nonchalance she desperately grasped at.
A bubble rose from her gut, swelling up to her throat. She fought to temper it, to hold back the rush, but before she could speak, it burst–spilling out in a wave of hysterical laughter.
“This is the most bizarre thing that has ever happened in my life.”
Tears streamed over her cheeks, but they were from laughing so hard her stomach ached.
When she managed to open her eyes and calm her laughter a bit, she took note of Jared’s raised eyebrows and the smile that had always made her knees threaten to give out on her. He smiled with one side of his mouth drawn upward, creating a crease in his cheek that made her want to trace her finger over it.
Time had deepened the crease slightly, giving him more of a rugged, well-traveled look as opposed to the boyish look she had once known.
But there would be no tracing of anything. She wouldn’t look at him. Think about him. She certainly wouldn’t give him the time of day to try to talk to her.
She knew what she wanted, and it wasn’t him.
“What are you even doing here?” The words tumbled out of her as forcefully as the laughter had. “You are the last person on Earth I’d expect to see at a matchmaking resort. You hate love. You hate romance. You want to roam the world without any strings to hold you down, remember? So did you come here to break hearts? To boost your ego and to have a story to tell some fellow backpacker at a hostel in Europe? What’s your deal, Jared?”
At least he had the good sense to look ashamed.
Embarrassed, even.
Until his eyes took on that familiar twinkle that made her insides feel as though they were full of shining stars.
He reached out to grab her hand. She jerked away, pretending she had an itch on the back of her neck.
She couldn’t let him touch her.
“I’m here for the same reason everyone else is here.”
She studied his eyes, marveling at how he could look so sincere. So invested. So handsome.
Hannah Willows rushed up behind Jared, placing her hand on his arm as she reached over to wrap her other arm around Keira’s shoulders.
“I’m so sorry for having to drop our conversation so abruptly, buttercup. Might we have a word in private?”
Keira nodded, relief coursing through her. She’d get out of this mess. She’d be back on track to finding her true love.
And she could wipe the memory of Jared Marshall out of her head for good.
After directing Jared to the refreshment table with instructions to sample the herb cheese she had imported from Holland especially for tonight, Hannah led Keira out of the crowded ballroom and down the rustic hall to a corner where trees—real or fake, she couldn’t tell—towered over benches, providing semi-secluded seating areas. Glass walls shielded them from the winter cold while allowing a glimpse of the snowy hills outside. Old-fashioned lanterns glimmered with soft yellow lighting, making the snow look warm and alive.
“Now that we have some privacy, please tell me what’s got you so upset when you should be feeling the first stirrings of a love match.”
“Ms. Willows, I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be here. But I can’t be matched with that man. There has to have been a mistake. I don’t know how or why, but somehow the guy I was matched with got someone to play this joke on me.”
“Joke?”
Keira nodded vigorously. “Not a funny one. But I’ve had my fill of trying to make a relationship work with Jared. I’m hoping we can get this fixed and maybe you could introduce me to my real match?”
Hannah closed her eyes and shook her head. She folded her hands in front of her and then opened her eyes to peer into Keira’s soul.
That’s what it felt like, anyway.
