Page 84 of Miss Matched

“No, no, no.” Racine rushes around the desk and grabs my hand. “That’s not the issue. Apparently that article went wild with singles in the city. Everyone wants to learn from the matchmaker who stole the heart of Seattle’s hottest bachelor. We ran out of tickets for the Singles Ball on the second day, and now I’m fielding calls from people asking if there’s been any cancellations. Oh, and Sam had the best idea to add a singles date night auction to raise money for charity, which has the news outlets going out of their freaking minds.”

“Wait, what?” Apparently, in my active avoidance of the news, I’ve missed a few things. “But we aren’t together—weren’t together. I didn’t steal his heart; not even close. He fired me.”

Saying it out loud strikes me deep. He didn’t just fire me, he stepped away mid trust fall.

“Kenz, people don’t care about the truth,” Sam says, sliding next to Racine. “All they know is Zac Vincent left your apartment in the wee hours of the morning with a shit-eating grin on his face, and they want a piece of it.”

“Except he was supposed to be dating Jasmine.”

Sam shakes his head. “She’s apparently been fucking a Seahawk. They’ve been all over town together, squashing that side of the article completely.”

“She’s what?” I’m fumbling over my thoughts, my tongue. If Jasmine has already moved on, then Zac might have been telling me the truth.

“This is a good thing.” Sam reaches out and plants a hand on my shoulder, giving me a little shake.

I was prepared for a lot of scenarios when I walked through the front doors: Hearts Inc. going under, losing everything I worked for. I was planning out how I’d crash in Luce’s guest room and eat my weight in cookie dough. But this—nothing could have prepared me for my giant mess being good for business.

“You’re saying we’re going to survive this, then?” I say, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Depends.” Sam nudges me. “You ready to get back into this shit show with us? More business means more douche patrol than we’re used to.”

“How is our buddy Chad doing anyway?” I ask them.

Racine shrugs. “He’s been seeing Wendy for a while now. Last time he came in, he didn’t even check out my ass.”

“And it’s an amazing ass.” Sam winks.

Racine’s blush draws out all her freckles.

“Keep it in your pants, Sam,” I tell him, not missing that he flat-out hit on her just now.

He grins and shoots me a wink as he walks back to his office.

Once he’s gone, Racine stays put. “How are you doing, Kennedy? Really.”

“I’m okay,” I tell her. “The girls came over last night with reinforcements, and I’m suffering for it this morning. But I’ll get through. Thanks for all you guys did these past few days. I needed the space.”

I force a smile, but Racine knows me well enough to not buy it. With a quick hug, she circles back to her desk, and I head to mine.

This is good. Hearts Inc. will survive—thrive, actually. Sam and Racine won’t be out of work. Professionally, I’m getting what I always wanted. I’m getting exactly what Zac promised.

So why does it feel so terrible?

I’ve spent my life losing people, walking away, shedding the pieces that no longer fit. But as I walked away from Zac at the hospital that night, it was different. Because I didn’t just leave him standing there alone—I left the only home I’ve ever felt in that waiting room with him.

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