Searching for Perfect (15 page)

He rubbed his neck and muttered something foul under his breath. “I liked her, okay! And there’s nothing wrong with wanting to have sex.”

Arilyn smiled with sympathy. “We understand. But at Kinnections, we try to guide clients to think of sex as a big turning point. We encourage steady dating and a monogamous relationship before sexual activity.”

Nate glowered at both of them. “Then you should’ve told me that so I know the damn rules.” He drained the rest of his drink. “Come on. Let’s do this.”

“Umm, I’m done with my part,” Kate said. “Arilyn, you’re next.”

Nate stared her down as she stepped up to the bar stool like he was a pitcher ready to strike out Babe Ruth. Kennedy wondered if this was a bad idea. He liked competition and enjoyed the win. He now viewed the buzzer as
something to beat or die, and Arilyn was standing right in his way. Kate took Arilyn’s place next to Kennedy and shot her a worried look.

Arilyn turned her back and waited. She was about to introduce her client to the next female prototype: eager to commit, fall in love tonight, and live happily ever after. Nate leaned in.

“Hey. My name’s Nate. How are you?”

Arilyn shifted and gave him a huge smile. “Hi, Nate. I’m Wanda. It’s nice to meet you. What brings you out on a weeknight? Hard day at work? Do you live in the area? What do you do?”

She threw the questions out with deft ease, meant to keep a man’s mind in a tailspin. Nate fielded the questions and took his time answering. “I felt like unwinding with a drink tonight. I’m an aerospace engineer, and I just moved to Verily.”

Arilyn pumped up her usual calm aura to supersize. “Wow, that’s pretty awesome. I own a bakery in town, and work all the time, and said to myself tonight, ‘Self, you need to get out more and have some fun.’ So I took myself down to Purple Haze, and now here you are! Kismet, right? Do you know what kismet is?”

He never faltered, his entire attention focused on not failing this task. “Yes, kismet is a wonderful thing. I agree about the work issue. I’m currently doing a lot of research for a firm looking to put the private sector into space, and it’s hard to remind myself to get out and relax.”

Kate looked impressed, but Arilyn wasn’t done with him.

“Are you married? Have kids? I’m really looking to settle down and have kids, and I’m so impressed with your career! I mean, so many men nowadays just want to find themselves and make no money and be drains on society. Look, I usually don’t dive right in, but I like you. Want to have dinner with me? I want to meet a serious partner who’s done partying and wants to get married quickly. I just sense you feel the same way, Nate. Kismet, right? So, what do you think?”

Sweat beaded his forehead. Kennedy leaned forward. This was the man’s wet dream come true—a woman to get serious and be ready to talk marriage right from the gate. She’d coached Arilyn to offer him his dream woman and see how he liked it. His brow crunched as he seemed to try desperately to figure out the correct approach not to get zapped. Her hand paused on the button.

“I’d love to have dinner.” His voice came out strained. “And yes, I’m looking for a serious relationship.”

She dropped the controller on her lap.

“Wonderful! This is such a relief. I sensed an immediate connection between us and just feel that you, as a businessman, will completely understand me.”

“Why do you feel better understood by businessmen?” he asked.

“Well, when we have the babies, I intend on going straight back to work and hiring a nanny. My bakery chain is everything, and I don’t feel I need to give up anything. I intend to have it all, Nate, and hopefully with you.” Arilyn chirped out the last of her words with a confident smile and waited for complete agreement.

The words spewed out of him. “I don’t believe a woman should rush right back to work after giving birth, and I don’t believe in nannies. You’ll have to give up your job and stay home with them, of course. That’s the only proper way to raise children.”

Kate gasped. Arilyn stared.

And Kennedy pressed the button.

“Son of a bitch!” He jumped and slapped at his nape. He curled his hands into tight fists and gritted his teeth. “What’d I say now? I nailed that scenario!”

Kennedy sighed. “Why on earth would you believe women have to give up their jobs to become mothers? Haven’t you heard of balance?”

“Connor explained that if women keep themselves in the work force, they end up having affairs and breaking up the family. The children are the ones to suffer. I sure as hell am not going to have that type of life for my kids. Not after seeing what my own mother pulled.”

Sadness leaked into her heart. Her friends were quiet as they pondered his words. Arilyn was the one to speak finally in a quiet, supportive voice. “I completely understand why you would think that. But not all women have affairs or run off. This is the point of the search. You want to find women who have similar ideals, but if you close yourself down to possibilities, you may miss out on the right one. Love can change people, make them compromise.”

He vibrated with unspoken tension. “Why would I want to waste my time chasing the wrong woman?”

“Because the wrong one can end up being your true love,” Kate answered. “It happened with me. When I met
my fiancé, Slade, I categorized him as the completely wrong type for me. We were opposites and held different core philosophies. But we fell in love. Changed. Grew. And if I had stuck with the ideal man I had in my head, I would’ve missed out on the greatest thing in my life.”

Raw yearning reared up and swallowed Kennedy whole. She breathed through the sudden emotion and need to experience what Kate had: true love. Real love. Full of mess and hard work and worth every moment. She averted her gaze and concentrated on the buzzer, trying to pull herself back together. What was wrong with her? She’d never experienced such a primitive longing to throw herself into a relationship no matter the odds. The long line of men behind her were like ghosts, haunting her future and reminding her over and over she’d never be fulfilled.

“I understand.”

Arilyn slid off the stool and gave him a hug. “That was a big moment, Nate. Thank you for sharing with us.”

She imagined that a slight red tinged his cheeks. “Sure. Are we done?”

“No,” Kate said. “Kennedy goes next.”

She lifted her head.

His gaze locked on hers. Those green eyes burned with a banked fire that promised everything . . . if she was brave enough to take it. The odd thought skittered through her mind, but it was too bizarre to analyze, so she walked slowly over and took her place on the stool.

“Dare I ask who has the buzzer?”

“Kate. She’s fair.”

“And what should I expect from you?”

A smile touched her lips. He’d ditched the awful cologne. His natural scent swarmed over her and wrapped her in spice, soap, and lemon. “Everything you hate.”

He smiled back. Dropped his voice. “Bring it.”

Goose bumps broke out on her flesh. She squeezed her thighs against the sudden wet ache throbbing in her core, as excitement and challenge woke up her nerve endings. Her body hummed and prepped for the mental battle about to begin, responding as if he had just ripped off her clothes, spread her on the bar, and pleasured her mercilessly with his tongue and hands and teeth.

“Keep looking at me like that and you’ll get more than you bargained for.”

She shivered at his words. “Bring it.”

He growled something under his breath.

“Okay, guys, you can begin.”

Kate’s voice drifted in and broke up the bubble. Kennedy turned her back on him and waited till she heard his voice.

“Hey. My name’s Nate. How are you?”

“Hi, Nate. My name’s Wanda. What’s up?”

He slouched comfortably against the bar. “Just relaxing after a hard day’s work. How about you?”

“Same.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a makeover consultant for a matchmaking agency.”

He never missed a beat. “Bet you meet a lot of interesting people. Matchmaking agencies are growing bigger. You’re savvy to get into such an industry.”

Her smile dazzled. “Thank you so much. I love my work. It’s my entire life. I can’t imagine ever giving it up for anything.”

Nate positioned his body so his legs straddled her stool. It was a power move that forced her to get close and personal. Fascinated, she waited as he gave an easy grin and closed the distance between them. She could see the perfect curve of his lip. “Anything?” he murmured. “Even love?”

She waited for him to get buzzed for that one, but nothing happened. “The person who truly loves me would never ask me to give it up.”

“Touché. What type of hobbies do you enjoy, Wanda?”

“Anything physical. Rock climbing, kayaking, hiking. I hate stationary type of sports.”

“Like what?”

“Like golf. Golf sucks.”

The muscle by his eye ticked, then stopped. “Would you be willing to try golf? Maybe you’d like it.”

“I doubt it. I dislike boring men.”

“What type of man do you consider boring?”

She smiled sweetly. “You know, nerd types. Engineers, accountants, careers involving science or math. Ick. I like the passionate, artistic, creative types. The brooding actor or passionate writer or inspired yoga teacher. What do you do, Nate?”

His gaze shred past her barriers and ripped them off. “I’m an aerospace engineer. I love golf. I can’t write, do art, and I suck at Zumba. But I think you’re an incredible woman and would love to get to know more about you. Have dinner with me.”

Dizziness swooped through her. She clutched the edge of the bar to steady herself, but he was already there, grabbing her arm in a strong, stable grip. Kennedy pursed her lips and stood her ground. “We’re complete opposites. I don’t think it will work between us. But thanks for the conversation.”

A low chuckle rumbled from his chest. “Tell you what. You answer one question for me. If you get it right, I’ll prove we’re meant to try dinner at least. You get it wrong, I’ll politely step away and thank you for your time.”

Again, she waited for the buzzer that never came. Damn you, Kate. Intrigued, she studied him under her lashes. “What question?”

“You have to agree to the deal first. Get it right, I buy you dinner. Deal?”

“What if I just lie and say I don’t know it?”

He moved to whisper the answer in near her ear. “You won’t. I trust you.”

A shudder wracked her body at his intimate tone. His breath rushed warm and sweet and stirred the hair at her temple. “Okay. Ask your question.”

“I’m a physicist who works on researching advanced propulsion in rockets. I base many of my theories and core findings on Newton’s Third Law of Motion.”

She feigned boredom. “So?”

“What is the main assumption in Newton’s law?”

The air left her lungs in a soft whoosh. Shock overtook her and claimed her words. Her mouth unhinged and Kennedy realized she must look ridiculous. She snapped her mouth closed. “You can’t ask me that question.”

“Why not?” he drawled.

“Because, because it’s impossible. A makeover consultant doesn’t know science and physics and all that stuff. Ask me something else.”

“But that’s the question we agreed on,” he pointed out. “If you don’t know the answer, I understand. Remember, I trust you to tell me the truth.”

She glared, hating him for putting her in this delicate position. For God’s sake, how could he sense something no one else ever knew about her? That underneath all her girly clothes and flirty actions and sarcastic wit, she was a closet nerd? Sure, they had tossed around a few ideas about velocity during their ice cream outing, but this seemed different. She’d been distracted before, lulled into a false sense of security by the sugar rush—but right now she was stone cold sober. And his gaze challenged her, as if he was openly forcing her to admit she knew things she shouldn’t. Things she denied. Her past reared up to haunt her. All those years stuck in her room, alone, had turned her into a book freak. The clear lines of math and science had soothed her need for answers and fed her brain, but she’d forced herself to become someone else, and made sure that knowledge of Manolos and the latest hot handbag took the place of aerospace dynamic theory and Newton’s Laws of Motion.

She’d lie. He’d never know. Hell, it was a ridiculous scenario anyway, and Kate should have been hitting that damn button already. She set her jaw. Opened her mouth. And spoke.

“In every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. The size of the forces on the
first object equals the size of the force on the second object. The direction of the force on the first object is opposite to the direction of the force on the second object. Forces come in pairs. Therefore, Newton’s law assumes for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Triumph gleamed in his eyes. Kennedy stared at him, horrified but somehow helpless to avert her gaze. He brought the whole charade home by lifting her hand to his lips, and pressing a hot kiss in the center of her palm. “Thank you, Wanda. And now it will be my pleasure to take you to dinner.”

“I—I—I—”

“That was incredible!” Kate shrieked. She rushed over and practically jumped up and down. “I can’t believe it. You listened to us and followed through exactly. You were nonjudgmental, focused, funny, and intelligent. Kennedy, wasn’t that a triumph?”

She forced a weak smile. “Yeah. Really great stuff.”

Arilyn floated over. “What a pleasure to watch. I can’t wait till Ken sets up your mixer, I think you’re going to be surprised at the number of quality matches you’ll have. Thanks for having an open mind. And we’re really sorry about the buzzer.”

Nate smiled. “No problem. I guess I did need a bit of a hard-core approach.”

Kate laughed and put her hands on both of their shoulders. “I think—oh!”

With a sharp yelp, her friend crashed onto the floor in a heap of limbs. Nate threw his stool back and knelt down. “Are you okay?”

Kate’s blue eyes widened with horror. Oh, no. She must have tripped on those wicked heels Kennedy had forced her to buy. She joined him on the floor, and they all crowded around Kate. “I’m sorry, Kate, I should’ve never made you buy those heels. They’re walking death contraptions. Here, let me help you up.”