Page 80 of A Heart to Find
“What? Of course he is! He’s probably been driving himself crazy wondering if you’d accept his proposal tonight.”
“Not a proposal.”
“You know what I mean. He proposed that you make a decision. The other kind of proposal is sure to follow.” Megan reached over and squeezed Matt’s knee.
Keira wondered if Megan was aware of how adorable and at ease they were together.
A match made in Heaven. Or, more accurately, at Sweetheart Island Matchmaking Resort. Home of the most accurate matches for lifetimes of happily-ever-afters.
Happily-ever-after had long ago turned into a foreign concept for Keira, but she had never given up on the idea.
Until now.
Because it was abundantly clear that Jared wasn’t showing up. Or texting, calling, sending a flare signal.
She scratched at the hives developing on her exposed neck. Even her body was rebelling.
Happiness wasn’t meant for her. Not in the traditional way, anyway. Not in the way she had dared to hope. After a lifetime of watching the world’s greatest love story as her grandparents lived it, Keira had forgotten to lay the groundwork for attaining it herself.
She’d be happy again.
She’d return to her teaching job, where she’d be surrounded by people who needed her love.
Maybe she’d get another cat.
“I’m gonna head upstairs, Meg.”
“Nooo, love, don’t go!” Megan held onto Keira’s wrist with both hands and pleaded with her eyes. “He’ll be here, I swear! And if not, at least enjoy the beautiful night the resort planned for us. I hear there’s an extra bountiful dessert buffet planned to keep us happy and chubby and okay with being snowbound.”
“That sounds wonderful, but honestly my stomach isn’t feeling the best. I have a migraine coming on.”
“Oh, Keira. I wish you wouldn’t.”
Keira leaned down and kissed the top of her friend’s head. “Thank you for everything, Megan. You’ve been the best part of this experience, and the one thing about coming here I won’t regret.”
“Don’t make me cry. I’ll ruin my makeup.” Megan stood up to properly hug Keira. “I’m stopping by later, so don’t get too comfy. And if you need me to bring you some headache meds, just say the word and I’ll be there.”
“You enjoy this special evening with your smitten kitten. Don’t worry a bit about me. I’ll be just fine.” Leaning around Megan, Keira said a quick goodbye to a confused-looking Matt, then bolted out of the room before her emotions flooded the place and compounded the already troublesome blizzard situation.
Tossing her purse on the end table, Keira lacked adequate energy to change into pajamas. Instead, she curled up on the couch in front of the fire and stared into the depths, imagining what her life would look like post-heartbreak.
She knew. She had been through it all before. In every way possible.
She also knew she’d be okay.
Instinctively, her hand reached out to caress the locket that usually brought her such comfort. Reminded that she lost the one material thing on the planet that meant the most to her, she succumbed to the dreariness that brewed inside her.
She’d be okay.
But for now, she had to release Jared from her system.
“We can’t thank you enough, Jared. If we hadn’t had your muscles, we’d have been trapped for who knows how long.”
Daisy, lead housekeeper, grinned brightly.
“I don’t know about that,” Jared said. “I think the highest praise needs to go to the maintenance staff for having tools on hand.”
“True. Thank you, Douglas and Pete.” She waved sweetly to the grunting men as they loaded tools back into their truck. “But they wouldn’t have been able to saw through the tree as quickly as you did, and there’s no way they’d have been able to lift the pieces out of the way. We’d be buried in snow and frozen to the ground.”
