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“I’m supposed to get on an app and say I love books and my cat and coffee and dig a guy with a salt-and-pepper beard? How calculated are these things?”
He took my phone from my back pocket and, before I knew it, downloaded the app and handed it back to me. “The questionnaire is detailed and precise. Trust me, if I found not one but two mates on there, you can find one daddy.”
“Oh my gods. Shut up. For the record, I’m only doing this to get my family off my back.”
Benji raised one eyebrow. “Sure you are, honey. Go on and tell yourself that.”
We had customers come in, and so I had to wait until my shift was over before I could get into the questions. Boy, Benji hadn’t exaggerated.
These questions were involved and intimate and asked me things about myself that I hadn’t even considered.
Was I even open to a relationship with more than one partner?
The answer was yes. What woman wouldn’t want more than one strong, capable man doting on her?
That was, if I could find anyone by those standards. I’d been picky in the answers to my questions. So picky, I was sure no one would fit my criteria.
Strong.
Tall.
Older than me.
Reads books. Well-traveled. Even though the most traveling I did was the two blocks from my apartment to the coffee shop.
Gentleman to the core.
I sighed, thinking about all the guys I’d dated here and there. Some of the ones I’d met during my wilder days.
Not a single one fit those parameters, and I doubted even this app with its sophisticated algorithms and procedures could find me one either.
In fact, I made sure no one would be eligible. I made the chances so slim it would take a long time for anyone to hit all my marks.
A small part of me was doing this solely for finding a mate. The rest was to give my parents something to shut up about instead of sticking their nose in my mating business.
The nights did get lonely, despite my insistence my books and my coffee and my cat gave me all the company I needed.
Sometimes I rubbed my fist over my chest, swearing there was an invisible deep hole there, right under my sternum. I told no one about it. Not even Benji.
Everyone needed love and a companion. Some nights, the pull to have a partner tugged at me more than seemed normal. My skin craved contact. I longed to be held by strong arms. My mind needed someone to feel safe with. Secure.
Or perhaps I was simply losing my damned mind and had read too many romance novels.
I hit the completion button and allowed the process to begin.
No way in hell this thing would find a mate for me but in the meantime, perhaps I could use this to fend off my mother and her shame.
Sometimes I wondered why I even cared about the opinions of people who were family by blood but didn’t treat me as such. I was tired of chasing their love.
Chapter Five
Ansel
I had to hold the banister to keep my balance as I made my way down the stairs to the kitchen. The bold, nutty flavor of freshly brewed coffee started the wake-up process and drew me to finish the deal.
“Morning,” I grumbled, walking into the kitchen. We’d kept the cooking area minimal, opting for clean lines and a Scandinavian design for the cabinets. Edward preferred the counters to have nothing on them, so we’d had an entire pantry built next to the kitchen—almost the same square footage.
“In here,” he called from the pantry where we kept the appliances others would have usually kept on the counter, including the espresso machine. “I’m assuming you need a double shot after last night.”
