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Kate bobbed her head up and down in a frantic nod. Her power of speech disappeared, and fire licked her veins. She reached for her water, took a large swallow, and managed to gather her composure. "Yes, thank you."
"You're welcome."
She pretended to look for something in her file, since her voice threatened to be wobbly. After a few moments, Kate dove back in. "Let's talk past relationships. Have you ever been married?"
"Yes."
She paused and ventured a glance under her lashes. His previous amusement vanished, and a wall slammed down between them. Ah, she'd hit pay dirt. "Divorced?"
"Yep."
"What happened?"
"We broke up."
"Care to tell me why?"
She waited him out. This was a turning point, because information on his past helped her plan his future. "I plead the Fifth."
His wife had hurt him. Ex-wife. The knowledge softened her heart and beckoned for her to reach out and touch him. She'd avoided any skin-on-skin contact, afraid the attraction would be more difficult to fight, but his comment made her curl her fingers into tight fists to keep from closing the distance. Kate gentled her voice. "Slade, I don't mean to pry and upset you. Our past makes up who we are and what we want. It would help if I knew what happened so that I can avoid setting you up with someone who can hurt you again. Not that there are guarantees, of course."
He tapped his finger against his chin and studied her with brooding eyes. "How about we play truth for truth? Why aren't you happily married? Unless you are and you like hearing other people's horror stories to get your kicks and excitement?"
The familiar pain sprang up, but she pushed it back down with an expert ease that should have scared her. "No, I'm not married."
"Kinnections not working for you?"
She lifted her chin. "The truth is, no man has ever wanted me enough to propose."
The silence pulsed and hummed. She'd learned early that fair was fair. If she asked her clients to trust her with their backgrounds, she owed it to them to do the same. He cleared his throat and spoke with no emotion. "She cheated on me. But it was my fault. I was too involved in law school and ignored her for too long. Classic formula for the classic divorcee."
Kate wanted more but knew how much the words cost him. God, how that must have affected him. He was obviously a strong man, and once trust was shattered, it took years to rebuild confidence in love. His profession was pretty deadly to any optimism regarding relationships. "Thank you. Makes sense loyalty and trust would be among your number one requirements. That will help me." She lightened the topic, switching back to easy territory. "Give me your celebrity crush."
"Huh?"
She smiled. "If you got to pick the celebrity female you want to sleep with, who would it be?"
"Angelina Jolie."
The name slipped out so fast from his lips he looked surprised. Kate laughed and made the note. "Nice choice. But I must say a bit cliche. Do you know how many times men and women rattled off her name?"
"Now I'm embarrassed. Change it to Zooey Deschanel."
"Ah, better. So definitely brunettes with curves. Too bad my friend's sister is happily married. She always reminded me of Zooey."
"Do I have a chance at stealing her?"
"Nah, Alexa is madly in love with her husband. But at least I've got an idea of your holy grail."
"Get me Zooey and I'll take out a full-page ad in the Times for Kinnections."
She laughed again. "I'll work on it. I see you don't list many hobbies. What do you like to do outside of work?"
"I work most of the time. I run every day. Golf. Boring stuff."
"Would you be open to an adventurous type of woman? Someone who skydives, likes sports, scuba diving, that sort of thing?"
Another shrug. "Sure. As long as she doesn't think I'm jumping out of a plane for her. Screaming may take away my manhood."
"Duly noted. Religion? Nationality?"
"Open. Oh, no virgins."
Her pen paused. "Under any circumstances?"
"Absolutely not. I can't take the pressure of no sex before marriage, and a woman who hasn't had experience may have a false attachment to me just because I'm her first."
Kate's finger shook around the pen. "Got it. Now, just so I have a good background of your beliefs, what is your viewpoint on love? You enrolled with Kinnections to try to find a life partner or a woman you can forge a solid long-term relationship with. I'll ask you again: are you completely committed and open to finding this?"
"I'm open. I just don't think it exists."
Fascinated, she leaned in. "Why?"
He uncrossed his legs, stretched his feet out, and settled comfortingly back in the chair. "One word. Oxytocin."
Kate blinked. "What's that?"
"Simple science. The body excretes a chemical hormone at certain moments that emphasizes the need for closeness and comfort. This lowers fear and instills a calmness we believe and translate to feelings of love. The main time oxytocin is released is after sex. That's why many times lust will get us into bed, good conversation will give us hope, and oxytocin will cement such feelings as love."
Her eyes widened. Pride and certainty carved out the lines of his face. Holy shit, he believed it! Caught between laughing and crying, she studied his muscled length in all his glory and realized that Slade Montgomery was going to be her hardest client as of yet. The challenge sung in her blood. Matching and finding him love would be her greatest satisfaction. A test of her skills. If she did her job correctly, he wouldn't know how to even say the word oxytocin at the end of their time together.
"An interesting theory."
"One you obviously don't agree with."
"That doesn't matter. You believe it, so, therefore, it's my truth. Thank you for being honest with me."
Slade peered over his gold glasses in pure suspicion. "You're not going to try to convince me otherwise?"
She smiled. "No. But now I know what needs to happen so you're sure it's not a chemical hormone. You need to fall in love before sex."
"What?"
"Yes. I'll be setting up an event where you can meet some women. It will be small, extremely tasteful, and discreet. You'll be able to meet and mingle, and then choose one for your main date. It's a good introduction and doesn't waste any of your time. But there will be one rule you need to follow if I have any chance of success. No sex."
His brows slammed together. "You better be joking."
Kate tapped her pen in a steady rhythm and met his gaze head-on. "No, Slade, I'm not joking. No sex. You're caught up in the lust-hormone cycle, and until we break through, you'll never be open to admitting real feelings. You need to agree to this."
"Sex is a way we can find out if we're both compatible. This isn't Victorian England, for God's sake!"
She sighed. "I'm not saying no sex ever. You just need to set an initial time period where you don't engage in physical intimacy. Let's say, no sex until you're ready to begin seriously dating. Monogamy. Trust me, if you're not interested enough to want to have dinner with her for a few weeks, you won't be able to forge a lasting relationship with her. Sex sometimes confuses things, as you've just pointed out. Take it out of the equation, and we balance the playing field."
He pushed a hand through his hair. "I don't like this."
"I understand. But I'm asking you to trust me. I know my job, and I know how to get you what you need. Will you give this a shot?"
"Fine. But if I don't think it's worthwhile and helping me, I'm yanking that rule. Got it?"
Kate grinned. "Fair enough. I'll set up your mixer for next Friday night. Seven. I'd like to hold it here in Verily, if that's acceptable."
"Sure, I can check in on my sister. How is she?"
"I can't discuss her status with you. Just as I won't tell her about you."
He cocked his head. "Fine. I see you ask your clients to give you a full year to make a long-term match. Isn't that a bit long to keep collecting the fee?"
His mild-mannered tone contradicted the judgment in his eyes. Kate reached deep for calm, refusing to lose her center. This man knew how to goad and press buttons she never knew existed. Her smile oozed sugar and syrup. "Funny, I think the exact opposite. An agency that guarantees results in three months for $19.99 would make me quite suspicious. The journey should be fruitful, rich, and full of adventure. What's a year compared to love for a lifetime?"
He snorted. "What indeed? Just a cache of new clients for me after it blows up."
