Bring Your Heart (Golden Falls Fire Book 2)

by Scarlett Andrews

  The enthusiastic clapping that followed confirmed her belief that even without a matchmaking component, people wanted fun social things to do as a group that they didn’t have to plan themselves. Alaska winters could be long and lonely, and the entrepreneur in Hayley had realized there was money to be made by making them less so.

  “Show of hands. Who’s heard of Ultimate Frisbee?” About half the group raised their hands. “Trust me, it’s fun, and this coming Sunday, we’re going to meet at four p.m., right after the sun goes down, on the front lawn by the pond on the Alaska State campus. We’ll use this handy-dandy glow-in-the-dark Frisbee.” She held up a light-up Frisbee and got another cheer. “After a rousing game, I suggest you then take your date for coffee or a hot toddy at one of the campus-area hotspots or come downtown to the North Star Café for some of Rebecca Miller’s fantastic chocolate bread pudding.” She pointed out Rebecca, who was still working the door. She also waved to Cassie, just then arriving with a handsome, shaggy-haired man Hayley presumed to be her boyfriend, Cody Bradford. “Ladies, doesn’t this sound like a great first date?”

  There was a round of applause.

  “Better than the old let’s-watch-Netflix-and-chill, am I right?” Hayley asked, to more cheers from the women in the crowd. “Society is getting extremely casual, which is okay, but we don’t want men who are too casual in the relationship department.”

  “What kind of man do you want, Hayley March?”

  The lighthearted voice came from the firefighters’ table, and Hayley turned to it. Her eyes landed on Josh Barnes, but he shook his head to indicate it wasn’t him and pointed to one of the guys sitting next to him.

  Hayley didn’t usually talk about herself at singles events, feeling it was rude to her female clients, but Josh Barnes’s playful brown eyes indicated he hoped she’d answer, and his interest emboldened her. She did, however, keep it general so that the women in the audience could relate and agree.

  “I want a man’s man,” she said. “Someone who’s interesting. Someone who embraces life and has goals and cares about his job and life and the larger world around him.” Josh’s grin was wide, and he nodded in agreement with her criteria. She smiled at him. “But enough about me. Tonight’s about all of you.”

  She went on to explain how the event would work. She’d ask some icebreaker questions of the men, who’d then text their replies to her phone. Their answers would be projected onto the wall, scrolling across as they came in. Reading the answers was fun in itself, but after a certain number of questions, they’d take a meet-and-greet break, during which the men would stay seated and the women would move from table to table, trying to find the man who’d given answers they’d particularly liked. They were to write the names of two men to whom they’d ask additional questions in a one-on-one setting later in the night and give them to Hayley. Then the process would reverse.

  “Men, are you ready for the first question?” Hayley pointed out her phone number, which was displayed on the projection wall. “Okay, text me your answer. Given the choice of anyone in the world, alive or dead, whom would you want as a dinner guest? Feel free to tell us why.”

  Hayley had found a list of thirty-six questions circulating on the internet claiming if you exchanged answers with a potential partner, by the end of the list, you would have fallen in love. Whether true or not, she felt it was a useful device for her Singles Night.

  The answers from the men started to cross the screen. Jack London because he’s cool … Elvis, I’d ask him if he was really dead … God, because He’s God … Leonardo Da Vinci, to get his reaction to the modern world … My mom, because I miss her … Marilyn Monroe, because Marilyn Monroe! … Stephen Hawking … My guidance counselor who told me I’d never amount to anything … Charlize Theron—dinner plus slumber party! …

  Hayley enjoyed watching the crowd react to the answers. There was laughter and conversation, sideways looks and guessing who gave what answer. The firefighters were definitely enjoying themselves, which was good because Hayley still wanted to recruit them to be profiled for her “Bring Your Heart to Golden Falls” campaign.

  “Next question!” she announced, and the next fifteen minutes or so was spent enjoying the responses of the men. What would constitute a perfect day for you? If you could wake up tomorrow having gained one quality or ability, what would it be? For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

  When it was time for the women to circulate, Hayley encouraged them to speak with as many men as possible, seeing as the men outnumbered the women something like two-to-one. She encouraged the men to be their most charming selves and suggested if they needed help coming up with things to talk about, they should ask the women how they’d respond to the questions that had flashed on the projector wall.

  As she turned off the microphone she’d been using, a waitress brought over a drink.

  “A Lynchburg Lemonade, courtesy of that firefighter over there.”

  It was Josh. He of the ironic smile and intense eyes.

  “How did he know what I drink?”

  “He asked.”

  Hayley felt a heady buzz that had nothing to do with alcohol. Guys didn’t often buy her drinks, especially not guys as good-looking as Josh Barnes. He was across the room, standing near his table, unsurprisingly surrounded by women who wanted to get to know him, and he looked like he was having a blast being the center of attention. Still, when she raised her drink in a toast to signify her thanks, he raised his back.

  Hayley went to the bar and chatted with Elizabeth, who was busy pouring drinks. Soon, Cassie came over.

  “I’m sorry we got here late! Have you met the guys yet?”

  “I did,” Hayley said. “That Josh is super cute. He got me all tingly.”

  Cassie beamed. “Didn’t I tell you?”

  Hayley turned her head and watched him, surrounded by women. “It looks like he’s got a bunch of women all tingly.”

  “But he didn’t buy them all drinks, now, did he?”

  “True.” Hayley smiled a private smile as she sipped it.

  Cassie linked arms with her. “Come talk to him.”

  Hayley stalled. “He’s got a million girls at his table.”

  “But he’s only got eyes for you—look.”

  It was true. Hayley felt his eyes on her even as he spoke to the others. It was like he wanted to keep an eye on her. Not miss an opportunity. When they made eye contact, he smiled.

  “All right, let’s go,” she agreed.

  Hayley and Cassie went over, with a few stops along the way so Hayley could encourage Singles Nights participants to connect. A few had already made dates for the Ultimate Frisbee event.

  As they approached Josh, he excused himself from the gaggle of women surrounding him. The high-voltage smile he gave Hayley made her feel like he’d been saving it just for her.

  “You’re quite the popular fellow,” she said, trying to play it cool.

  “Not just me,” Josh said. “All the guys are having a good night.”

  It was true. The table of firefighters was by far the most popular table of eligible men. Cassie squeezed her arm goodbye and left to join Cody.

  Josh stepped closer to Hayley and ducked his head toward her to account for the noise in the bar. Hayley moved toward him, too, inhaling his wintery pine smell. It was like taking a hit of a potent aphrodisiac, sending a heated awareness throughout her entire body, along with something else … a yearning that she’d never felt before. She imagined tucking her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes, feeling his presence surround her. She imagined them alone, deep in the woods, in a tent or a cabin or an igloo with no one around. Who knew how much trouble they could get into?

  She had brief flashes of what that might be like … his hard body pressed against hers, his arms holding her close, his mouth all over her … and a warm shiver went through her. She hoped he didn’t notice, and made up her mind to get her head out of the gutter and back in the game.


  “So, Josh. Do you think any of your friends are going to pick up a woman tonight? Or at least go on my Sunday first date?”

  “Hmm.” His arm brushed hers as he turned to assess his friends, and Hayley nearly jumped from the spark of lust ignited from his mere touch. “We all work on Sunday, so none of us can go on your date. As far as who’s most likely to go home with someone, my money would be on Sean. He’s newly single, outgoing, and knows how to treat a lady. And he’s a hockey player. Women find it hard to resist an athlete.”

  “My guess is women find it hard to resist any of you.”

  His voice dropped lower. “Does that mean if I make a move on you, you won’t resist me?”

  Hayley felt herself blush. “Oh, ah, um. I wasn’t dropping a hint or anything, but I did want to thank you for the drink.” She held up her glass.

  “So, Hayley.” He watched her closely. “Given your choice of anyone in the world, whom would you choose as your dinner guest and why?”

  “Ha. I like how you said whom.”

  “I noticed you said whom, so I’m following your example. So whom would you pick?”

  You, she thought. A million times you.

  It felt too forward to say, though. Plus, a few of the women who’d been talking with Josh before were still nearby, giving her something akin to the evil eye. She supposed it was bad form to monopolize Josh’s attention when women had paid her money in good faith that she wouldn’t keep the best one for herself.

  “I’d have to give it some thought,” she said. “So, listen, I need to kick off the next part of the night. Thanks again for the drink.”

  He took gentle hold of her arm as she turned to go. “Want to hang out sometime?”

  She looked at the nearby women and the daggers in their eyes. And then up at Josh, whose lips she’d very much like to pull to her own.

  “Hang out?” She could hardly move her gaze from his lips to his gorgeous honey eyes.

  “Yeah, you know. Go out sometime.” He stroked the sleeve of her sweater a few times. “Your sweater’s so soft. I’ve been wanting to touch it all night.”

  “Okay …” she said and laughed. “You weirdo.”

  It looked like he blushed a little, but was hard to tell in the dim lighting.

  “I might go to dinner with you,” she said. “If that’s what you’re asking.”

  He broke into a broad smile. “Dinner’s great!” He hesitated. “But I should tell you I’m not looking for anything long-term.”

  “Oh, right. Cassie mentioned that.” Hayley’s hopes were dashed before they’d even had a chance to fully form. She straightened to her full height, determined to get out of the situation with her dignity intact. “I’m sure plenty of women here would be thrilled to spend a night with you, but I’m not looking for just one night. I’m looking for forever. So thanks, but I’ll pass.”

  With that, she walked away.

  5

  It turned out Cassie Holt had connections beyond the hunky firefighters of Golden Falls. On Friday morning, when Hayley settled at her desk and checked her email, she found a message from Devotion.com, one of the most popular dating websites in the country. Hayley had seen their ads on TV and the internet, and the company had an emphasis on not just dating, but “forever” relationships. The kind Hayley believed in.

  The email was from a Devotion.com executive.

  Dear Ms. March,

  I was sent a copy of the recent local feature on your matchmaking business and your “Bring Your Heart to Golden Falls” campaign by Cassie Holt, who’s an old friend of mine from high school. Are you available today for a phone call? I’d like to discuss a possible partnership with Devotion.com.

  Allison Reiss

  Vice President of Business Development

  Devotion.com

  Hayley stared at her screen. Slowly, a huge grin spread across her face. This was it. This could be her big break to get the matchmaking business off the ground. She wrote a quick response that yes, she was available all day, and yes, she was interested.

  Less than an hour later, she was on the phone with Allison Reiss. The company was looking to expand their business model to include regional and local matchmaking services with a more personalized touch, and with a corresponding increase in members’ subscription level. “For the ones who are really serious about finding love,” Allison explained. Hayley March Matchmaking was exactly the kind of client-focused business they were looking for as a partner, and they loved the Alaska angle.

  “So basically,” Allison said, “you would be an independent service that contracts with us. We can offer you publicity, nationwide resources and advertising, and a percentage of the membership fees from clients who want this level of service in your area. In exchange, your ‘Bring Your Heart’ campaign will be our pilot program for this local, event-based segment of our overall business. In the age of social media and too much online choice, we’re finding that a lot of our members want a more personal, and in-person, connection with other singles. It’s authenticity when so much of online dating is misrepresentation.”

  “It really is,” Hayley said, almost too excited to speak. “That’s a huge reason why I started my business. I love to see people connecting with each other in an authentic way. And here in Alaska, the demographic imbalance is a real issue—online dating just doesn’t bridge that gap. We need female boots on the ground here, so to speak!”

  “I understand your own website is launching in a couple weeks?”

  “That’s the plan. I’m doing profiles of some of the most attractive single men in Golden Falls, and the website will launch just after Thanksgiving.”

  “Part of our contract with you would mean nestling your website under the larger Devotion.com umbrella,” Allison said. “Would you be okay with that?”

  Hayley imagined the slow going of building followers on her own independent website. Then she imagined it as a prominent option on the massive, popular Devotion.com site. It was a no-brainer. “I’d be okay with that.”

  “Good. And speaking of profiles, you would be the face of the Devotion.com expansion, so we want to do a profile on you, too. The interview with Cassie was great—you’re definitely photogenic!”

  Hayley was grateful that Allison couldn’t see her furious blush. “Thank you.”

  “You, Hayley March, will be the perfect proof of concept. We’ll do a profile on you and your significant other—boyfriend? Fiancé? Husband? Anyway, with you and your happy relationship, plus your hand-picked singles profiles, I’m betting the women will want to be you, and want to meet your Alaska men!”

  “Er …” Hayley choked. But I don’t have a significant other! “I don’t know, maybe it’s better to just focus on the singles. I mean, I’m not that interesting!” She tried to keep it light so that Allison didn’t suspect she was that old cliché, an unmatched matchmaker.

  “Nonsense. It’s important that potential clients see not only who’s available, but what kind of beautiful relationship they could have. Which is yours!”

  Hayley remembered that Cassie had cut the question about her own love life, a favor that, as it turned out, had resulted in this misunderstanding. Crap, she thought.

  But she couldn’t turn down the biggest business opportunity she’d ever had. This would launch her career as a matchmaker.

  “What kind of timeline are you thinking?” she asked Allison.

  “We’re looking at two months out. Sometime in January to launch everything, just in time for New Year’s Resolution-ers and, of course, Valentine’s Day.”

  Two months to get a boyfriend. Could it be done? Definitely, but Hayley was going to need some serious help.

  “Allison, that sounds great,” Hayley said. “I’d be honored to work with you.”

  They hung up with an agreement to follow up with a videoconference to go over the detailed contract on Monday. Hayley looked at her phone, allowed herself a tiny squeak of terrified excitement, and then called Claire to tell her the news.


  “Um, no,” Hayley said on Saturday night when her date asked if she wanted to go to a strip club.

  Michael Driessner wasn’t a date in the regular sense of the word, thank goodness. As part of her matchmaking business, she offered a service called The Blind Spot Boogie, whereby men hired her as a dating coach to analyze the impression they made on early dates and help them see how they might be getting in their own way when it came to finding love. Just thirty minutes into her date with Michael, Hayley was pretty sure his entire life was one big blind spot.

  “Why on earth do you think I’d want to go to a strip club on a first date, Michael?”

  “You wouldn’t be going for the boobs,” he said. “You’d be going for the beef. The Dancing Bare has the best steak in town, and you said you liked steak. See, I was listening.”

  “Points for being a good listener, Michael, but it’s inappropriate to suggest a strip club on a first date. Has it ever gone over well?”

  Michael was Cassie’s co-anchor at KFLS. Cassie had given Hayley’s contact information to Michael and told her to expect a call soon, because he was in desperate need of help. Cassie wasn’t kidding.

  Admittedly, Michael was a decent-looking guy. At forty-four, he had no middle-aged paunch, and while his hairline was receding, it didn’t mar his looks. He was unnaturally tan for November, meaning he fake-tanned, which was kind of a turn-off because it indicated self-absorption, but that could be explained by the fact he was on TV five nights a week. And he couldn’t help it if his facial features were the tiniest bit smushed together. Other than the vague douchebag vibe he gave off, there wasn’t a deal-breaking thing wrong with him, physically.

  Personality-wise was another story completely. They’d met for their faux date in the piano bar at the Pioneer Hotel for drinks before dinner. Selected by Michael, Hayley felt it was a good choice because of its classy, old-school elegance, but he’d then spent the entire time looking not quite at her but over her shoulder. It was disconcerting at first and then eye-rollingly ridiculous when she realized he was admiring himself in the wall-length mirror behind her.