"So tell me about your own happily ever after. Is Mr. Arundel your one true love?"
"I"m single," she admitted readily. It was a common question from clients who wanted her credentials and the standard answer came easily now. "But it"s not a commentary on my services. You don"t decide against using a travel agent just because she hasn"t been to the resort you"re booking, right?"
"Right. But I would wonder why she became a travel agent if she doesn"t ever get on a plane."
The crowd snickered and the muscles in her legs tensed. Oh, spotlight how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways...
She"d be happy to get on a plane if the right man came along. But clients were always right for someone else, not her, and well...she wasn"t the best at walking up to interesting men in public and introducing herself. Friday nights with a chick flick always seemed safer than battling the doubts that she wasn"t quite good enough, successful enough, or thin enough for dating.
She"d only agreed to this interview to promote her business. It was a necessary evil, and nothing other than EA International"s success could entice her into making such a public spectacle.
"I always fly first cla.s.s myself, Mr. Wakefield," she responded and if only her voice hadn"t squeaked, the delivery would have been perfect. "As soon as you"re ready to board, see me and I"ll put you on the right plane in the right seat to the right destination.
"What do I have to do?" he asked. "Fill out a profile online?"
Was he actually considering it? She swallowed and the really bad feeling she"d tamped down earlier roared back into her chest.
Talk him out of it.
It was a stupid idea in the first place. But how else could she have responded? He was disparaging not only her profession but a company with her name on it.
"Online profiles don"t work," she said. "In order to find your soul mate, I have to know you. Personally."
Dax"s eyelids drifted lower and he flashed a slumberous smile that absolutely should not have sent a zing through her stomach. "That sounds intriguing. Just how personal does this get, Ms. Arundel?"
Was he flirting? Well, she wasn"t. This was cold, hard business. "Very. I ask a series of intensive questions. By the time I"m finished, I"ll know you better than your own mother."
Something dark skittered through Dax"s eyes but he covered it swiftly. "Tall order. But I don"t kiss and tell, especially not to my mama. If I do this, what happens if I don"t find true love? You"ll be exposed as a fraud. Are you sure you"re up for that?"
"I"m not worried," she lied. "The only thing I ask is that you take this seriously. No cheating. If you commit to the process and don"t find true love, do your best to spread word far and wide that I"m not as good as I say I am."
But she was that good. She"d written the matching algorithm herself, pouring countless hours into the code until it was bulletproof. People often perplexed her, but a program either worked or it didn"t, and she never gave up until she fixed the bug. Numbers were her refuge, her place of peace.
A well-written line of code didn"t care how many chocolate bars she ate. Or how easily chocolate settled on her hips.
"That"s quite a deal." His gaze narrowed. "But it"s too easy. There"s no way I can lose."
Because he believed she was pulling a fast one on her clients and that he"d never fall for it. "You"re right. You don"t lose either way. If you don"t find love, you get to tear my business apart in whatever way makes sense to you. If you do find love, well..." She shrugged. "You"ll be happy. And you"ll owe me."
One brow quirked up and she refused to find it charming.
"Love isn"t its own reward?"
He was toying with her. And he wasn"t going to get away with it. "I run a business, Mr. Wakefield. Surely you can appreciate that I have expenses. Smoke and mirrors aren"t free."
His rich laugh hit her crossways. Yeah, he had a nice laugh. It was the only nice anything he had that she"d admit to noticing. Dannie had certainly hit the mark when she described Dax Wakefield to Elise as "yummy with an extra helping of c.o.c.ky and a side of reptile."
"Careful, Ms. Arundel. You don"t want to give away all your secrets on the morning news."
He shook his head, and his carefully coiffed hair bounced back into place. A guy as well put-together as Dax Wakefield hadn"t even needed an hour with a makeup artist to be camera-ready. It was so unfair.
"I"m not giving anything away. Especially not my matchmaking abilities." Elise sat back in her chair. The farther away she was from Pretty Boy, the better. "So if you find true love, you"ll agree to advertise my business. As a satisfied client."
His eyebrows shot up and the evidence of surprise gave her a little thrill that she wasn"t at all ashamed to wallow in.
If this had been about anything other than EA International, the company she"d breathed life into for seven years, she"d have been at a loss for words, stumbling around looking for the exit.
But attacking her business made it personal. And for what? Because his friend had broken the guy code? Dax needed someone to blame for Leo"s falling in love with Dannie, obviously, not that he"d admit it. Elise made a convenient scapegoat.
"You want me to advertise your services?" Incredulity laced his deep voice.
"If you find love, sure. I should get something out of this experiment, too. A satisfied client is the best reference." A satisfied client who"d previously denounced her skill set in public was worth more than a million dollars in advertising. "I"ll even waive my fee if you do."
"Now you"ve got me curious. What"s the going rate for true love these days?"
"Five hundred thousand dollars," she said flatly.
"That"s outrageous." But he looked impressed nonetheless. About time she got his attention.
"I have dozens of clients who disagree. I guarantee my fees, too. If you don"t find your soul mate, I refund your money. Well, not yours," she conceded with a nod. "You get to put me out of business."
That"s when she realized her mistake. You could only find a soul mate for someone who had a soul. Dax Wakefield had obviously sold his a long time ago. This was never going to work. Her code would probably chew him up and spit him out.
She had to get off this stage before all these eyes and lights and camera lenses baked her like a pie.
Rubbing his hands together with something resembling glee, he winked. "A proposition I can"t lose. I"m so on board with that, I"ll even do you one better than a simple reference. Five hundred K buys a fifteen-second spot during the Super Bowl. If you pull a rabbit out of your hat and match me with my true love, I"ll sing your praises right before halftime in a commercial starring moi."
"You will not." She let her gaze travel over his smooth, too-handsome face, searching for a clue to his real intentions.
Nothing but sincerity radiated back. "I will. Except I won"t have to. You"ll need a lot more than smoke and mirrors to win."
Win. As though this was a race.
"Why, because even if you fall in love, you"ll pretend you haven"t?"
A lethal edge sharpened his expression. "I gave you my word, Ms. Arundel. I might be a cynic, but I"m not a liar."
She"d offended him. His edges smoothed out so quickly, she would have thought she"d imagined it. But she knew what she"d seen. Dax Wakefield would not allow himself to win any other way than fair and square. And that decided it.
This...contest between them was about her as much as it was about EA International. As much about Dax"s views on love and relationships versus hers. If she matched him with his soul mate-not if, when-she"d prove once and for all that it didn"t matter what she looked like on the outside. Matching people who wanted to fall in love was easy. Finding a match for a self-professed cynic would be a stellar achievement worthy of everyone"s praise.
Her brain was her best a.s.set and she"d demonstrate it publicly. The short fat girl inside who wanted her mother to love her regardless of Elise"s weight and height would finally be vanquished.
"Then it"s a deal." Without hesitation, she slid her hand into his and shook on it.
Something bold and electric pa.s.sed between them, but she refused to even glance at their joined fingers. Unfortunately, whatever it was that felt dangerous and the slightest bit thrilling came from deep inside her and needed only Dax"s dark gaze to intensify it.
Oh, goodness. What had she just agreed to?.
Copyright 2014 by Kat Cantrell.
Books by Andrea Laurence.
Harlequin Desire.
What Lies Beneath #2152.
More Than He Expected #2172.
*Undeniable Demands #2207
A Very Exclusive Engagement #2228.
*A Beauty Uncovered #2259
Back in Her Husband"s Bed #2284
His Lover"s Little Secret #2295.
*Heir to Scandal #2326.
*Secrets of Eden.