Page 4 of Romance Reset
“I am. My ninety-two-percent success rate is proof.”
Ninety-two? “That’s great. But you should know I’ve made an appointment and—”
“At the sperm bank?”Izzy said, her voice carrying to those at nearby tables.
“For the love of— Izzy, will you pleasekeep your voice down?”
“No. No, I’m upset and I have every right to be. I won’t let you do this, Meli. Friends keep friends from being stupid, and what you plan isstupid,” Izzy said, shaking her blond head with enough force to rattle teeth. “You’re giving up on love and romance and taking the easy way out. What if Marsali has the perfect guy for you? I know you’re afraid of getting hurt again after wading through the sludge pit of men out there online, but if you’re willing to go through a freaking sperm bank to get a baby, can’t youat leastgive this a chance first? Give Marsali six setups. If they don’t work, fine. Go do what you’re so determined to do. But at least give Marsali a chance to find you the romance reset you so desperately need and deserve.”
Amelia tilted her head to the side, and even though the conversation about men had been fun, it was time for a reality check. “Romance reset? Izzy, I’m not even sure I believe those men exist now. They’re unicorns. Between porn, drugs and addictions, sexual deviants, and a few otherhard nosfor me, the odds are—”
“Ninety-two percent,” Izzy and Marsali stated in unison, sharing a smile because of it.
Ninety-two-percent chance of finding a freaking unicorn?
Amelia stared across the table into her best friend’s face. Izzy wanted to help her. Thought she was helping by setting this up and hiring Marsali. Was she ready for something like this? Because matchmaking was totally next level.
The first available appointment at the sperm bank was a little over four weeks away. Which, technically, gave her plenty of time to meeta fewof the potential men Marsali might procure between now and then and prove her willingness to try if for no other reason than to get Marsali and Izzy off her back. Amelia felt the intensity of their combined stares and caved beneath the pressure. “Fine,” she said, holding up her hands in surrender. “I’ll agree to being set up. But not six of them. I don’t have time for that. I’m working long hours and I have to be on set Monday and it’s gonna be a crazy few weeks while they’re in Wilmington filming.”
“Five,” Izzy said with a not-so-innocent blink.
“One,” Amelia countered.
“One’s just for practice. Three. Final offer,” Izzy added, this time with a stern glare. “Come on, Amelia. You havenothingto lose and everything to gain by doing this.”
“It works like this,” Marsali said. “I match you and you go out. If you both agree to go out again, you do. If one of you says no, then we move on to the next match. I’ll be honest and say it’s usually the third or fourth match that tends to stick. As I get your feedback on the first date or two, it helps narrow things down a bit more and streamline the process.”
Amelia inhaled and waited several long seconds before finally nodding. “Fine. I’ll do it. I agree to being matched and will make a concerted effort—butwhen I go to that appointment next month,” she said to Izzy, “youwill not say another word about it.”
Izzy lifted her glass and Marsali quickly followed suit.
“To doing it the old-fashioned way,” Izzy said with a high tilt of her blond head.
“To good men,” Marsali countered. “And may I find one quickly for Amelia.”
Amelia clinked her glass against theirs. “To unicorns.”
Chapter 2
“Better watch out.”
Lincoln Hayes turned at the sound of his neighbor Mac Jones’s deep voice and lifted his drink in a salute. “Hey. Nice party.” Mac’s house stood between Lincoln’s and his brother Carter’s house, and as the fairly new arrival to the neighborhood, Mac had hosted a gathering to introduce himself and get to know his neighbors.
“Thanks. But seriously, unless you want to wind up in her database, steer clear of my sister. Marsali is eyeing you and Carter like a kid in a candy store.”
“Database?” Carter asked, turning his head to scan the crowd inside the spacious home.
Younger than Lincoln by five years, Carter had the same dark eyes and muscular build as Linc, but his hair had yet to lighten. Lincoln’s wife, Jill, had always said the premature gray he carried looked sexy and distinguished, but Linc knew it came from becoming Carter’s guardian at the ripe old age of eighteen. His younger brother had been a hellion before their parents had died in a car crash, and things had gotten a lot worse before they got better.
“Professional matchmaker,” Mac said.
“Seriously? That’s a thing?” Carter asked. “I thought you were joking when you said that earlier.”
“Nope,” Mac murmured, narrowing his gaze on his sister as she approached. “And my best advice is to scatter. Now.”
Lincoln chuckled at the warning, but none of the men actually moved as Mac’s younger sister closed in on them. Marsali Jones looked nothing like her brother. She was a good foot shorter, for one, and her long curls were the polar opposite of Mac’s short crew cut.
“Nice party,” the woman in question said as she joined their group.
