by Elle James
“Coffee,” he said.
Something about his voice captured Ariana’s attention. She leaned forward and caught a whiff of his cologne. She knew that cologne. But from where?
“Would you like whipped cream on top or a sprinkle of cinnamon?” the barista asked.
“No. Just plain and black,” he said.
Oh, yes. It came to her as the barista finished ringing up his purchase and he paid. He turned a little too fast and bumped into her. “I’m sorry,” he said, touching her arm.
Though she knew who it was even before he turned, Ariana’s heart fluttered, and she had to swallow hard to keep from gasping out load. “I’m okay.”
He smiled down at her, his brow furrowing as he stared into her eyes. “It’s you.”
“Yes, it is,” she said with a shaky laugh. “And it’s you.” Wow, she hoped she didn’t sound as stupid as she felt.
“How is it we keep running into each other?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Just lucky, I guess.”
“Ma’am, can I take your order?” The barista waited patiently for Ariana to pull herself together.
“Yes, please,” she said, tearing her gaze away from the man in the cowboy hat. “I’d like an English breakfast tea, plain. No flavoring added, please. Just plain tea”
He laughed. “That’s the way I like my coffee.”
“Your name?” the barista asked, pen in hand, ready to write it on the cup.
“Ariana,” she answered.
The tall cowboy blinked then laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, my name is Ariana.” She looked at him, her brow dipping. “Is that a problem?”
He held out his hand. “Ariana, I’m Dillon, nice to meet you.”
Her eyes widened as she placed her hand in his and felt a charge of electricity run up her am. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, ma’am. Dillon Jacobs,” he said, shaking her hand. “I’m your BODS match.”
She giggled, then chuckled, then doubled over laughing.
He shook his head, his brow furrowing. “It’s funny, but I didn’t think it was that funny.”
“Did you get the same call I got from Leslie?” she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.
His frown deepened. “I got a call.”
“About BODS being glitchy?”
He smiled, and then chuckled. “That’s right. We’re not even supposed to be matched.”
She shrugged. “We don’t know that. The system is wonky. We won’t know until she gets it back up and running correctly.”
“In the meantime, we each have a date with someone who might not be our match.”
“Dillon!” the barista called out. “Ariana!”
They collected their drinks, found a table away from everyone else and sat.
Dillon drank his black coffee, while Ariana sipped her plain tea.
“Your profile says you’re in construction,” she said. “You must like working with your hands.”
He nodded. “I like to see the fruits of my labors. I couldn’t stand to sit behind a desk all day pushing paper.”
“I get that.” She tilted her head. “But you’re dressed like a cowboy, and you also like horses. “Do you get to ride much?”
“Not as much as I used to,” he said. “Work keeps me away from the ranch.” He looked down at his clothes. “I’d planned on going to the ranch after—”
“Thirty minutes?” she finished, with a wry smile.
“Yeah.” His lips twitched. “How did you know?”
“You were going to give me thirty minutes.” She chuckled. “That’s how many I was going to give you.”
He glanced at his watch. “We have another twenty to go. We’d better make good use of it.”
She settled back in her chair smiling. “I have a burning question for you.”
He leaned back. “Shoot.”
“Are you Emma Jacob’s brother?”
Dillon grinned. “One of four.”
She nodded. “That explains the cowboy hat and horseback riding.”
“What about you?” he said. “You’re a business owner.”
“You already know my story. Zen meditation and yoga instructor.” She raised a hand. “That’s me.”
“It could be we are mismatched, but I’m glad it was you and not a stranger.”
She nodded. “I know what you mean. I wasn’t keen on the whole idea, but I let Leslie talk me into it. She and my other friends of the Good Grief Club decided I needed to get back into the dating scene.”
He tipped his head, his brows rising. “So, you’re part of Emma’s grief counseling group?”
She nodded. “I don’t know what I’d have done without the Good Grief ladies.”
“Did all the ladies of that group lose a spouse or fiancé?” he asked.
“Some lost spouses, some lost other loved ones, like a beloved father.”
“And you?” he asked softly.
“I lost my husband to cancer,” she said, looking down at her cup of cooling tea.
“I’m sorry.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “How long had you been together?”
“We were high school sweethearts. We met in ninth grade, dated all through high school and college, married as soon as we graduated, and he died two years ago. Married six years, together fourteen.” She looked up. “So, you see, I haven’t been too interested in jumping back into the dating scene. I never really dated anyone else.”
“Emma was one of BODS’ first success stories. She wanted all her brothers to experience the same success.” His lips twisted. “We kind of bullied her into getting back into the dating scene.”
“So, she’s bullying you to do the same?” Ariana smiled. “All four of you need help?”
“According to Emma.”
“But if you’re any indication, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a date. You’re clean-shaven, smell good and not bad looking.”
He grinned. “You think I’m handsome?”
“I didn’t say that,” she said, her face heating. “I said you’re not bad looking.” Hell yes, he was handsome. He made her knees weak and sent electric shocks throughout her body when he touched her—like he was doing now. She glanced down at their hands and wondered if he was even aware that he hadn’t let go of her. “Point is, you should have girls flocking to you. And if your brothers look like you, they should have the same.”
“It hasn’t worked that way,” he said. “We’ve been so busy building our careers and taking care of the ranch, we haven’t done much dating.”
“And you’re getting up in years, and she wants you all to be happy.”
“Watch it. You’re older than I am, based on your profile.”
“Does that bother you?” she asked.
“Not at all. I just don’t consider twenty-eight and twenty-nine old.”
She wrinkled her nose. “For a woman, we’re getting close to the cutoff.”
“Cutoff?”
“When we hit thirty, it can be more difficult to get pregnant. That family we always wanted but didn’t have time for in our twenties might prove elusive.”
“You’re not old in your thirties.”
“It’s one of those things that nature decides for us. We have no control.”
“That’s what fertility treatments are for,” Dillon said. “And you can have all your children at once. A veritable litter of children.”
Ariana laughed. “You make it sound easy. Some of the women I worked with in the corporate world waited to have children, and now they can’t. Their egg supply dried up.”
“Is that why you decided to try BODS?” He looked down at his hand still holding hers. “Are you afraid you might be waiting too late to start a family?”
She glanced out the window, trying not to be too affected by his hand holding hers. “Sam and I wanted to have children. We were trying when he was diagnosed with cancer. He fought it for four years before he succumbed. Babies
just didn’t happen for us. One day, I hope to have a child or two.” Ariana smiled up at him. “How about you?”
“I always imagined I’d have kids someday. I guess Emma’s right. We’re not getting any younger. If we’re going to have kids, we need to start working in that direction.”
“So, you need a wife…just to have children?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Of course not. Our parents had a really good relationship. They showed us what we should aim for. A partner in life, someone to love and cherish and share all the good and bad that comes along with any union. And they had five children. I liked having brothers and a sister to grow up with. We never lacked for companionship. We were each other’s friends,” he grinned, “when we weren’t beating up on each other. Yeah. I’d like to have kids.”
She could picture a little girl with blond hair and blue eyes like her father. Her heart warmed to the image. “You’d make a good father.”
“I like to think I would. I’d teach them to take care of cattle, hammer a nail, fish, ride a horse, and so many other things a kid needs to know.”
She met his gaze. “Kids need to know all that to be well-adjusted?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course.”
“I never learned to fish or ride a horse,” she said softly. “I think I’m pretty well-adjusted.”
His eyes widened. “Riding a horse, I can understand. But you’ve never held a fishing pole?”
“My parents were older, and my father was an accountant. He wasn’t much into the outdoors, except when it came to his lawn and flower garden.”
Dillon pushed back his chair and rose to his feet.
Ariana frowned. “Are our thirty minutes up?”
“We’ve actually been here longer than the requisite thirty,” he said. “That’s not the point. We’re leaving.”
“That’s too bad. I was enjoying talking to you,” she said as he hustled her out of the coffee shop.
“Sweetheart, we’re going to further your education,” he said as he held the door open and waited for her to pass through.
“What do you mean?”
“We’re going fishing.”
“Does this count as part of our date?” Ariana asked as he led her toward his truck.
“We haven’t kissed goodbye yet, so I’d say yes.”
Heat rose up her neck into her cheeks at the thought of kissing Dillon. “What about the glitch with the BODS system? The fact that I’ve never gone fishing and I haven’t been on a horse should have flagged me as incompatible with you.”
“And I asked for a tall woman. But you don’t hear me complaining?” he said with a grin. “I might even change my mind about short women because of you.”
Ariana ground to a halt next to the passenger door of a pickup. “What do you have against short women?”
“Nothing. Except I have to bend so far down to steal a kiss.” He winked. “Purely gratuitous. No other reason.”
She smiled. That was twice he’d mentioned kissing. Was he talking about kissing women in general? Or had he thought about kissing her…in particular?
A shiver of awareness spread throughout her body.
He held the door open for her to climb up inside his truck.
When she hesitated, he waved her forward. “Hop in. We have all the fishing gear we need out at the ranch and a stocked pond to make it easy to catch. And when we’re done fishing, I’ll take you riding.”
“Are you sure? I thought this was a thirty-minute, get-to-know-you kind of date.”
“We did most of that last night on twenty flights of stairs,” he said. “You also have my profile. And what better place to get to know someone than to be on the water with your line dipping in?”
It all sounded good to Ariana. “I thought you were too busy to date?”
He shrugged. “I ended up giving my crew the weekend off. I don’t have to be anywhere until Monday morning. And my foreman said I needed to destress.” He held up a hand. “I told him someone else had suggested the same thing. So, let’s destress with a little fishing.”
“Aren’t you afraid Emma will read too much into your spending more than thirty minutes with your glitch date?”
“I don’t care what Emma thinks. I feel the call of the fishing pole. And I’ve never taught anyone to fish. It’ll be good practice for our kid—for when I have a kid someday.”
Ariana ducked her head, her chest swelling at his slip. Our kid. Those were powerful words, even if they were spoken by mistake. Those two words left her feeling a little dizzy and out of breath. She applied one of her breathing exercises to bring her back to her center, and then looked up with a smile. “The only plans I had for today involved cleaning my bathroom. Fishing sounds much more interesting.” She grimaced. “I’ll need to swing by and change into something besides this dress.”
His gaze swept her from the top of her head to her toes. “Yup. You’ll need either jeans or shorts, depending on if you plan on wading in, a top you don’t mind getting worm guts on and an old pair of shoes you don’t mind getting wet. Oh, and a hat and sunscreen. You know, Emma’s got all that at the ranch. She can loan you what you need.”
“You sure she won’t mind?” Ariana started to climb into the truck, but the handle was too high for her to reach.
“She’ll be thrilled I brought a girl home.” Dillon gripped her around the waist and lifted her up into the seat.
She turned and smiled down at him. “Thanks. They don’t make these trucks for short people.” Ariana tilted her head slightly. “I wonder who BODS will match us with when it’s back up and running.”
“I don’t know, but it was nice not having to face a stranger in that coffee shop.” He grinned. “I feel like we’ve known each other a long time.”
“We have.” She laughed. “We’ve known each other for twenty…” she winked and waited for him to finish her sentence.
“Flights. And look, we’re already finishing each other’s sentences.” He closed the door and rounded the front of the truck.
Ariana’s gaze followed him, a smile lingering on her lips.
She wasn’t so sure BODS had it wrong. Dillon seemed perfect to her.
Her smile faded. She really did wonder who BODS would come up with for her perfect match, round two.
Chapter 6
Dillon climbed in behind the wheel and shot a glance across the console at Ariana. She wasn’t anything like the woman he’d imagined BODS would match him with. Leslie could be right; the system had some issues. Yet, he couldn’t be happier with the mistake.
Like he’d told Ariana, he felt like they were old friends. Their connection in the stairwell of the BODS building had been casual, without the stress of meeting a blind date. They’d had no prior expectations of each other, and they’d met in the dark. Two people who knew nothing about the other, not even what the other looked like. He would always think of her sweet voice and soft curves as his first impression of her.
“Why are you frowning?” he asked.
Her brow smoothed immediately. “Sorry. I was just thinking that we’ll have to go through the uncertainty of another date with a stranger when BODS is fixed and makes our matches.”
“Well, stop,” he commanded. “I’ve been told by two people that I need to unwind. Fishing is about the most stress-free activity a person can do.”
She sighed. “You’re right.” Ariana drew in a deep breath and let it out. “I’m on board. Do all your brothers live on the ranch?”
“They do. At least, for now. I’m in the process of designing another house to be built on the ranch and plan on moving into it when it’s done. My brothers plan on doing the same, eventually.”
“How was it growing up as one of five kids in a family?” she asked. “Was it noisy? Did you get into fights?”
Dillon chuckled. “There was never a dull moment, that’s for sure. We learned to ride practically before we learned to walk. Once we were proficient in the saddle, there
was no stopping us. We’ve been all over the ranch at least a thousand times. It’s a great place to grow up. What about you? Siblings?”
She shook her head. “None. My folks were older when they married, and I was their only child. I think I grew up before I was ever a kid. My mother taught me how to ride a bicycle, but there weren’t any horses in my neighborhood, and my folks kept me close to home.”
“Sounds…” he searched for the right word.
“Boring?” She nodded. “It would have been, but I lived all sorts of adventures.”
“You did?” He glanced her way.
She stared out the window, a small smile curling her lips.
Dillon was mesmerized by her. The faraway look in her eyes and the way her auburn hair framed her face made him want to reach out and touch her cheek.
Ariana lifted her chin. “I did have adventures, through the books I read. I escaped to faraway lands, even planets, fought battles and won and fell in love at least a thousand times.” She gave him a shy smile. “To me, books were far more interesting than my life.”
“That’s kind of sad,” he said.
“I didn’t think so. I had a very dear friend who liked to read as much as I did. We shared a love of fantasy and science fiction from grade school through college.” She stared out the window at the road ahead as if she had gone back to a different time. A sad time.
“This friend…” he said quietly, “was it your husband?”
She nodded. “I married my best friend. And as I mentioned, he died of pancreatic cancer.”
“That must have been hard. You were together for a long time.”
She nodded. “Half my life. Losing him left a huge hole. I had to learn who I was all over again. So, you see, an online dating service was a big step.”
“And the service didn’t get it right, matching you and me.” He shook his head. “The last book I read was nonfiction. I think it was how to rebuild a tractor engine or maybe the training manual for a computer-aided design program. I haven’t read fiction since grade school.”
“You should give it a try again. It’s very relaxing,” she said. “Well, if you’re not in a battle scene about to be run through with a sword.” She winked. “No, I didn’t grow up with siblings to play with, but I wasn’t lonely, and I learned a lot through reading.”