pay?”
“What kind of a man do you think I am?” Brad let go of the handle long enough to shake his fist at the heavens. “Of course I pay.”
“It’s a thing.” Coop went into the other room.
“It’s not a thing,” Brad shouted louder than usual, finally moving the footrest out.
“It kind of sounds like a thing,” Nora said apologetically.
Zoe made excited puffing noises of agreement.
“I can’t have a thing. Just look at me.” Granted, Brad was reclining, but he looked fine to her. He looked more than fine when he pulled out that Hamilton smile. No wonder he and Suzy Adams had a thing.
The heater kicked on with a house-shaking, window-rattling thud, reminding Nora of her father’s run-down home and that, no matter how charismatic the Hamiltons were, this was no place for her baby.
* * *
“WE NEED A game plan,” Ty said to Coop and Gideon the next morning at the Bar & Grill.
Coach was open for Saturday breakfast to the citizens venturing out in the inclement weather. The blizzard had abated to heavy snowfall and the town’s sole plow had been busy since the early morning. Many people in K-Bay regarded snowstorms as no more than an annoyance in their otherwise regular routine. Businesses that were open—including matchmaking—were going to get customers.
Coop and Gideon had wisely waited for Ty to finish his first cup of coffee before beginning the matchmaking strategy session. But that left Coop thinking about Nora and her baby.
Nora, who’d gotten more attractive since he’d last seen her, was nice to Pop and watched over that baby like a mama polar bear over its cub. She’d made a face when he’d first brought her home, but she hadn’t complained or put down the place. Still, Nora hadn’t said a word about what she wanted from him other than a reference to money. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to be looking for a wedding ring. Because marriage didn’t fit with Coop’s lifestyle; the one that made it easy for him to pick up and leave.
Just last year, Becky Riney had turned up pregnant and demanded Wally Spitacker marry her, even though they’d never been serious about each other beyond being friends with benefits. That marriage lasted about two seconds and cost Wally a used minivan sold to him by Coop, a couple grand for the wedding reception and a couple grand in legal fees. Until Coop was 100 percent certain it was his kid, he didn’t want to talk child support or his visitation or...well...anything.
“I think we should ask people questions about what they want in a mate.” Gideon tugged the buttoned collar of his polo shirt down as if he missed his uptight banker’s tie.
“Can we not use the word mate?” Coop said, thinking of Nora.
“Significant other? Person of interest?” Gideon sounded testy and looked as if he hadn’t slept well.
Coop couldn’t cast stones. He hadn’t slept well, either. Was he finally getting out of town? Or was this chance going to slip through his fingers?
“We need six matches.” Ty’s eyebrows had a grim slant. “Six, not three. For the life of me, I can’t come up with a plan.”
“Your plans weren’t always good ones.” Coop referred to choices Ty had made at eighteen that had scarred him for life. “When I want to get a sales boost at the car lot, I park the flashiest, most expensive car right next to the street. Doesn’t matter if they don’t buy it. Chances are if they come to look, I can get them to buy what they need. And the flashiest woman in town is—”
“Tatiana.” A slow grin appeared in the depths of Ty’s beard.
Tatiana Michaels was just back from college and in training to be the town queen bee. Men either ran to please her with the knowledge she’d chew them up and spit them out, or they ran from her because they valued their wallets and their pride. Either way, she was the flashiest, most notorious single woman in K-Bay.
Coach slid three plates loaded with campfire scramble specials in front of them. “Tatiana isn’t going to ring that bell.” The bar owner called out a greeting to Derrick before disappearing into the kitchen once more.
“Coach is right.” Gideon peppered his food. “Isn’t using Tatiana bait and switch?”
“If Tatiana agrees to sign up for matchmaking, who’s to say one of our male clients wouldn’t be the perfect match for her?” Coop really needed to believe his own sales pitch. “Once we let it be known Tatiana signed up, men and women will come to us in droves.”
“K-Bay doesn’t have droves of singles.” Ty set down his egg-loaded fork, back to looking grim. “At least not singles I’d consider eligible.”
“Work with me here.” Coop needed his friends to jump on board. Granted, Ty had more of a reputation at stake than Coop or Gideon, but they needed to choose a direction and go for it, not snipe at each other. “Once they sign up, Gideon can give them his love survey.”
“I wouldn’t call it a love survey,” Gideon mumbled. “Or even a survey at this point.”
“Regardless—” Coop shot them with a look that had sent many a new hire racing out to sell a car “—we need to make a list of all the singles in town and get them down here. Now. Today, while nothing else is going on.”
“Does Mary Jo count as single?” Ty nodded toward the door where the bus driver was entering. “Her divorce isn’t final.”
“Put her on the list.” They needed all the single and nearly single females they could recruit. “How soon can you print up a survey, Gideon?”
“I need to do a little research.” Gideon reached down and produced a stack of magazines from his computer bag. “These seem like a good place to start.” He dropped them on the bar. “But if Nadine at the grocery store gives me any more grief about buying them, I’m going to say I was shopping for you two.”
“I hope you told her what we’re doing. She’s single.” Ty picked up the magazine on top. His grimness disappeared behind a wide grin. “Five Things He Wants You to Do in the Bedroom. Are you sure this is the right research material?”
“I’ll work on it.” Gideon swiped the magazine back.
“I have complete faith in your vision and geekiness.” Ty’s grin gave Coop hope. Short-lived as it was, because Ty excelled at poking holes in a plan. “Let’s just assume we have a list of singles interested in finding The One and a survey that helps us match them to potential soul mates. How do we get our clients to realize they’ve found true love in the same dating pool they’ve had available for years? I mean, they have only three weeks to fall in love and ring the bell.”
“Impossible.” Coach cheerfully refilled their coffee mugs. “You boys are going to lose.”
The three fell silent. Gideon pushed eggs around his plate. Ty sought answers in his coffee mug.
Coop clutched his fork, refusing to go down without a fight. Matchmaking couldn’t be harder than selling cars. With the right vehicle inventory, he could sell anything to... “We’ll draw from the neighboring towns and the university.” People
