Breaking the Bachelor (Entangled Lovestruck) (Smart Cupid) by Maggie Kelley Read Free Book Online Page B

Loves dogs and wears glasses.”
    “And she’s a blonde?”
    “She’s a blonde.”
    Jane rolled her eyes. “At least we got the specifics. Any significant stats?”
    “Strong on the Shared Humor Index.”
    Her fingers tapped on the desk. “Critical for Charlie.”
    “Positive scores for affection and intellectual compatibility with an overall algorithmic calculation of ninety-six.”
    “A ninety-six point match. Not a mathematically perfect correlation but…”
    “Practically perfect on paper.”
    “Exactly. Practically perfect on paper.” Jane opened her candy drawer and grabbed a Snickers and a Twix. “Did you make a reservation at the new sushi place in SoHo?”
    Marianne’s blue eyes blinked repeatedly behind her glasses. “No, he preferred Temptation.”
    “The bar ?” She took an extra-large bite of the candy and reached for her Diet Coke. Shit, at this rate, she’d better tear open the Twizzlers, too. “Okay. Not the most romantic place on earth, but it could work. Did you FedEx his wardrobe?”
    A set of eyebrows rose above the tortoiseshells. “I did.”
    “Perfect.”
    “Maybe not.” Marianne turned the tablet to reveal a document scan from FedEx. Delivery. Declined. In bold red lettering. Her friend offered up a tight smile. “Apparently, he told the guy, he’d be wearing Levis and a Rangers tee and you could kiss his…”
    Jane popped the top of the can and the soda exploded like an exclamation point. “I get the message.” A low sound of frustration rumbled in the back of her throat. “Why does he have to make everything so difficult?”
    Tonight’s date needed to be a success. A mark in the win column offered proof that smart love works, safety for Smart Cupid and Company and freedom from her less-than-logical physical desire for Charlie. “Damn that Rangers t-shirt.”
    Marianne cleared her throat. “Jane…are you sure you feel okay about matching Charlie?”
    Jane’s eyes snapped to attention. “Of course. Don’t I look okay?”
    “You look great, I’m just wondering…” In an obvious stall tactic, she readjusted her glasses against the bridge of her nose a second time. “I was wondering if matching him is tougher than you expected.”
    “I’m fine.”
    There was another slightly longer pause. “Are you sure?”
    “Yes, I’m sure. One hundred percent sure.” That twinge of disappointment? She swallowed it down with a mouthful of processed corn syrup and red dye #40.
    She waved a candy wrapper in the air, chasing away the thought. “I have my list. I know the type of criteria best suited to long-term compatibility—loyalty, intelligence, reliability.” She crumpled up the empty wrapper. “My ultimate man is sweet and predictable…like a Twinkie.”
    “A Twinkie?”
    “Yes, a Twinkie. You always know what you’re getting when you bite into a Twinkie.” She grabbed a King-sized box of Whoppers and a Zero bar from her drawer—might as well polish off this pity party, A to Z. “Charlie Goodman is no Twinkie. Charlie is spicy Cajun food and a Hurricane in the middle of Mardi Gras, a great time until the hangover the next morning.” The last thing she needed was another hangover.
    “So you feel comfortable matching him even though you two dated last year?”
    “Technically, we were not dating. We were friends who fell into bed together, hyped up on pheromones, and it only took six, lousy days for him to lose interest and flirt with some island bartender.” She spilled the M&Ms onto the desk and began sorting them by color. “Typical. No idea why I failed to see it coming. The man has a little black book that’s a three volume set.”
    “Are you talking about the blonde again?”
    She moved the stack of blue candy off to one side. “If by the blonde you mean the Rum Runner blonde, then, yes, I’m talking about the blonde again.”
    Her friend shook her head. “She was a bartender. Didn’t she just ask him how to make a Rum Runner?”
    “Marianne,