AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Benji shrugged one shoulder. “Are you? You’ve made it pretty hard to find someone or vice versa. You’ve left that wild club girl behind, and that’s good, but do you really think Mr. Silver, Hot, and Dirty is going to walk in here, seeking out a chai and sweep you off your feet? Sometimes, we have to give Fate a kick in the pants.”
I pouted at my friend who knew me too well. “I admit nothing. Besides, the scenario you set up is in tons of romance novels.”
He rolled his eyes and groaned. “Open the damned thing already.”
I clicked on the notification and tapped my foot when it took too long. Then their profiles popped up. Their. Two men. Grizzly. Bear. Shifters.
My knees buckled, and I gripped the edge of the counter to stay standing. My mouth went dry as I read their names. Ansel and Edward.
They were both hot. Older, daddy-type hot.
“You are in trouble now,” Benji said, laughing. “Those two are experienced and wise and I bet they know how to make a young woman lose her mind, in the best way possible. And I heard shifters can go for a long, long time.”
I had no words. Benji was far from wrong with the handsome-and-sexy comment. Ansel’s hair was long and in a ponytail, the sides of his head shaved. His black goatee was peppered with silver streaks. Edward’s hair was shorter. Both of them clearly spent some time working out, or they just had the kind of shifter bodies that made it look like that.
“They like to read and travel. They have tons of pictures of themselves all over the world. Look.”
Benji whistled as I scrolled through the pictures. “What are you going to do?”
“I made my preferences nearly impossible to fulfill. I only wanted this to appease my family.”
Benji sighed, hugging me around the shoulders. “Are you sure?”
Damn him for calling me on my shit.
“Yeah. One hundred percent.” A lie.
We stayed busy for the rest of my shift, but at home, I cuddled with my cat and flipped through their pictures again.
Something inside me called to them. I had never heard their voices or their laughter. Didn’t those things come first?
“I’m accepting this match so I don’t have to deal with my family getting upset, Mavis. Not because they are by far the sexiest men I’ve ever seen and, for some stupid reason, I feel this need to be a part of their lives. This way, I can prove to Mom that I’m trying.”
Why did I need to prove that again?
Mavis looked skeptical. But then, as a cat, she generally had that reaction to my ideas, at least those that did not involve dinner.
I clicked the button to accept the match before I could think myself out of the notion. They sent me a message telling me they looked forward to getting to know me better.
P.S. They thought I was beautiful.
The men my age didn’t say that, or the ones I met hadn’t. They called me sexy and a pretty little thing—nothing that made me feel seen as a person instead of an object.
I liked these guys more and more by the second, and that was wrong. I needed to keep my distance and treat this situation as what it was—a farce.
After a long, hot shower, I changed into my nightgown, got into bed, and plugged in my phone. Mavis purred and lay on the pillow beside me. I was reaching for the switch on the lamp when another ping came through. Another notification from the app. Already? Yes. I’d told them that I wanted to get to know them too and didn’t think I would actually get a match.
I sat up straight when I read their new message. They wanted to video chat. Tonight.
Blowing out a breath, I steeled myself for the interaction. These men were a means to an end, an end that meant maybe my mother would calm down.
Again, reality slapped me in the face. I was a grown-ass woman who pined for the approval of her parents. The thing was, I’d never had their approval in the first place. When I made good grades, they said they could’ve been better. When I started to get into parties and dating, they told me to calm down. When I calmed down and opted for a simple, quiet life, they wanted me to find a husband.
Who exactly was I living for?
I ran my hand down Mavis’ spine. I would keep my walls up around them, but somehow, they had already burrowed themselves into me.
Video chat? I messaged back. Ready when you are.
