Prologue
Ava’s
Perfect Match Dating Profile…
A
Jaded Minnesota Girl - 31
I’ve
had my heart broken in the past so I find it difficult to believe in the power
of love.
I
dare you to prove me wrong.
It
would require someone who is honest and genuine, a man who would accept me for
who I am and bring out the person I was before my heart was stomped upon—a crazy,
fun-loving girl with an adventurous heart. If you really exist, you’re one in a
million.
And
you just might be the one for me.
Chapter One
May 20th - West Palm Beach, Florida
The Perfect Gift
Ava Godfrey sat in the plush seat
of her rental car at the Silver Dolphin Restaurant, yawning loudly. She’d come
all the way from Minneapolis to attend her best friend’s baby shower and the
last thing she needed was to be so tired she couldn’t enjoy the party. She’d
planned to catch a much-needed nap during her flight from Minneapolis ,
but the plane had hit turbulence en route to the Palm Beach
Darn,
she thought as she flipped down her visor and forced her gaze to focus on the
woman staring back at her. The best
makeup in the world isn’t going to conceal my state of mind.
The mirror never lied. Her eyes,
underscored with dark circles contrasting against her pale skin showed fatigue,
but also revealed a sad, faraway look she hadn’t been able to shake since her
divorce. Though she’d taken positive steps to move on, the mess she’d made of
her life by marrying the wrong man still overshadowed the fun-loving girl she
used to be. Mistakes were easy to make. Starting over was not.
“Straighten up, honey,” she said
aloud as she searched her purse for a breath mint. “This is not the time to get
sidetracked over what’s wrong with your
life. You have to show up with a smile on your face and a spring in your step
so everyone thinks you’re doing great.”
Her phone rang. With a sigh, she
picked it off the seat and swiped the screen. The ID displayed Lisa Kaye-Wells. “Hi, Lisa,” she said in
a rush. “Don’t worry, I’m coming—”
“Ava, where are you?” Music, chatter and laughter echoed in the background. “You’re
supposed to be here by now.” Though their lives had changed since their days of
rooming together at college, their differences hadn’t. Lisa still proved to be the
punctual one. Ava was still always rushing in at the last minute.
“I’m in the parking lot. See you in
five minutes. Bye.” She touched up her peach lipstick and shut off the car.
Grabbing her purse, her phone and her baby gift, Ava braced herself against the
drizzling Florida
She arrived at the front door at
the same time as a well-dressed couple in their mid-forties. The man, tall and
slim with graying dark hair, stood aside and opened the door for her. “Thank
you,” she said as she entered the two-story building made of steel and glass overlooking
the Atlantic Ocean . She hurried past the gift
shop to the host stand and approached a young woman with burgundy hair standing
behind a black podium arranging a stack of menus. “Hello, I’m looking for the
Wells reception.”
The woman pointed toward the
stairs. “It’s in the upper level.”
“Thank you.” Squaring her
shoulders, she trudged up the wide, open stairway to a large room with
floor-to-ceiling windows facing the ocean. Round tables covered with white
linen cloths and adorned with small vases of fresh pink, white and yellow flowers
were scattered about the room. A buffet filled with assorted hot and cold appetizers,
fruit, punch and desserts stretched the length of an entire wall. Lisa stood
near the gift table, wearing a floor-length, yellow dress with an empire waist.
Her long dark hair hung down her back in soft, spiral curls.
“Ava,” she cried as she held out
her arms for a hug, “I’m so glad you’re here. We haven’t seen each other in
ages!”
The last year had gone by fast. Ava
placed her gift on the table, vowing to herself not to let another year go by
before they saw each other again.
They exchanged hugs. “How are you? You
look terrific,” Ava exclaimed as they pulled apart. “Motherhood really agrees
with you.”
“How have you been?” Lisa asked, turning the focus back on her. “Shawn and I
have talked about flying up to Minnesota
Lisa grew up in West Palm Beach,
but she and Shawn presently owned and operated a historic hotel on Enchanted
Island, a small island about fifty miles off the southern tip of Florida. The
couple had met there several years earlier, when Lisa worked in her Aunt
Elsie’s B&B and Shawn managed his family’s hotel, The Amaryllis on Azure Bay East Caribbean . Since then, Lisa and Shawn had married
and were starting their family.
“I’m doing fine,” Ava said with a
smile.
“Are you sure?” Lisa’s brows
furrowed. “I can’t help worrying about you. This past year has been so
difficult—”
“Hey, you have enough to worry
about right here,” Ava said as she patted Lisa’s rounded tummy. “I can’t wait
to see your little mini-me when she makes her debut into the world!”
The couple that had followed Ava
into the building came up to them, greeting Lisa and diverting her attention
away from Ava. Seeing her chance to escape the interrogation over her
well-being, Ava glanced around the room, looking for the bar. She had decided to
get a glass of Cabernet and find somewhere to sit down, but her plans stalled
when Lisa grabbed her by the arm instead and introduced her to Ian and Belinda
Wells, Shawn’s brother and sister-in-law.
“I’m going to have a couple of
those deep-fried wonton from the buffet and a glass of wine,” Ava said as more
people arrived and crowded around Lisa.
“You rat,” Lisa whispered with an
envious smile. “I haven’t had any booze or junk food for six months. Have a
glass for me, too.”
“I will!” Ava laughed. “Don’t
worry, it won’t be long before you’ll be thin again and able to eat what you
want.”
Many of Lisa’s friends from her
book club were there. Ava stood in line at the bar with one of the women.
“You’re Tara, right?” She smiled at the pretty brunette as she waited for the
bartender to pour her a glass of red wine. “I remember you from Lisa’s
wedding.”
“I remember you, too,” Tara replied. “You’re Ava—Lisa’s college friend from Minnesota
“All right,” Ava said, curious
about the women Lisa had befriended on line. After they received their drinks,
she accompanied Tara to the table and Tara introduced
her to the group, naming them from left to right—Amy, Clair, Meg, Jenny and
Hope.
For the next hour, she sat and
sipped her wine while listening to amusing stories about the books they’d read
and their retreat on Enchanted
Island Enchanted Island
“Oh, my gosh, Ava. This is the
perfect gift! Thank you!”
Lisa stood at the gift table
pulling out the contents of a large, handmade diaper bag filled with a girl’s
layette. She waved for Ava to join her. “Where did you find such precious
little outfits?”
“My Aunt Ruth made them and the
bag, too. Did you see the newborn diapers?”
“Oh, look at this,” Lisa said as
she pulled out a box filled with several pairs of miniature fleece slipper-socks
and a white, crocheted baptism set. There were Onesies, sleepers, receiving
blankets, bibs and changing pads. At the bottom of the bag, Lisa found two
dozen tiny diapers made with soft flannel in pastel colors. A chorus of oohs
and ahhs came from women in the room as Lisa held up each different item. She
carefully packed all of the pieces back into the bag and set it aside.
“Now,” she said to Ava, “I have
something for you.” Lifting the pink tablecloth, she reached under the table
and pulled out an envelope from her purse. “Here,” she said as she straightened
and offered it to Ava. “This is something special just for you.”
“For me?” Ava gingerly accepted the
white square envelope. “What is it?”
Lisa’s eyes widened. “Well, open it
and you’ll find out!”
Inside, Ava discovered an
invitation. She pulled out the embossed card, speechless as she read the words.
You’re cordially invited to spend an
all-expenses-paid, week-long trip to the island of your choice, courtesy of
Perfect Match Online Dating and Travel Agency.
“What is this?” Ava laughed,
thinking it was a joke of some kind that Lisa had received and wanted to show
her. “A clever new way to hook people into a timeshare presentation?”
“No, it’s nothing like that! Look
at it again.”
Ava scanned the invitation a second
time. Was it real, after all? “Wh-why me? Why are you offering this to me
instead of one of your book club friends?” She tried to give it back, but Lisa refused
and pushed her hand away.
“Don’t you see, this is just what
you need—seven days on a beautiful island with nothing to do but kick back and enjoy
yourself!”
Ava frowned. “What would I do on a
tropical island by myself?”
“You’re not going to be alone.”
Lisa laughed, sounding as though she thought Ava was kidding again. “The agency
will select the perfect match for you.”
The
wha—what?
“I hope you didn’t pay a lot of
money for this,” Ava said as she smacked the invitation on the table, “because
you’re not setting me up with a total stranger for a solid week. What, are you
crazy? Allowing an agency to select my perfect
match is the most ridiculous, hair-brained scheme I’ve ever heard of. I
mean, that stuff is for adventurous twenty-year-olds with romantic dreams. It’s
not practical for a thirty-one-year-old-woman who has already been married
once. The last thing I need is to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a
blind date for seven days.” She watched Lisa’s smile fade and instantly
regretted her hasty refusal. “I’m sorry. I know you mean well, Lisa, but this
is definitely not my style.” She pointed toward the table of Lisa’s friends.
The women were watching them intently, causing her to wonder if they were
secretly in on this, too. “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you give it to one of
them?”
Lisa shook her head. “They already
have invitations of their own. Amy’s fiancé, Dawson Yates, owns the agency and
he gave each member of the book club a complimentary invitation to pass along
to the person of her choice.”
Oops...
Ava’s cheeks flamed with embarrassment. Amy had heard every word she’d said.
Lisa picked up the invitation and put
it back into Ava’s hand. “My choice is you.”
“But...but, I’m not ready to start
dating yet.”
Lisa smiled patiently. “Take it
from me, Ava. No one ever is after a bad break up. You need to take
a chance, step outside your comfort zone and meet someone new.”
Stunned by her best friend’s
obstinacy, Ava didn’t know what else to say. She resorted to glaring at Lisa instead
when suddenly all of the women in the book club stood up and walked over to
them. Amy Sheridan, the one with curly, dark brown hair and green eyes, stepped
forward.
“I understand your apprehension,”
Amy said in a soft tone, “but my fiancé’s agency is top-notch and that means he’s
careful about the matches he coordinates. Once you establish a profile online,
a Perfect Match Specialist will match you with someone who shares common interests
with you.” Her eyes twinkled as she placed her hand on Ava’s arm. “If you
accept the invitation, you only have one obligation to Perfect Match. You must
stay the entire week. That’s it. Just have a fun-filled vacation with your
match, taking in the sun and enjoying the beauty of your destination. I can
assure you with full confidence that your satisfaction is Dawson
“What’s the catch?” Ava folded her
arms. “What does your fiancé want in return for giving me this free offer?”
Amy’s expression changed from soft
to serious. “You’ll be given a survey at the end of your week to grade your
satisfaction on how well the agency handled setting up your trip—and your match.
I have no doubt that you’ll be very happy with all of the arrangements.”
“Other than the seven-day
stipulation and the survey, there are no strings attached?”
Amy shook her head. “None.”
Lisa’s soft jade eyes took on a
pleading look. “Come on, Ava, accept the invitation. You’ve been through so
much this past year. You deserve a break. Do this for yourself, okay?”
“I’ve never been out of the
continental U.S.
Lisa held up her palms. “Well,
that’s a no-brainer. Isn’t it?”
“Enchanted Island !”
Lisa’s friends responded in a chorus then they burst out laughing.
Lisa laughed so hard she contracted
a pain in her side and had to lean with one palm on the table. “This is
perfect,” she said, clutching her side. “I’m due at the end of September. Book
your trip for the last week and be with me when the baby is born!”
The chance to be present when Lisa had
her baby sounded tempting, but...
Maybe
a vacation some place far away from my problems in Minnesota
But...finding her perfect match in
a computer database through an online dating system? The thought made her
almost laugh out loud.
~*~*~*~
Introduction
You’re cordially invited to spend
an all-expenses-paid week-long trip to the island of your choice, courtesy of
Perfect Match Online Dating and Travel Agency.
Grab your
beach umbrella and prepare for six weeks of romance and fun in the sun with a
brand-new series brought to you by USA
Today bestselling authors…
Perfect
Match!
Six
exciting, sweet novellas linked by a unifying theme. You’ll want to read each
one!
Six women
receive invitations from Dawson Yates, owner of Perfect Match, a brand-new
online matchmaking travel agency for a free week-long vacation to the island of
her choice. As part of an extensive promotional campaign, Dawson expects to
make six perfect matches that he can use to champion his business. The women
expect to meet the men of their dreams. What none of them anticipates is the
chaos that ensues when six couples who were strangers before agreeing to spend
the week together discover that love is a lot more complicated than a match
made by computer algorithms. Join Bree,
Marni, Molly, Jade, Ava, and Maeve as they embark on a once-in-a-lifetime
vacation in the pursuit of love.
Meet
the women of Perfect Match!
BREE (Raine
English)
MARNI
(Aileen Fish)
MOLLY (Julie
Jarnagin)
JADE
(Rachelle Ayala)
AVA (Denise
Devine)
MAEVE (Josie
Riviera)
You can find all six of the Perfect Match stories below:
