An Unlikely Match (The Match Series - Book #1) (19 page)

Morgan came to his feet.
“Stop!”

They all fell silent, star
ing at him.

“
I haven’t the slightest clue what you’re all talking about.”

Daisy spoke up. “We’re talking about t
he computer dating program. The one that matched you up with Amelia.”

Morgan’s head
was truly going to explode. “You put my information onto a computer dating site without my knowledge?”

“
Not a public site,” said Daisy. “We’d never do anything like that.”

“
I designed it,” said Sam. “It’s private. In my garage. We only entered our grandchildren and our great-nieces to find you the right match.”

“
You’re a Harry Mazer Award winner,” said Morgan.

“I am.”

“You’re on the President’s Council on Aerospace Innovation.”

“That’s true.”

“And you wrote a matchmaking algorithm?”

“We thought you might need a little help,” Daisy said in the kindest voice
imaginable.

“I’m not gay,” Morgan repeated.

“That’s what I told them,” said Sam.

“He called you a nerd.” Hannah’s voice joined the conversation as she moved in beside Sam.

Morgan’s gaze swept across all four of their faces.

“Did it work?” asked Hannah. “
Did you fall for my niece?”

Morgan swallowed. Yes, he’d fallen for Amelia. He’d fallen hard for Amelia.
And he’d totally blown it. And it was going to haunt him for the rest of his life.

“She seemed to like him,” said Sam.

Morgan found himself holding his breath. Had Amelia said something to Sam?

“
She said you were a good catch,” said Hannah.

Morgan moderated his disappointment. “You told
her
I was a good catch.”

Hannah thought for a moment.
“Maybe. But she said you were handsome.”

She’d also said he was a little nerdy around the edges. But Hannah had no idea that Morgan had been listening to the other side of that conversation.

A hard knot formed in his stomach when he realized what he’d done. They might be a bunch of certifiable kooks, but they’d manipulated Amelia every bit as much as they’d manipulated him. She was innocent, just as she’d said, and he’d called her a liar.

“Morgan, what’s wrong?” asked Daisy.

After a long hesitation and a deep breath, he admitted the truth. “She didn’t fall for me.”

“Oh, my,” said Hannah, dropping down into one of the kitchen chairs. “We didn’t think about that.”

Sam frowned. “I have to admit, I thought it would either work or not work. I didn’t take into account a fifty-percent success.”

“This is terrible,” said
Hannah.

“I’m sorry,” said JW, looking genuinely regretful. “I thought it was a no-risk proposition.”

“Did she break your heart?” asked Daisy, looking like she might tear up.

Morgan wished he could say she hadn’t. But he was beginning to fear
that that was exactly what had happened. As hard as he’d tried to keep from falling for her, everything about her had called to him on every level imaginable. Sure, there was an anthropological factor. She was drop-dead gorgeous. He’d wanted desperately to make love to her, as would any man on the planet.

But there was more than that. He loved her energy, her imagination, her sense of humor, and that intelligence that at first seemed half a bubble off, but was really just another kind of brilliance.

He loved her. He loved her with all his heart, and there wasn’t a hope in hell she’d ever reciprocate.

He realized they were all waiting for his answer.

“I like her,” he hedged. “It was close,” he told Sam. “I think your algorithm is sound. But there were just too many differences in our lifestyles and personalities.”

“
Did you kiss her?” asked Hannah.

“
I kissed her,” he admitted, trying not to smile at the memory of their first kiss. He’d give anything to be transported back to that moment in the driveway when he’d first held her in his arms, realizing she was every bit as soft and sweet as he’d fantasized.

A knock on the d
oor disturbed the conversation.

Morgan took the opportunity to draw a b
reath and reframe his reality. He knew deep down inside that there had never been a real chance for a serious relationship with Amelia. But he’d also lost her friendship.

He’d accused her of using sex as a manipulation tool. He’d give anything to take back his vile words. But he couldn’t. Life didn’t work that way. His logical brain told him to suck it up and move on. But his emotional brain was flailing in unfamiliar territory.

He’d lost Amelia. The thought brought an ache to his stomach and a ripping pain through his chest. Emotions weren’t supposed to work this way. They were barely informational, never mind physically crippling.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he realized Daisy had moved across the room to him.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “We didn’t intend to hurt you.”

“You didn’t,” he managed, but his voice cracked on the words.

He suddenly realized he had to get out of here. Raw, uncontrolled emotion was ricocheting through his body, threatening to escape. He had no idea how to manage it or get rid of it.

“Morgan?”
came Amelia’s soft voice.

At first he thought he’d imagined it. He wondered for a moment if they were going to have to cart him off to a padded c
ell, because he really was losing it.

“Morgan?” she repeated.

He twisted his neck to see her standing at the end of the hall.

“Amelia,” Hannah trilled.

Morgan blinked once, then twice, but Amelia was still there.

“How did you—
” he started, but Hannah was enveloping her great-niece in a hug.

“
I caught a plane,” she said to Morgan over her aunt’s shoulder.

“It’s a computer
matchmaking system,” he told her as an opening to an apology. “You had nothing to do with it.”

She gave a sad smile. “I know.”

Hannah backed out of the way.

He shook his head, regret slithering through him
like ice.

Amelia looked so sad, he could barely stand it.

“I told you when you learned the truth, I’d hate you,” she said softly.

He nodded his acceptance
of her words. It killed him, but he couldn’t blame her for that.

“I lied,”
she said.

“No, you didn’t,” he countered. She’d never done anything but tell him the truth. He should
have believed her.

But she nodded.
“You’ve learned the truth, Morgan. But I don’t hate you.”

Everything inside him stilled.
Could there actually be a chance she’d stay in his life?

“
Because,” she finished, “I still seem to love you.”

Morgan couldn’t take it in. She loved him? How could she love him?
It didn’t make sense. She was her, and he was, well, nothing but him.

“Morgan,” Sam
stage-whispered, easing closer. “I’m no expert, but I think this is the point where you kiss the girl.”

“You love me?” he asked in what came out as total disbelief.

Sam groaned, closing the space and throwing him an elbow to the shoulder. “Dude, get a grip.”

Morgan came to his feet, moving toward her. “How can you love me?”

She seemed to fight a smile. “Turns out, it’s really easy.”

He
came to a halt in front of her, gazing at her beautiful face, lifting his palm to stroke her soft cheek. “Are you sure?”

“I hope so. I spent a fortune on that plane ticket.”

He couldn’t believe this was happening, couldn’t believe it was real. “I am absolutely, completely head over heels in love with you.”

H
er smile broadened. “That’s good.”

“Are you
sure
?” he repeated.

Sam groaned from behind him. “Nerds everywhere want to smack you upside the head.”

“Give the man some space,” JW growled.

“
This is amazing,” Daisy sighed.

“
I’m going to cry,” Hannah sniffed.

Morgan took Amelia’s hand, raising it to his lips to brush a light kiss. “I adore you.”

She took a step forward, bringing their bodies together. “I adore you right back.”

“You know I’m a nerd, right? You know you could have any guy on the planet.”

“Nerdiness is the new hot.”

He chuckled. “No, it’s not.”

“It’s my new hot.” She raised her lips for a kiss.

He dared nothing but a fleeting touch, not with such an interested audience.

“Daisy?” he called over his shoulder.

“Yes?” she piped in.

“What’s the best restaurant in town?”

“The Seaside, on Granite Road.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you going out for dinner?”

“We’re going out for dinner. There’s something important I need to ask Amelia.”

“Oh, my,”
Hannah sighed.

Morgan looked at JW. “But we’ll be back
later.” He hesitated. “Grandfather.”

JW put a hand on the wall, obviously steadying himself. “That’s good...son.”

Morgan nodded. Then he wrapped his arm around Amelia’s waist, propelling her toward the door.

“You can flag a cab on the north corner,” Sam called to them.

“You love me,” said Amelia with joy in her voice as they closed the door behind them.

“I love you,”
Morgan confirmed, scanning for the place to flag a cab.

Then he stopped himself,
slowing things down, turning to take her in his arms and gaze into her eyes. “I love you very, very much.”

He kissed her
again, deeply and thoroughly. By the time they broke apart, he wanted to skip dinner and go straight to the nearest hotel.

“Are you going to ask me to marry you?”

He smiled. “Do you want me to ask you to marry me?”

She seemed to consider the question
as they began walking toward the corner. “I’ve never really thought about getting married. I mean, you know, maybe someday in the future. But first I had things to do, places to go, a career to launch. So this is kind of sudden.”

“Take a breath, Amelia.”

She took a big breath.

“
Why don’t you give it some thought in the cab?” he advised. “That way, you’ll know how to answer me later.”

“Okay
.” She nodded. “Are we stopping for a ring? Because I think if you’re going to propose in some fancy restaurant, you should probably have a ring to go along with it. Maybe you could drop it in a glass of champagne.”

“
That seems a bit trite.”

“
You think? How would you do it?”

“
Probably just pop open the box and ask the question. Getting down on one knee seems ridiculous in this day and age.”

She was silent for a moment. “I cried when you left.”

His chest went tight. “I’m sorry.”

“
I felt like my world had died. I hated that you thought I was that shallow.”

“You’re not shallow.” He slipped an arm around her waist. “Girls like you never looked twice at me. I kept trying to understand why you hung around.”

“Guys like you only want to sleep with me. They never take me seriously.”

“I do want to sleep with you,” he
said. “But I also take you seriously. You’re insightful, unselfish, hardworking and funny.”

She leaned her head against his chest. “You should ask me to marry you, Morgan.”

A cab appeared a block away, and he waved to hail it. “I know. I’m putting the biggest diamond I can find on your finger.”

She tipped her head to look up at him.
“The biggest?”

He lifted her left hand and kissed her ring finger. “A lot of guys are going to try to steal you away. I want them to know you’re very,
very
taken.”

“Nobody’s stealing me away.”

“Damn straight,” he rumbled.

She laughed at
his forbidding expression. “Did Aunt Hannah and your grandfather really use a computer matchmaking system on us?”

The cab
glided to a halt at the curb.

“Sam built the thing. Then they used their grandchildren as guinea pigs.
It never should have worked in a million years.”