A Match for Meghan (Heartsong Presents)

by Kimberly Rose Johnson

  “Yeah, friends. Sure.” She rushed from the room.

  His stomach knotted—an extra long run would feel good. No one had ever warned him how difficult romantic relationships could be. For the past decade, Ben had been so focused on his career and family, he’d forgotten how complicated dating could become. Was he really ready to start looking for a potential wife?

  He closed the classroom door and stepped into the hallway. The idea of marrying made him want to turn and flee the building, but the point of dating was to get married. It was for him, anyway. He wasn’t interested in a casual relationship. Ultimately, he wanted to find the woman who God intended for him and marry her.

  Someone ran into him, and he stopped sharply.

  “Excuse me,” the person said and wove around him.

  He eyed the glass doors of the church—maybe going for that run and missing service this once would be a good idea.

  “Ben?”

  He turned. “Hi, Leah.” Her dishwater-blond hair hung to the middle of her back. A light gray pantsuit covered her petite form.

  “How’re you doing?” She rested her hand on his forearm.

  “I suppose you heard what we talked about in our Sunday school class.”

  “Uh, nope. It was a random question.” His longtime friend’s smile lit her face as she dropped her hand. “I was wondering if you have lunch plans for after church today.”

  He forced a smile. “As a matter of fact, I don’t.”

  “Great. I went on a cooking binge last night and made way too much food for only me. Would you care to go on a picnic? I have fried chicken, three bean salad, fruit salad and peach pie.”

  So much for skipping out early. He couldn’t turn down a home-cooked meal. Besides, Leah was a good friend and would help get his mind off Meghan and her matchmaking attempts. “Wow, count me in.”

  “Perfect!”

  They made plans to meet at her place and then go to a park together after church.

  * * *

  Meghan draped her sweater on the back of a wrought iron chair in front of her cousin’s favorite Sunday afternoon hangout. A few mismatched tables littered the lawn beside The Gingerbread House. She enjoyed spending one Sunday a month with Laura without Josh or the boys in tow. “How was your night away with your hubby? You never said.”

  Laura raised a brow. “Really? I thought for sure I’d given you all the details.”

  Meghan snickered as she settled into her chair. “You’re horrible. I watched your kids, and you didn’t even share a morsel with me.”

  Her cousin plopped a bite of gingerbread cookie into her mouth and chewed slowly, the whole time making a huge display of the process.

  “Horrible!”

  “You just said that.” Laura sighed, a dreamy look on her face. “It was a nice getaway. Josh had to work, but in the evening we went out for a candlelit meal.”

  “How romantic.” Meghan grinned. “You two are the most in-love couple I know. Well, aside from Dr. Harding and Keira.” Were it not for her cousin, she never would have thought to become a matchmaker because she never would have considered love something to be attained. Her own parents certainly hadn’t been passionate. In fact, she wasn’t sure her mother was capable of love. Not that she’d seen her in over two decades. The woman could be dead for all she knew.

  “What’cha thinking about?” Concern etched Laura’s eyes.

  “My mom.”

  Laura reached across the table and took her hand. “Don’t think about her. You deserve happiness, not bitter memories.”

  “It’s hard not to compare you and Josh to my parents. The two of you are everything they weren’t. You love your boys and each other unconditionally. My mom didn’t love anyone but herself.”

  Laura pulled her hand back and tsked. “I can’t comprehend a woman abandoning her child.”

  “Tell me about it.” Meghan still had nightmares of that terrible day when her mom had dropped her off at school and never come back. At least her mom had arranged for her aunt, Laura’s mom, to pick her up. But life hadn’t been the same after that. Her father had changed into a no-nonsense bully with the mouth of a sailor. He had been impossible to please.

  “I’m thankful you and your family were there for me. My dad sure wasn’t.”

  “I know.” Laura grasped her hand again. “You’re the sister I always wanted.”

  “You’ve never told me that.” She squeezed her cousin’s hand before releasing it. “Thank you.” The balm of Laura’s words soothed a wound too deep to fully heal. “You’re my favorite cousin.” She shot her a cheeky grin—time to lighten the mood. “Speaking of favorites. How’s your cookie?”

  “You mean how was it?” She brushed crumbs off the table. “Perfecto! Which reminds me. Why didn’t you tell me about your date with Ben? I had to hear about it from Pete and Keira when they came over for dinner last night.”

  “Dr. Harding knew?”

  “Well, they are business partners. I imagine the two communicate.”

  “I suppose.” Meghan wasn’t sure how she felt about her boss knowing her personal business. Sure, she’d gone to him for advice on a few things lately, but she’d done her best to keep her work life separate from her personal. Now the lines had been blurred. Maybe it was inevitable.

  “Your date?” Laura prompted.

  “Was great. Ben was very helpful. He patiently pointed out all my flaws, and I think we both enjoyed ourselves.”

  “What! The man called you out on your flaws? How rude.” Laura’s face reddened.

  Meghan chuckled. “Thanks for sticking up for me, but that was the purpose of our date.” She explained the dare and the reason Ben had asked her out—omitting the part about her being a one date wonder. She described how much fun she’d had, and how she’d regretted rejecting another date with him.

  “That’s it? No love connection?” Laura’s shoulders sagged. “I was really hoping. Ben is a friend of Josh’s, and he’s such a nice man. A little on the quiet side, but...”

  “I know. He’s nice.” She wanted to see Ben happy, but the idea of setting him up didn’t appeal to her as much as it had before.

  “Hmm.” Laura tilted her head, studying her.

  “What?”

  “That’s what I was trying to figure out. Something has you in deep thought. A certain veterinarian, perhaps?” Laura waggled her brows.

  Meghan chuckled. “Puh-leeze. I have better things to do with my time than daydream about Ben.”

  “Um-hmm. Whatever you say, dear cousin.”

  Meghan shot Laura a warning look. “New topic.”

  She made a mental note to remove Ben’s online profile. She’d intended to take care of it already, but something had always gotten in the way. The profile had been a bad idea. It hadn’t produced any suitable matches for him, and she didn’t want to run the risk of word getting back to him. She should’ve known better than to impersonate another person. First thing tomorrow, she’d close it down—she might as well give it one more day, just in case someone worthy of him responded today.

  * * *

  Ben sat across the picnic table from Leah and bit into the fried chicken. “This is great!”

  “Thanks. My mom is from the South. They know how to make fried chicken.”

  Ben grinned and took another bite. Sunshine filtered through the tall pine trees. Several people strolled nearby along the gravel path.

  Leah shivered and ran her hands up and down her arms.

  “Are you cold?”

  “A little.” She slipped a sweater over her shoulders. “The sun is deceiving. I expected it to be warmer.” She cleared her throat. “I have a confession.”

  That sounded ominous. He swallowed hard.

  “I asked you to lunch because I saw your
profile, and I was concerned. It’s so unlike you.”

  He set the chicken down. “You mean my website? Why would that cause you concern?” He racked his brain trying to figure out the hesitation written on Leah’s face. “Do you have a pet you’d like me to see?”

  “No. No pets. I’m uh, talking about your online dating profile.”

  “My what?” If he’d had food in his mouth, she’d be wearing it. “Come again?”

  Leah narrowed her eyes and leaned back. “Why are you acting surprised? There’s nothing to be ashamed about. Lots of people use online dating services.”

  “But I don’t.” How had this happened? Meghan must have set it up since she was the only one who cared about his love life—well, she and his mom, but his mother would never do that to him. It was one thing to admit privately he could use help finding a date, but it was an entirely different matter to be out in cyberspace for the world to see. Meghan had crossed the line in a big way. So much for a quiet afternoon.

  “Wait, you mean you didn’t put up a profile?”

  “I didn’t. But I have an idea who did.”

  “So you’re not looking for a girlfriend?”

  “I didn’t say that, but putting myself online was not my choice. I much prefer meeting women the old-fashioned way.”

  Leah chuckled. “Okay. I’m embarrassed, but from the look on your face, I’d say we are both equally embarrassed.”

  “You have that right, but what’s done is done.”

  “Would you like to see your profile?”

  “Please.”

  She pulled out her smartphone and handed it to him. His face heated—this was humiliating. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You said you had an idea who did this. Who is it?”

  He explained about Meghan.

  Leah covered her mouth, but a titter of giggles escaped. “You have your hands full, don’t you?”

  “You have no idea.” He handed the phone back to her and sighed. “What am I going to do?”

  “Delete it. Or rather, get Meghan to. I doubt you’d be able to take it down yourself.” She gathered the leftovers and placed everything in the cooler. “I have an appointment, so I should get going.”

  “Okay. Thanks for lunch and the heads-up about the profile.” He tossed their garbage, grabbed the cooler and walked with her to her car since she’d asked to drive.

  An hour later, he sat in front of the computer in his office staring at the screen. Meghan had made him sound like such a catch in his profile. His face burned. Did she really see him like that? He wasn’t as wonderful as she made him out to be. To say he was flattered didn’t seem strong enough.

  What should he do? He couldn’t leave this post up, but would asking Meghan to remove it hurt her feelings? Maybe simply explaining that he was uncomfortable with online matchmaking services would be best.

  Yes, that would definitely be the best option. His cell rang. “Ben speaking.”

  “It’s me, Leah. I had a little fun on the dating site on your behalf.”

  Ben stifled a groan. “What did you do?”

  “Look up Animal-Magnet and then Foxy-Girl.”

  He typed in the names. “Now what?”

  “I’m making you the administrator of these profiles and taking myself off. I’ve locked the accounts so only you and Meghan can see them. I didn’t want to cause you any more embarrassment.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t want anything to do with this, Leah.”

  “Relax. It’s all in good fun. You’re Animal-Magnet and Meghan is Foxy-Girl. You’ll need to finish the setup for her because I don’t have her email or the personal information I need, but this will give Meghan a taste of her own medicine.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Come on, it’ll be fun. Send her an email using the pseudonym. Just make sure your system doesn’t include your real name. Then after she replies, you can reveal your identity, or not. It’s up to you. I figured rather than chew her out, you might want to let her know you’re onto her game via this route. She’ll probably get a good laugh out of it and learn her lesson.”

  “Hmm.” He scratched his chin. “I hadn’t thought of dealing with this with humor.”

  “Hey, that’s what I’m here for. Don’t thank me, just have fun. See you around, Ben.”

  He tucked his cell phone into his pocket and stared at the screen. Was Leah right? Would Meghan appreciate the humor? She had said he was boring. Maybe this would be a good way to share his lighter side. Okay, he’d send one note, two at the most, to lead her on, then he’d reveal his identity and his knowledge about the profile she created for him.

  An hour later, he sat back in his seat and laced his fingers behind his head. It’d taken some time to finish their profiles, but the end product was perfect. As he’d navigated through the questions, Leah’s idea had grown on him. A taste of her own medicine would do Meghan good.

  He read through the profile one last time. “Foxy-Girl seeking male companion for possible relationship.” He wasn’t sure about the wording, but the name Leah had given Meghan put a smile on his face. Using the dating site’s email system, he sent Foxy-Girl a message from Animal-Magnet. A chuckle escaped his lips. He probably shouldn’t enjoy this so much. Too bad he wouldn’t be able to see her face when she read the note to Foxy-Girl.

  Chapter 11

  Meghan rushed into the clinic. “Sorry I’m late,” she said to Emma, who sat at the front counter. “My alarm clock died.”

  “Everything is under control. Dr. Harding’s first patient was a no-show, so you’re good.”

  Meghan tossed her bag under the counter. “Whew. Is he in his office?”

  “I think so.”

  Meghan flew down the hall and knocked on the doorjamb. He swiveled in his chair and raised a brow. “I know. I’m late. But in all fairness, it’s never happened before.”

  “True. Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Thanks for asking.” It touched her that his first concern was for her well-being. “Actually, my alarm is on the fritz and I overslept. Not a good way to start the week.”

  “Been there, done that. I’m glad that’s all it was.” He swiveled back to his desk.

  Meghan took that as her cue to leave, spun away and smacked into Ben in the hallway. “Oh! Sorry.” He placed his hands gently on her shoulders as if to stop her from coming closer.

  “No problem.” He dropped his arms to his sides. “How are you?”

  “Frazzled.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “Why?”

  “It’s one of those days. How about you?”

  “Fantastic.” He grinned like the cat that had caught the mouse. What was up with that? Not that Ben walked around sad all the time, but mischief hovered over him this morning. She stepped around him. “Have a good one.” There was no time to analyze what was going on there.

  She hadn’t fallen asleep last night until after midnight because she hadn’t been able to get Ben off her mind. All that talking with Laura had put him front and center in her thoughts, and now she couldn’t shut them out. One thing was certain, this hold he had on her needed to end. He was a client and the co-owner of the clinic where she worked—nothing more, nothing less.

  She swerved behind the front counter and plopped down beside Emma. “It’s quiet this morning. Where is everyone?” She still needed to close out Ben’s dating profile, so maybe now would be a good time.

  Emma shrugged. “You know how it is. We’re either too busy, or not busy enough. Personally, I welcome the quiet and time to get things caught up on the computer.”

  “Good point.” Meghan powered on hers. But instead of going to Ben’s profile, she opened her personal email account. She’d neglected to check her inbox at home, and since things were quiet at work...
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br />   She deleted advertisements, then paused at one from the online dating service she was using for Dr. Young. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one was paying attention, she then clicked on the email and caught her breath. It was to someone with the screen name Foxy-Girl from a person who called himself Animal-Magnet. Meghan stifled a giggle—some people.

  The names alone made her want to read the note. The man seemed like a nice person. She’d half expected the note to be lewd, but instead, he was a gentleman.

  Obviously, Foxy-Girl had entered the wrong email address. She probably had a similar account name to Meghan’s. Her fingers hovered over the keys. She should report the error, but this man intrigued her. Instead, she wrote a flirtatious response. It served Foxy-Girl right for not typing in the correct email. Though guilt knotted her stomach, she ignored it and finished her reply.

  The front door opened and a woman dragged in her German shepherd. Emma stood and greeted them. Meghan pressed Send then stared at the screen. What had she done? She’d gone temporarily insane! It was one thing to read someone’s misdirected email, but another matter to assume their identity. She rested her head in her hands and groaned. When would she wise up and listen to her conscience? Maybe it wasn’t too late to undo it.

  Dr. Harding called her name. Her fingers hovered over the keys, but there was no time to right her wrong. She pushed back and stood—time to get to work. The next eight hours flew, and by five o’clock, she was dragging. That’s what she got for staying up half the night. Guilt over the email had overwhelmed her about halfway through the day, but it was too late to do anything now. One thing she could do was delete Ben’s dating profile like she should’ve done this morning.

  She sat at the computer and noticed she had a couple of emails. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to deal with that first. She clicked on her inbox. Another message for Foxy-Girl. She should delete it and be done with Animal-Magnet, but a compulsion to read it had her finger clicking the mouse and opening the email.