Page 7 of Bargain Match

He was two husbands—and God knows how many men—ago if that tells you anything.

My shoulders slump. “I just want this all to work out.”

Burke’s lips press together in a look of sympathy. “I’m sure it will.”

“Are you? I thought you said this plan was crazy.”

“It’s no crazier than putting all of our hopes and dreams on that grant I applied for.” He lifts his shoulder. “It all comes down to chance.”

“My mom says a person makes their own luck.”

He gives me another stern look. “I promise. This is all going to work out.”

“How do you know?—”

“Because.” He reaches out to clutch my face in his palms. My heart flutters. Though his hands are work-hardened and his fingers are thick, they’re impossibly gentle as he reassures me. “I promise.”

“You promise?”

“I promise that I will do everything in my power to convince the Matchmaker that I’m head over heels for whoever it is she set me up with so we can double down on our prize money.”

His eyes are so serious, so steady as he peers into mine. It’s that gaze of his that sets me at ease as much as his promise.

“And you’ll do the same,” he says. “Right?”

“Right.” I swallow hard. “We have a deal.”

“It’s a deal.”

His thumb slides over my cheek, and a lump lodges in my throat. Then he drops his hands to the side.

“Are you ready to do this?”

I take a deep breath and nod, the butterflies in my belly once again making their presence known. But this time, I feel more confident they won’t take over.

“Let’s do this.”

Burke follows me closely as we walk up the path to the bar that’s been chosen for our meetings. His almost larger-than-life presence helps me feel comforted and protected as we walk toward the unknown.

He opens the door for me, allowing me to enter first. It’s almost a surprise to see the Elk Shack looking the same as it has every other time we’ve been here. It’s not like I expected the owner to deck the place out in candlelight and white tablecloths.

But I still thought it might look different somehow.

“Having second thoughts?” Burke whispers low in my ear.

A shiver runs down my spine. I shake my head. “I just wonder where we’re supposed to?—”

“Burke and Hadley?” a young woman with a bright smile and a cute pixie cut asks.

“I’m Hadley.” I nod.

“And I’m Burke.”

“You look just like the pictures you submitted.” She nods in approval and guides us to a corner table tucked in the back. It’s about as private as you can get in a place like this.

She ushers us both to sit down, and I glance around, waiting to see the first sign of my date.

“My name is Jessie, and I’m here on behalf of the Matchmaker to guide your date. But”—she arches an eyebrow—“I see the two of you have already met.”

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