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  The quiet of her summer morning ended when Marni Kane’s phone rang. The caller ID showed her best friend Hope Bowman’s phone number, which made Marni smile. Hope could never call too much. “Hey,” she said after picking up the call. “What’s up? You’re up early for a Saturday. I’m still sipping tea and it’s two hours later here in Missouri.”

  “I married a rancher, remember? Cows don’t sleep in.” Hope’s voice was filled with joy as always, just like a newlywed’s should be.

  Marni was surprised the thought didn’t make her heart twinge. Shouldn’t she be envious of her friends’ happiness? Yet, she wasn’t. “What’s on your schedule today? Gathering eggs? Slopping pigs?”

  “Already done.” Hope burst into laughter and Marni joined her.

  Taking the phone with her into the kitchen, Marni topped off her glass of iced tea, then wandered to her favorite chair in the living room. Their calls could go on for hours if neither of them had anything pressing to do.

  “Do you remember my friend Amy?” Hope asked.

  “From the book club? Yes.”

  “She and her fiancé, Dawson, have started a new travel agency and they’re giving away a week’s vacation to the island of your choice.”

  “And you entered? That would be awesome if you win. Where would you go?”

  “No, I didn’t enter. And I couldn’t go if I wanted to. The agency is called Perfect Match—it’s a travel agency and matchmaking service all in one.”

  Warning bells sounded in Marni’s head. “Tell me you didn’t. That’s not why you’re calling…”

  “They need members to match in order to, well, match. They asked the members of our book club to each give an invitation to one friend, so of course I picked you.” Hope paused as if she expected Marni to begin her rant.

  Marni gritted her teeth and did her best not to do just that. “You know I gave up on dating services when I realized I was checking to see what movies were on cable the night the guy wanted to go out, to decide which I’d rather do. I’m not lonely, not unhappy.”

  “It’s a week on a tropical island, Marni.”

  “With a bunch of single guys who couldn’t get a date that week, either.” Realizing that made her sound like a loser, she rolled her eyes. Why did friends always think they knew what was best for others? Sure, Hope and Chase had an amazing love for each other, but that kind of special connection was rare.

  “How do you know they aren’t just like you—unwilling to settle for less than true love? You’ll have a whole week to know him. You get a whole week on an island. I know Dawson and Amy and you can trust them. The guys and gals will be screened so it’s not a random meetup.”

  “I’m not turning cartwheels over this.” Marni sighed and took a sip of her tea.

  “Maybe one jump for joy? Free trip. F.R.E.E.”

  Sighing again, this time loud enough to be sure Hope heard, Marni asked, “What does Chase think of this?”

  “He’s a guy, what does he know?”

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Chase interrupted from near Hope’s phone. “Don’t drag me into this.”

  Hope began to laugh as if she was wrestling with Chase. “He thinks it’s a great idea. In fact, he even suggested—”

  “I didn’t suggest a thing, Marni. I’m not getting into this discussion—” His voice grew muffled and she heard quick kisses through the phone.

  “See, he’s all for it,” Hope added after a minute.

  Marni had to laugh. “I assume this place is online? I’m not agreeing to anything but checking it out.”

  “Cool! I’m texting you the link right now.”

  Her phone dinged when the text arrived, and Marni put the phone on speaker before clicking the link. The site opened to a beautiful beach of white sand, cool blue waves and a tropical hut off to one side. A young, tan couple sat side-by-side in beach chairs holding colorful drinks with pineapple wedges on the rims of the glasses.

  Perfect Match.

  She scrolled down the page looking for links. The faces she saw were obviously models. “Okay, so where are the guys? These men are too perfect to be single.”

  “Do you hear yourself? You’re single, too, remember.” A moment later, Hope added, “I see what you mean. I think I’ve seen that blond guy in a toothpaste ad. Well, you probably have to sign in before you see the real members.”

  “Nice, so I create a log-in ID, give them my email address and who knows what else, and then I get a ton of spam emails whether I join or not.”

  “I told you, Amy and Dawson are friends of mine. They aren’t spammers.”

  “Why is this so important to you, Hope? Why do I have to join?”

  “Have to?” Hope sounded hurt. “You don’t have to if you really don’t want to. I thought you might enjoy a free vacation. Free vacation,” she repeated.

  “Yeah, I think you mentioned that somewhere along the way. Okay, I’ll look into it more, but don’t be hurt if I don’t join, okay? I’m happy being single.”

  “I know. And you can be even happier being single on the tropical island of your choice.”

  “Enough! Let me get on my laptop. Go kiss your husband or whatever it is you do to make him give you your way.”

  “Brownies,” Hope replied. “They’re almost ready to come out of the oven. Let me know what you decide.”

  “I will. Tell Jayden his Auntie Marni loves him and misses him. Bye.”

  ****

  Tuning out the lovebirds on the couch across the room, Matt Frost searched for the website he heard Hope talking about on the phone. Perfect Match. It was too good to be true, but it promised to introduce him to the perfect woman for him. Of course, that assumed his perfect someone signed up at the right time, but sometimes you have to bypass logic and pretend it could work out.

  He didn’t need help finding a date. While White Oak didn’t have a lot of single people, and he’d grown up with most of them, he could head down the mountain on a Saturday night and meet women. A few of those friendships had lasted a while, but they hadn’t had the spark to make either of them want to fight through the rough times a long-term relationship ran into.

  What he wanted was simple—someone he could love the way Chase and Hope loved each other. But their meeting had been totally random. Chase had found Hope’s message in a bottle and it led to love, with a little help from Matt, who kept pushing until Chase had finally emailed Hope.

  If they could find each other on the whim of the Universe, the chance of finding some random person who matched Matt’s personality points wasn’t totally unreal.

  Chase’s voice interrupted Matt’s thoughts. “What’s got you so engrossed in your phone? Are you planning your fantasy league this soon? You need the extra weeks if you’re gonna beat me.”

  Matt closed the browser app and set down his phone. “You wish. What are you guys plotting for poor Marni? She doesn’t seem the type to need help getting a date.”

  “See?” Chase said to Hope, waving in Matt’s direction. “He agrees. Signing up for a singles’ vacation is kind of desperate.”

  “No, it’s not,” Hope insisted. “These are my friends, you guys. It’s not a scam to steal her money. It won’t cost her a thing.”

  “Except a week of her pride.” Chase chuckled, but no one joined him.

  That comment rubbed Matt the wrong way, even if he wasn’t considering signing up himself. “Hope’s right. She’ll meet people at the same point of life she’s reached, where she wants something more serious, long term. Marni is an intelligent—”

  “And stubborn,” Chase interjected.

  “I was going to say sensible, but you know her better than I do. If she decides to sign up, she’ll have fun.” The thought crossed Matt’s mind that he and Marni could end up on some island at the same time. Maybe not, since Hope had said Marni could choose her island destination. He wouldn’t have to worry about running into her.

  Not that seeing her again would be a bad thing. She was fun, liked to danc
e, had a good sense of humor—well, she laughed at his jokes, at least. But with as close as they both were to Chase and Hope, things would get awkward when they went their separate ways.

  They were from two different worlds. She was pure city girl with gel nails and high heels. He wasn’t a complete slob by far, but ranching was his life. He’d never own land of his own, but he was happy working for Chase. He didn’t need to be boss. He took as much pride in his work as if the ranch was his. And if he ever needed to have more control over where he worked, he could go back to work running the Frost family ranch with his brothers.

  All he knew was he’d never give up his life in the outdoors, and he’d never be happy with a woman who didn’t love White Oak as much as he did. Marni had made it clear when she’d been there for Chase and Hope’s wedding that she’d never be able to put up with the animal smells, so there was no point in seeing if they enjoyed each other’s company when their friends weren’t around.

  Marni Kane wasn’t his perfect match, and the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to investigate the website to find out who was. But there was work to do, first. “That fence isn’t going to repair itself,” he announced as he rose.

  “I’m coming,” Chase said. After giving Hope a peck on her cheek, he followed Matt out the door.

  *** End of excerpt Marni (Perfect Match Series) by Aileen Fish ***