Miss Match Read Free Page B

sales with me. Maybe there’s still some good deals left.”
    Luke rolled his eyes, but obediently shoveled another bite into his mouth. A day spent with Brooke was heaven, no matter where they went.

 
     
     
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     
    Brooke poked her head into Zoey’s bedroom, then rolled her eyes at the disaster she saw. Clothes were thrown haphazardly about, draped over the bed and littering the floor. Makeup spilled across the dresser, and a bottle of nail polish sat open. For just a moment, Brooke was taken back to the arguments the two of them had had as Freshman sharing a tiny dorm room. They’d both been much happier since moving into an apartment with two bedrooms.
    “Zo?” Brooke asked. “We’re going to be late.”
    Zoey poked her head out of her private bathroom. “Almost ready,” she said. She disappeared again, and emerged less than a minute later. She stepped over the piles of clothes, carefully placing her stilettoed feet. She tossed aside a pair of jeans and a few shirts before locating her purse. She held it up, triumphant. “We can go now.”
    Brooke crossed her arms. Zoey looked glamorous and edgy as usual. Her dark ebony hair fell straight over her shoulders, highlights of bright pink throughout. Dramatic eye makeup made her brown eyes pop. She wore a pencil skirt and lacy blouse, sure to tempt all her clients to give up on Toujour and beg Zoey for a night on the town.
    “If you would put your purse the same place every night, then you wouldn’t make us late for work,” Brooke said.
    Zoey laughed. “We’ve never been late. You make sure of that.” She shut and locked the apartment door, and they headed to Brooke’s car.
    “With an eleven o’clock start time, you’d think we wouldn’t be rushing,” Brooke pointed out. Not that she really minded. After eight years as friends, she’d gotten used to Zoey’s penchant for tardiness.
    Zoey stifled a yawn. “I didn’t get home last night until almost three.”
    “Clubbing again?”
    “On a date. He was kind of a jerk, but totally loaded. I ordered every dessert on the menu.”
    Zoey and Brooke chatted as they drove the short fifteen minutes to Toujour. Brooke parked her VW bug and they both got out of the car.
    “Think you’ll be able to keep busy all eight hours today?” Zoey asked.
    Brooke grunted. “I hope so. I’m quickly running out of matches for a few of my clients.”
    Brooke swung open the front door to Toujour and was immediately hit with the spicy-sweet scent of Dragon’s Blood incense. Even after five years, it still overwhelmed her every time she entered the lobby. Christmas music played softly through the hidden speakers, and a small Christmas tree decorated in hearts, cupids, and wedding ring ornaments sat in one corner of the reception area. Lianna, the receptionist, sat behind a tinsel-lined black desk.
    “Good morning, Lianna,” Zoey said.
    Lianna glanced up from her computer. “Morning,” she said. Her eyes were bleary behind her thick glasses frames, and her blonde hair was tousled as though she’d rushed getting ready. Brooke glanced at Lianna’s computer. A game of Solitaire was pulled up. Lianna absently moved one of the cards.
    “Phones are quiet this morning,” Brooke muttered to Zoey. They walked down a short hallway that opened into the heart of the building. Cubicles filled the center of the large space, and small rooms called parlours lined the outside wall. Posters of happy couples were on the front of each door, no doubt meant to remind clients of the success they’d soon experience in love.
    Zoey and Brooke’s shared cubicle was near the center of the room. Zoey set her purse on the desk and they both sank into their chairs. Brooke fired up her computer, dread already curling in her stomach. She was down to eleven clients, barely enough to keep her busy each day, and with each failed date the pool of potential matches shrunk even further.
    “Have you decided if you’re going to your