Page 8 of The Texan's Secrets

Maggie tied back her long hair and positioned a bar stool in the middle of the kitchen while Nico hunted down his beard kit.

A couple of hours later, all three of them stared into the mirror at “Nick.”

“You have a great chin,” Maggie said in awe.

“Strong,” Misha agreed. “Really square. I don’t remember it looking like that.”

Nico tilted his head sideways to take in another angle. “I was twenty-two when I grew the beard.”

“You look—” Misha paused.

“Rugged,” Maggie finished.

“Not like a computer nerd at all.”

Nico cracked a smile. “Computer nerd?” Although he supposed that’s exactly what he was.

“You looked soft and fuzzy with the beard, beanie and all that hair,” Misha said.

“Now you look angular,” Maggie added. “Hard-edged, like you mean business.”

“I’ve always meant business.” Nico stepped back, uncomfortable with their intense scrutiny, especially since he was standing there shirtless.

“Matching him’s not going to be a problem,” Maggie said as Nico dragged a T-shirt over his head.

“We’ll be fighting them off with sticks.”

“It’s an algorithm,” Nico pointed out with an eye roll. “And since we know who wrote it we have complete control of my matches.”

“Oh, no, we won’t,” Misha said with a shake of her head. “We’re going to let the system do its work and see what happens.”

“Next, he’ll need a profile,” Maggie said.

“I’m on it,” Misha answered. “Who knows Nick better than his loving sister?”

“I can write my own profile,” Nico said.

“You have more important things to do.”

Nico raised his brow.

“Go clothes shopping with Maggie. She has an excellent sense of style.”

His sister’s enthusiasm was starting to entertain Nico. “So, this Nick, he’s a style guy?”

“And how,” Maggie said. “He has excellent taste in clothes, and a very high credit card limit.”

“Women like that,” Misha added.

“We don’t care if they like me,” he pointed out. “I just need a few dates to gather data.” The last thing Nico needed was pressure to actually impress a woman. He hadn’t tried to do that in many, many years.

Two

Driving down the gravel ranch road in her compact sedan, Emilia promised herself she hadn’t cheated Paris. In fact, she’d matched her friend with a terrific guy. He was Chase McMillian of the McMillian Ranch. The family were long-time members of the Texas Cattleman’s Club, which was a huge credential in Royal.

Chase came from a ranching family, but he’d made his own fortune as an architect and builder. His profile was smart and funny—just like Paris’s. But it was the video clip that had sold Emilia. Chase came across as open and genuine. She saw intelligence and kindness behind his blue eyes. The two were out on their k!smet-sponsored date right now.

But for all that, as she pulled up to a huge ranch house with its sprawling front porch, Emilia couldn’t shake the feeling she’d scooped up the best guy for herself.

---