ChapterOne
“Willyou please just go out with him?” Morgan pleaded around a bite of sandwich. She was sitting on her bed facing her best friend, Lacey, ragged from a long day of deliveringdates.
“Are you kidding me?” Lacey lifted the folder in front of her, the one that had her perfectly-tailored date in it—the wrong perfectly-tailored date. “We just established this is not supposed to be my match, and you still want me to go on a date with him? What is this kid, liketwelve?”
Morgan shook her head, her mouth still full of food. “He’seighteen.”
“Eighteen.” Lacey snorted. “He’s a baby compared to me. Not even old enough to drink. We could go on dates and he could be my designateddriver.”
“Stop being so dramatic,” Morgan argued. “Eighteen is old enough to go to war. It’s old enough to die for ourcountry.”
Lacey rolled her eyes. She hated when anyone tried to use that logic. While there was truth in the statement, it really didn’t change anything. “But he’s not dying for our country, is he? No, he’s safe and sound at a private college in centralFlorida.”
“Maybe he’s mature for his age.” Morgan tossed her empty sandwich bag across the room, narrowly missing thetrashcan.
Lacey lifted her brows. Morgan scrambled to pick up her trash. “Well, you interviewed him. You tell me, is he mature for his age? Does…” She looked down at the photograph of her not-match. She’d already forgottenhisname.
“Trevor Benson,” Morgansupplied.
“Thanks,” Lacey forced a smile, still irked about the mixed-up match. “Does Trevor Benson have an old soul? Is he my perfect match?” She clutched the photograph to her chest and sigheddramatically.
Morgan bit her lip as she wiped away some leftover crumbs from her bedspread. “Maybe not perfectmatch.”
“I didn’t think so,” Lacey sighed. “Morgan, you are my best friend, and I support you and your little business. I really do. But you’re asking a lot of me. All the guys I date suck and I don’t really want to end up withanotherflop.”
Morgan’s eyes looked off into the distance before she sat up straight, practically bouncing in her bed. “That’s it! All the guys you’re attracted to arejerks.”
“Or taken.” Lacey thought of the guy she’d been pining over back homeinIowa.
“Or taken.” Morgan nodded. “My point is, maybe Trevor is exactly whatyouneed.”
“But he was never supposed to bemydate.”
“I know that…” Morgan took a deep breath. “But I don’t know what I’m going to do. I honestly don’t even know how many dates I mixed up. The matches were good, but I must have mixed up photographs and contact info on some.” She looked at Lacey who was still firmly planted atop her bed. “What if I did that on all of them? If I accidentally skipped a picture as I was placing them into the files that would mean everyone was set up with the wrong person! And I have spent so much money trying to make this work, I’m absolutely terrified to think how badthisis.”
Lacey looked at her friend, unsure of where she was going with all of this. “Okay, but what does that have to do with me? WithTrevor?”
“I don’t know.” Morgan hopped off her bed and started pacing in the small dorm room. “I guess if I knew I had one good match, it might mean Declan had less ammunitionagainstme.”
“Declan again?” Lacey shook her head. “What is it withthatguy?”
Morgan stopped and looked directly at Lacey, her eyes wide. “He’s evil and he wants to destroymylife.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Lacey clarified. Morgan’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t speak. Lacey continued. “What I mean is, you are always talking about him. It’s like you’re obsessed or something. Ever since that night at the club when we all dancedtogether.”
“Oh, you mean the night Declan tricked me into thinking he was a decent guy? Yeah, I’m totally obsessed with him.” She rolledhereyes.
Lacey giggled. It was hilarious how blind her best friend was to the chemistry between her and the guy she claimed was thedevil.
Morgan was less amused. She huffed and took a few steps back and forth before looking at Lacey once more. “You know what? I can’t be here right now. You’re supposed to be my best friend. You’re supposed to have my back. You think this thing with Declan is some kind of joke. And when I ask for your help, you’re not willing to go on one date to help me fix myreputation.”
Morgan grabbed her card-key and opened the door totheirroom.
“Where are you going?” Lacey asked, looking down at the phone in her hand. “It’salmostten.”
“I don’t know.” Morgan’s shoulders sagged. “Maybe the campus library? It’s open for a couple more hours. I think I just need some time alone to think about what I’m goingtodo.”
Lacey knew better than to argue. And really, what would she say? She was irritated at Morgan and yet felt horrible for her at the same time. They needed some space from eachother.
