Better Than Before (RightMatch.com Trilogy) Read Free

the longest to suggest a date, which was a challenge. She liked to cook, garden and was religious about environmental issues—she asked him if he switched off lights went he left a room, if he unplugged cords when not in use to save electricity and if he eschewed the use of plastic-bottled water.
    She also was getting her master’s degree at a local college and worked at a spa when her kids were in school or busy with their father. It must be an issue of money, but he couldn’t ask, as they hadn’t disclosed that kind of personal information. He had no idea why she’d split with hubby.
    They agreed not to share any baggage but inevitably revealed their backgrounds, which he falsified and he presumed she told the truth about. Their profiles and some of the emails discussed the kind of person each was hoping to date. Again he lied, and again, she was truthful. Now they were emailing on a regular basis about their daily activities.
    He felt another spurt of guilt. She was a nice woman and he was stringing her along. But there was more to his unease than that simple explanation—damned if he didn’t like her, even worry about her sometimes. And who would have thought he’d find her and her stories about her kids and dog endearing?
    Unwilling to examine that notion, or maybe because of it, he reached for the BlackBerry and punched in a number to make a date with Marlena. When she answered, he said, “Hi, there, gorgeous, it’s Spence. Got any plans for dinner?”
    “As a matter of fact, I don’t,” the sultry voice over the phone line purred. “I was wondering when we’d get together again, Spencer.”
    He glanced at the computer. “I’ve been busy.”
    Pleased that Marlena had accepted, he made arrangements and clicked off. He had a meeting in fifteen minutes and should go over his notes on an impending deal where he planned to convince an unwilling company to go public, so he didn’t understand at all why he scrolled down his phone contacts and found Number Six’s cell number. He’d wheedled it out of her because he hoped talking to each other might facilitate her request for a date, which he wanted in order to end this charade. Now he admitted he wouldn’t mind hearing the voice that matched the picture she’d posted online. Maybe he’d call her after he got back from his meeting.
     That he felt a jolt of anticipation at talking to her for the first time concerned him a bit. This hadn’t happened with the others. But he ignored the feeling and pulled up the next client’s file.
    o0o
    Annie Hopkins was so tired she could barely see straight. She’d been at the animal hospital all night with Jake, her beautiful but ill dog, a Shiba Inu. Her mother had come over to stay with the kids. Annie had gotten back at seven a.m. but had not been to sleep. To boot, Alex and Hope had the morning off from school because of teacher workshops, so they were home, and she couldn’t take a nap.
    Her seven-year-old daughter, Hope, sat on the family-room floor with Jake. “Are you sure he’s okay, Mommy?”
    A few months ago, the dog had gotten lost and she and the kids had put up flyers around the suburb where they lived, hoping someone would find their pet. After two weeks, they’d given up and mourned the dog’s loss. Then a neighbor had discovered Jake in the woods behind her development, starved and sick but alive.
    All three of them, including her pre-teen son who tried hard to be tough, had cried when Jake had come home. They’d nursed him back to health with a ground beef–and–rice mixture the vet recommended and Annie made fresh every day. The problem was, now the animal wouldn’t eat regular dog chow.
    “The vet said he’s fine, honey. It was the store-bought food I gave him that made him sick. I guess he’s not ready for it.”
    Hope had inherited Annie’s light brown hair and hazel eyes, but her smile was all her own. As always, that smile filled Annie’s heart with joy. These were the best times