Another unexpected point for Declan. As much as she didn't want to admit it, he was acting like a legit human being. If she let him drive them back to school, it would not only be faster, but cheaper. Morgan sighed. “Won't Paul mind?”
Declan chuckled. “I think he'd mind much more if I didn't let him ride home with your friend.”
“My friend is off-limits, just so you and Paul know. I've narrowed her matches down to two guys, and he is not one of them.”
He lifted his hands in surrender. “You’re all business.”
“Always.”
Twenty minutes later, Declan and Paul were walking Morgan and Lacey to their dorm building. Morgan had insisted they didn't need the escorts, but the guys wouldn't take no for an answer.
“I know it's too late for guys to come up to your room. We're not trying anything like that. I just want to make sure you get to your rooms safely.”
“But how do I know you're not the dangerous one?” Morgan countered, feeling quite clever until Declan responded.
He leaned in. “Maybe you should have thought of that before you got in my car.”
Darn. He had a point. Morgan was making bad choices left and right. Meanwhile, Declan, Jerk-face McHotPants, was racking up points like a champ.
Declan had kept a respectable distance from her the entire walk from the parking lot, acting the perfect gentlemen. Not that the same could be said for Lacey and Paul. They were all over each other.
“You know,” Morgan said as they stopped outside the girls' dorm to say goodnight. “I almost regret not giving you the gift card.”
His warm hand found her shoulder. Morgan wanted to melt into the feel of his skin against her own. “It's not like you could have let me win. I know it was a random drawing.”
Morgan bit her lip, and Declan pulled his hand away.
His face grew serious. “It was a random drawing, right?”
“Of course, it was,” she said quickly, causing Declan to relax visibly. “You're going to think this is funny though. You were the real winner, but I thought you were such a jerk, so I decided to pick a second name.”
“What?”
“But now I see that you're a decent guy.”
“Unbelievable.” His face was hard again. “You think you are giving me such a gift calling me decent, don't you? Like you're some kind of goddess atop her mountain, passing out judgment on all the peons.”
“I…” she started, but Declan kept going.
“I’ve barely passed into decent guy territory because I didn't let you drive home drunk tonight.”
“I wasn't going to,” she argued.
“But you're one to talk. You decided I wasn't worthy of your prize. I don't even want to know what else you don't think I'm worthy of. Am I even in your little Date Maker database?” He said the last part making air-quotes.
Morgan didn't answer. She was too embarrassed to admit he was right and stared at the sidewalk instead.
Declan let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Of course not.” He ran his hand through his hair and started to walk away. At the last moment, he stopped and looked at her, his gaze seemingly searching her soul. “It's not even about the gift card. Did it ever occur to you that some people might feel embarrassed about using a dating service? One that is so personal? One you can't hide behind a computer screen for? You have no right to decide who gets a match, and who doesn’t.”
He stormed off, and Morgan watched him go. She wasn't sure if Lacey and Paul had watched the entire exchange between the two of them, or if they had been busy swapping spit. But what she did know, was several seconds later, Paul was running after Declan, and Lacey was standing beside her.
“I think girls' nights might be overrated,” Morgan deadpanned.
Lacey laughed and put her arm around her shoulder. “Not all of them. Now, let's go to bed.”
Chapter Six
The next morning, Morgan woke up with a terrible headache and list a mile long of things to do before school started back up the next day. The first item was finding a way to get her car back.
Lacey was snoring softly in her bed, and Morgan didn't want to wake her. Not after the way she had ruined the previous evening. Her face burned thinking about how everything had played out.
She'd flirted with Declan, and had enjoyed every minute of it. She closed her eyes, remembering the way they danced at the club and the way he'd made sure she made it back to her room okay.
And then she remembered the look on his face when she admitted to cheating him out of the gift card. And then the look after that when he confessed he'd been embarrassed about using her to find a match. The hot guilt poured into her stomach, making her queasier than the leftover tequila in her system.
Morgan didn't want anyone to feel bad about needing a little help to find the perfect date. She didn't think there was any reason to be ashamed of it. Of course, she'd never been on the other end before, and every time she set people up before, it had been friends. Now, she was dealing with strangers. Maybe pride was a legitimate issue she needed to consider.
She called an Uber and got her car. It didn't take long, and by the time she made it back to her room, Lacey was awake.
“Hey, sleepyhead," she said from her bed. "How's your head?”
Morgan lifted her brows. “How's yours?”
“Not as bad as my dress.” She looked down to where it sat crumpled on the floor. The smell of liquor coming from the fabric was strong.
“I’m so sorry, Lacey. I'll get it dry cleaned.”
Her friend sat up in bed. “No, you won't. It's just a dress. I just want to know all about what's going on with Declan.”
Morgan groaned and flopped down on her bed. She covered her face with her hands. “I think I messed up. How much did you catch last night?”
“Other than the obvious sexual tension that was coursing between you two?” Morgan flushed. “All of it. I wasn't nearly as tipsy as you thought I was. I just wanted to goof off and thought I'd play it up. While I was making out with Paul, who was quite drunk by the way, I heard all about how you lied about this gift card and how poor Declan is a hopeless romantic.”
Morgan sat up. “You don't understand. If you had met him at the coffee shop, you would have thought he was a total sleaze-ball too. He told me I'd be a lot prettier if I smiled more.”
“Ew.” Lacey giggled and crinkled her nose.
“I know. And he was all like ‘I don't need help getting laid.’”
Lacey's jaw fell open. “Wait, he said that?”
“Not those exact words. But I connected the dots.”
“I mean this in the most loving way possible because we're best friends, but did it cross your mind that maybe you connected the wrong dots?”
Morgan hesitantly nodded her head.
It was very possible. Not that Morgan had entertained the thought before last night. Now, it was all she could think about. Maybe she was making unfair assumptions about her clients.
“What are you going to do?” Lacey asked.
“First, I think I need to give Declan a gift card.”
Lacey shot up in bed. “It was like fifty bucks.”
“A hundred,” Morgan mumbled. “And then I think I need to push forward. Just with a little bit more sensitivity. I might not like Declan…”
She was interrupted by a cough from Lacey. Morgan glared at Lacey as she gave her a sheepish smile.
“What? I don't like Declan, but he had a point. I can't judge a person's character by one ten-minute interview and unrestricted access to their social media accounts. Maybe I need a questionnaire like those other dating sites.”
Lacey gasped. “You mean they do that for a reason?”
“Shut up.” Morgan threw her pillow at her. “I just don't know how I'm going to balance everything. It was already a stretch before. School, work, Date Maker, girls' nights. Not that I want a repeat of last night.”
“Even if it involved Declan?”
“Especiall
y if it involved him.”
Each client's profile included an address. Which meant sooner than she would prefer, Morgan was doing an entirely different walk of shame across campus. Instead of wearing yesterday's clothing, she was carrying a gift card for the coffee shop she worked at.
Not only was she out another hundred dollars, which was painful on its own, but Declan bought black coffee which meant he’d be in the shop a lot.
She waited outside his building until someone left. When they did, she grabbed the door before it closed and found her way up to Declan’s' room. She knocked and the door opened almost instantly. On the other side was a girl.
She was gorgeous, and was looking at Morgan like she'd personally insulted her. Her light blond hair was in stark contrast to Declan' dark, which ruled out any possible sibling connections.
“What are you doing here?” she sneered.
Morgan lamely lifted up the gift card. “Is Declan here? I have something for him.”
“Oh, how cute.” She turned her head and called into the room. “Declan, darling, it looks like your jilted lover has come bearing gifts.”
“It's not like that,” Morgan tried to explain, but Declan was already pushing the girl aside and looking at Morgan with wide eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
Morgan sighed and lifted the gift card once again. “You were right. I shouldn't have cheated you out of something you won.”
“Did you take it from the other winner?”
She shook her head. “That's not exactly fair either, is it? No, I bought another one.”
“Are you trying to buy me off?”
Morgan's brows lowered as she shook her head once more. “I’m not sure what you mean by that. I'm just trying to do the right thing.”
“The right thing?” he asked, eyes narrowed.
She rubbed her forehead with her free hand. “Look, I was wrong. You were right. Please just take this. And if you want me to keep searching for a match for you, I promise to do my best. And if not, well… I don't know. I think I might keep the fee anyway because I've just spent $200 on coffee I'll never drink.”
He stared at her for a few moments, his gaze making her uncomfortable. “And you're not trying to buy me off?”
Morgan lifted her hands in frustration. “You keep saying that, but I have no idea what you mean. No, I'm not buying you off or whatever.”
“Then I think you'd better take me out of your database,” he said. “And maybe keep the gift card.”
“Why?” Morgan asked slowly.
He tipped his head back toward his room. “Because we just published a pretty nasty article online about the Date Maker. I think we both assumed that was why you were hanging outside the front door.”
Morgan's forehead crinkled. “You were watching me?”
“I happened to look out and saw you standing there.”
“I was waiting for someone to let me…” she started to explain. “Wait! You wrote an article about me?”
“Not my best move.”
She'd just recovered from the rough start, and now all that work was unraveling. Tears pooled in her eyes. “Not a good move at all. Do you realize how much PR I'm going to have to do? You know what, I am going to keep this gift card.”
She started storming down the hall, while Declan called out to her. She ignored whatever he was saying, too upset about how everything seemed to be crumbling all because of one offhand comment.
Morgan decided she was never lying again, and certainly never drinking again.
But would it be enough to salvage the small business she had put so much effort, and money, into?
Chapter Seven
“What a jerk!” Lacey said, looking at the article on her phone.
As soon as Morgan got home, the two of them had searched for what Declan had talked about. It was just a stupid blog, not anything important or notable, except it had been shared a lot by students at Florida Southern College.
Some people defended her, saying they were satisfied by her service. Thank goodness! But the majority of people said things about how pathetic her clients must be to use something like the Date Maker.
It wasn't looking good.
Morgan looked up at her bulletin board with all the people she was waiting to set up on dates. There were a few couples that were close matches, but not as perfectly tailored for one another as she would have hoped.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
“I think I need to make one last, hard push to make people happy. Otherwise, I'm going to become an internet joke, then some kind of terrible meme, and finally fade into obscurity. I'll be left broken and broke.”
Lacey snorted. “Don't be so dramatic.”
“I’m serious.”
“Do you have enough good matches to make it work?”
“I think so.” Morgan nodded her head and walked over to her board. She started moving pictures into new spots. “If I put this guy with her. And this girl with this guy, it's a good start.”
She tapped her finger against her chin, continuing to ponder the pictures in front of her. Lacey must have known how hard Morgan was concentrating because she mercifully remained silent beside her.
“Oh! I'll put these two together, and these two, and….” Morgan tapped on the picture of a good-looking guy with blond hair. She then looked at Lacey with a puppy-dog face.
“No,” she said firmly. "No, no, no, no, no."
“Come on. You can see how bad this is going to be if I don't turn things around. Besides, I think Pax would be a good fit for you.”
Lacey lifted a brow. “Pax?”
“One date.” She put her hands together. “Pretty please with a cherry on top?”
“Fine. But only because he's pretty to look at.”
Morgan spent the next couple of hours putting together more dates than the previous four weeks combined. She put couples together and wrote personalized letters to each person including a little information about the person they would be dating, the locale, and all the plans for their date. And, as always, included a small picture of their match.
She put all the envelopes in her monogrammed bag and got up to deliver them. Lacey's voice stopped her as she was turning the knob. “You're not bringing those to everyone right now, are you?”
“Why wouldn't I?”
“Um, I don't know.” She lifted her hand and began counting the reason off on fingers. “Because the article just posted, you've been working on this for several hours and could use a break before you go cross-eyed, and because it's almost time for dinner.”
Morgan smiled. “All good reasons why I need to do this now. I want to catch customers before they've seen Declan's smear campaign, I refuse to stop until I'm finished, and I plan to eat dinner as a reward for a job well done.”
Lacey waved her hand dismissively, and Morgan went to work delivering all the dates. There were a couple of people who were reluctant, but with a little finesse, eventually came around. She ran all over campus, and to some nearby apartments until there was only one last date in her bag.
It belonged to Lacey.
Morgan: Where are you?
Lacey: Just finished dinner. WHERE ARE YOU???
Morgan: Just finished passing out all the dates. Except yours.
Morgan: I'm STARVING!
Lacey: I smuggled a sandwich from the cafeteria.
Morgan: I love you!
Lacey: I know.
Lacey: PS I never thought I'd say this. Wanna veg out and do nothing?
Morgan: YES!
Lacey: Then hurry up.
Morgan walked back to her room, thankful she wouldn't have to do anything else for the rest of the night. She'd been going at it for hours now and wanted to get a decent amount of sleep before school started in the morning.
With any luck, she'd be going back to a chaotic schedule, one that included matchmaking. She stumbled into her room, ripping off her shoes and bra the moment the door to the ha
llway closed.
Lacey laughed. “Food is on the bed.”
“Mmmm. You're the best.” Morgan reached into her bag before throwing it down beside the other items she'd discarded. She handed an envelope to Lacey. “And this is for you. Thanks for being a good sport.”
Morgan started eating, only half paying attention to the show that was on the TV. Her mind kept going over the details of the strangely chaotic day. Something was nagging at her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She chalked it up to having spent so much time coordinating all the dates she passed out and refocused her energy on the sitcom Lacey put on.
She took another bite as she listened to Lacy open the envelope.
“Um, Morgan?”
“Yeah?”
“I thought you said you were setting me up with Pax.”
Morgan took another bite and mumbled a yes around her food.
“Ok.” Lacey held out the picture so Morgan could grab it. "Then who is this?"
The sandwich Morgan had been eating fell out of her hand, and onto the bed as she grabbed the date outline from Lacey. It wasn't Pax, it was Trevor, an adorable freshman.
Morgan had given Lacey the wrong date.
She looked at the paper more carefully. The weird thing was, it was the right date Morgan had planned for Lacey. Just not the right person. How many times had she written the wrong name at the top of a planned date?
As she started working out the different scenarios in her head, Morgan realized it was possible that she messed up every single pairing she had worked so hard to put together. They might end up at the right place, but they could be complete opposites. Even the right couple in the wrong place could be bad for her reputation. What if she put people who were afraid of heights at the giant ferris wheel in Orlando?
She was ruined, and she could just imagine how happy this would make Declan. He and the blonde from his dorm room would be thrilled to see everything blow up in her face.
What was she going to do?
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The Date Maker: A Disastrous Dates Prequel Page 4