I stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows that bordered my office. The palm trees outside swayed in the breeze, everything seeming so normal and right in the San Diego sunshine. But it was all just a façade.
Nothing was normal and right.
Normal was me being happily single and not caring about anything other than this job.
Right was the path I was on to become the CEO.
Dexter Harrington and his beautiful baby blues have officially ruined my entire life. And I was totally content with how dramatic that sounded, even in my own mind.
“Wait, wait, I got distracted. You said Dex called it off with Lindie. Do you know how that went over? Was she mad? Did he tell her about you? I’d hate to see her complain to Julia that her date dumped her for the matchmaker.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, no, that wouldn’t be good. I asked Dex about it over dinner. He didn’t tell her it was me, but he did tell her he couldn’t go through with the date because his heart was somewhere else.”
“Swoon,” Claire said with a sigh.
“Right? He said she was oddly cool with it. Apparently she praised him for not leading her on. It was so cute, he looked super uncomfortable about it. It was like he figured it was the right thing to do and didn’t understand why someone would be grateful or surprised.”
“He sounds like a really good guy, Amy.”
“He really is.”
“Well, I say go for it. I’ll help you figure out the next eight dates for him, and I’ll make sure they’re with women who wouldn’t like him anyway. You know, the ones who want a shorter guy or a rounder guy or a silver fox, stuff like that. Let’s get to work making him a former client so you guys can have your happily ever after.”
“And what do I do about the competition?” I asked, biting my lip.
“Well, the good news is, Belinda is having a really hard time matching up one of her clients. I’ve heard she’s getting pretty up there in the numbers.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm. And you matched Bill on his second date, and Debbie is about to have her fourth one tonight, so maybe it’ll go well. So between the two of them, if she matches tonight, that’s six. Add that to Dex’s twelve, and you’re at eighteen dates between the three. If Belinda keeps sucking as bad as she has been, you still have a chance.”
I shook my head. “Even if that magically happened to work out, you’re forgetting one thing.”
“What?”
“The task was to match up the three clients in the fewest number of dates. Failing to match Dex doesn’t make twelve. It makes an automatic loss.”
Claire sat back on the couch, all of the air leaving her body as she sighed heavily. “Shoot. Duh.”
Just when I was about to give up hope, an idea slapped me upside the head. “Wait. What if I asked Julia if I could swap Dex out for another client?”
“You really think she’d go for that?”
“Well, it’s either that or I automatically lose, right? Isn’t it worth a try? And then if she says yes, I’ll be able to have my cake and eat it too!”
Claire stood from the couch and came over to me. Taking my hand and giving it a companionable squeeze, she said, “I really hope this works out for you, Amy. Your skinny butt deserves all the cake.”
21
Dex
“I still can’t believe you invited a chick to game night,” Huck said, shaking his head.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, well, she wanted to hang out after her client’s date tonight, but I told her about our Wednesday night thing, and she said it sounded cool.”
“So you invited her?” he asked.
“It just kind of slipped out,” I said. “I was surprised she said yes, actually. She really doesn’t strike me as the type to sit around eating pizza and playing strategy games.”
“It would definitely make her the perfect woman if she did, though. Which is why I’m excited to see which game she chooses.” Lopez opened a bag of potato chips and dumped them into a bowl. Normally we just ate them right out of the bag, tossing it back and forth to each other with greasy hands. Amy’s presence was interrupting our flow in more ways than one, it seemed.
A knock sounded at the door and I felt the color drain from my face. “Okay, she’s here. Don’t embarrass me.”
Huck and Lopez rolled their eyes like a couple of synchronized swimmers and I gave them one last glare before I let her in. It was my week to host, so before I opened the door, I did a quick survey of my apartment to make sure nothing was out of place. Satisfied, I took a deep breath and swung the door open, the air leaving my lungs in a whoosh when I caught sight of her.
Amy stood on the landing wearing tight black leggings, knee-high riding boots, and a long maroon sweater-thing with a black belt at her waist. Like I’d told her that night on the boat, she gave off the impression that she had a lot of style without needing too many accessories. I’d told her she didn’t need all of that stuff. But the way those boots and belt accentuated her figure had me second-guessing my initial claim. In a way I’d never admit out loud, she kind of looked like a hot, real-life Zelda. Had she done that on purpose? And if so, was she trying to kill me?
I shook my head, snapping out of my nerd fantasy. Plenty of women dressed like this. It wasn’t a Zelda thing. Not everyone thought in terms of video game characters. These were the thoughts spinning out of control in my brain as I grinned at her, trying to act like I wasn’t losing my mind.
“Hi,” she said, giving me a wide smile.
“Hi.”
She pursed her lips. “So, Wednesday game night, huh?”
I nodded. “Yeah, you’re just in time.”
“Great.”
“Great.”
She tilted her head, then held out the plastic container in her hands. “I stopped for guac.”
“Guac?” I frowned, then looked down at the container and took it from her. “Oh, cool. Thanks. We love guac.”
“Dex.”
“What?”
“Invite me in.”
I choked out a nervous laugh, holding the door wider for her to pass through. “Sorry, come on in.”
“Thanks,” she said.
I closed the door behind her and made an angry face at its smooth surface, as if it was the door’s fault that I was such a moron. It took a Herculean effort not to bang my head against it before turning back toward the living room.
“Hi, I’m Mateo,” Lopez said, stepping forward and shaking her hand.
“Nice to meet you,” Amy told him, then turned to Huck and shook his hand, too. “Amy.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Huck. I have a first name, but no one uses it except my ex-wife, and I hate her, so it’s as dead to me as she is.”
Amy laughed. “Charmed.”
I shot Huck a look and he shrugged. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m excited to finally meet you guys. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Amy said. “Don’t worry, all good things.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Lopez joked, patting me on the shoulder.
“You all work together in the computer crimes world, right?”
Huck nodded. “Yep. Welcome to the real Marine Corps, a bunch of nerds on computers all day. We only go to the gym so the grunts don’t eat us.”
“Anyway,” I cut in, “want to come to the kitchen and grab a drink?”
“Sounds great,” she replied, following me into the small kitchen to our right. Once we were out of view of my friends, she stood on her toes and planted a warm kiss on my lips. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I wrapped my arms around her waist, reveling in the feel of her. “Thanks for coming.”
“Thanks for inviting me.”
“Don’t thank me yet. This is going to be the nerdiest you’ve ever seen me.”
She grinned. “Can’t wait.”
We broke apart and I opened the fridge, listing off the drinks I had to offer. She chose one and leaned back against the counter, opening the bottle and tak
ing a sip. “How was your day? Did you catch any major international computer crimes masterminds?”
I sighed dramatically. “Almost, but he got away.”
“Next time.”
“How was your day?” I asked, loving how normal this conversation felt. It was like we were a regular couple debriefing after work. Instead, we were an odd-couple comprised of a dude whose mom paid for professional dating help and the hot matchmaker who continued to arrange fake dates for him.
She fidgeted with the label on the bottle. “Uh, fine. Well, good in that one of my clients, Debbie, matched up earlier tonight. They had a happy-hour date right before I came over.”
“That’s awesome, congrats on another successful love connection.” I tapped the neck of my bottle to hers in toast. “What’s the bad part?”
“What?”
I shrugged. “You said that the good part was that one of your clients matched up. That made me assume there was a bad part.”
She watched me, her expression almost one of disbelief. “You really do pay attention.”
“I try.”
“Oh, nothing really. I just had this great idea I wanted to run by Julia, but when I went to her office, her assistant told me she’d gone out of town on an emergency and wouldn’t be back for a week. She didn’t even tell me.”
I frowned. “Does she usually?”
“Well, she doesn’t usually leave town. And we’re in the middle of a big … thing right now, so I was surprised she’d take off without letting us know. I sent her an e-mail asking what the deal was, so hopefully she gets back to me soon.”
Unsure what else to do, I reached out and tugged her into my arms, enveloping her in a hug. “Sorry. I hope your idea can keep until she gets back and whatever thing you’re in the middle of works out, too.”
“Thanks,” she said into my chest.
“Okay, lovebirds,” Huck called from the other room, making us laugh and go back out there. “Are you done making kissy-face in the kitchen so we can play?”
“What are we playing? Call of Duty?” she asked, wagging her brows like she was suddenly an expert marksman.
I put my arm around her. “Amy, we figured we’d try a tabletop game tonight instead of video games if that’s cool with you.”
“Sounds fun,” she replied. “What’s that? Like a board game? Are we playing, Monopoly?”
The guys scoffed and I smiled. “Nope.”
“Really, Amy, tonight is kind of a test,” Lopez said. “We figured we’d see what you’re made of.”
Huck held up a hand. “Nah, these two idiots want to see what you’re made of. I had no part in this. I don’t even think you should have been invited.”
Lopez and I turned to Huck with matching expressions of annoyance, and I resisted the urge to punch him in his stupid face. “Seriously, Huck?”
“I’m just being honest. Game night is sacred,” he replied, no cares given.
Amy’s musical laughter relaxed me as she reached around my back and held me close. “I get it, don’t worry. What’s the challenge?”
“Well, we figured we’d give you a choice. Option A is a classic game of Clue,” Lopez said. “Well, it’s Star Wars Clue, but classic Clue, nonetheless.”
“Okay,” she said. “I like Clue.”
“Option B,” I said, bracing myself, “is jumping into your first game of Dungeons and Dragons.”
Her brow flew up. “Oh, wow. That’s some next level nerdy stuff right there.”
“Yep. Like ripping off a Band-Aid. You want to be with a guy like Dex, you’ll have to be down with D&D.”
She looked up at me with wide eyes. “Dex, I really didn’t know being with you would be this intense. I might not be cut out for this after all.”
My heart squeezed. I knew this was a bad idea. Freaking Lopez. “It’s okay, I understand.”
She swatted me on the chest. “I’m kidding, you dork. Option B. Let’s do this.”
Huck shook his head and Lopez stuck his hand out for a high five. I returned it, trying to get my heart rate back to normal. Sure, Amy saw me as a computer geek with a heart of gold—her words, not mine—but tonight she’d get the full picture of what it would be like to date me. And as I went to the closet to pull out the weathered box that contained my D&D set, I prayed it wouldn’t scare her away.
22
Amy
“Hey,” Claire said, poking her head into my office, “Julia wants to see you.”
I cringed. “Now?”
“Yep.”
“Be right there.”
I fumbled with some papers on my desk, straightening them up because I wanted to leave the illusion of an organized workspace for the CSI people to look over after Julia murdered me. In the time that Julia had been away handling her family business in Florida, Dex had gone on a grand total of eleven dates with the kind of women who wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole.
Sure, the whole thing was slightly embarrassing for me as a matchmaker, but watching Dex fumble his way through the ridiculously doomed dates had been the funniest thing ever. And since most of them ended within the first few minutes, we’d gotten to finish each date together, one romantic dinner or game of mini golf at a time.
Pulling off seven dates for one person in a week wasn’t for the faint of heart. I was used to stacking dates, but to accomplish this particular mission, we’d had to schedule two or three dates per evening to still accommodate my other clients. And it had been all Dex’s idea. He wanted to be a former client as soon as possible. I had to admit, his urgency combined with the extra time I got to spend with him only made me fall harder for him.
As far as the competition was concerned, I had no choice but to put it out of my mind. Since Julia was unavailable, I hadn’t had a chance to ask her if I could swap Dex out for another client. And it was just as well. If this was going to be my last week employed at First Comes Love, at least I’d had a lot of laughs on my way out the door.
Now that Julia was back, it was time to face the music. And while I had no idea what the conversation would bring, I did know she wouldn’t be pleased to see such a high date count for Dex.
“Amy, dear,” Julia said when I entered her office, “shut the door, would you?”
I did as she asked, wondering if these glass walls were soundproof and whether or not my aunt intended to hide my body or just leave it out in the open for the medical examiner and CSI team.
“Have a seat,” Julia said.
Slowly, I sank into the chair before sitting up straight to adjust my blazer, lest she embarrass me by telling me to do so. “How was your trip?”
“It was fine, thank you.”
“Is your sister-in-law going to be okay?”
“She will be,” Julia replied, sighing deeply. “Patrick’s sister is a bit of a train wreck, to be frank. We dropped everything and flew to Florida thinking she’d had a heart attack, when in reality, she was apparently just heartbroken over her latest sugar daddy dumping her. Can you believe the nerve on that woman? Giving us a fright like that. Patrick was a wreck the whole way over there.”
I shook my head. “Oh, man.”
“We stayed the full week just to help her get her head on straight. It was clearly a cry for help. She needs to steer clear of men for a while. And stop freaking the family out with her flair for the dramatics. You know?”
I had no idea what to say, so I just nodded with a tight-lipped smile of solidarity.
“What’s going on with Dexter Harrington, Amy?”
I swallowed. “What do you mean?”
“Why has he been on eleven dates, most of them occurring just this week?”
“Well, um, you see—”
“I’m shocked that a man as handsome as Dex needs so many dates to find a match. Besides, you’re one of my best— No, strike that, I’m sure you’re the best matchmaker I have.”
I bit back a sigh. If I was so great, why was I competing against Belinda for the CEO job?
&nb
sp; “Dex knows what he wants,” I replied. “And he knows what he doesn’t want. He says he isn’t a match for any of the women that I’ve paired him up with.”
Those statements were all true. I wanted so badly to get through this conversation without outright lying to my beloved aunt. Discounting the lie of omission that I’d fallen for my client, that is.
Julia narrowed her eyes at me. “I don’t believe that. There has to be someone. Eleven dates, Amy. Really? Do I need to remind you what happens if he doesn’t match by his twelfth date?”
I shook my head. “No, you don’t.”
“And putting aside the fact that I pride myself on the very, very few clients I’ve had to refund over the years, have you forgotten about the competition?”
“Definitely not.”
“Then, what? Have you resigned yourself to losing to Belinda? I really thought you wanted this job, Amy. What gives?”
I swallowed back the bile that threatened to creep up my throat. “Well, I was going to ask you this before you went to Florida, but do you think I could swap Dex out for another client?”
“Excuse me?”
“Well, at this point, I think I could take a whole new client and still win. I won’t even cheat by asking to swap Dex out for someone I’ve already been working with.”
Julia laced her fingers on the desktop and leaned forward, her bright-pink lips pursed thoughtfully.
When she didn’t speak after a moment, I took another shot. “Honestly, Julia, I don’t think I should force Dex to match with someone just because of this competition. A good CEO would care more about the client and his needs than her own. Right?”
After a moment, she sighed. “Amy, I’m sorry. You know I love you. But I just don’t think that would be very fair to Belinda. I hear what you’re saying, and I agree, I don’t think you should force Dex to find a match solely so you can win. But you can’t win by swapping out your client this late in the game, either.”
I hung my head. That was it. Game over. Belinda was going to win the CEO job, and even if I wanted to stay on as a senior matchmaker in her employ, I was sure she’d fire me the first chance she got. At the end of the day, I guessed I really had chosen Dex over my career. And the only thing I could do was pray that it hadn’t been in vain.
A Match for the Marine: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (First Comes Love Book 1) Page 14