Bought For Marriage

“Hey, Kinsley. Does Graham need anything?”

“Not right now, thanks. I was hoping you guys could maybe push back his next vitals as long as possible. He just fell asleep, and he could really use the rest, since he got some bad news from the insurance company today.”

“Yeah, I heard. I’m sorry.” She offered me a sympathetic smile before tapping at her keyboard. “It looks like he has about two hours before his next check. I have a little bit of wiggle room, but not much. I’ll peek in on him to make sure he’s still sleeping and wait as long as I can before bothering him.”

“Thanks.”

Since I’d been hoping for better news today and thought we’d be getting everything organized for the surgery, I’d taken the day off work. Now that I knew it wasn’t going to happen, I found myself with a wide-open schedule and an almost desperate need to distract myself. When I got down to the sidewalk in front of the hospital, I pulled my phone out and called Julia back.

“Luxe Connections, Julia Connor speaking.”

“Hi, Julia. It’s Kinsley Taylor returning your call from earlier.”

“Julia! It’s wonderful to hear back from you so soon.”

“Yes, my plans for most of the day fell through.” I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “And now I have some unexpected free time.”

“Wonderful!” Her cultured tone was filled with what sounded like genuine pleasure. “It looks like fate stepped in to lend me a helping hand, since I’d love for you to stop by my office today to discuss an opportunity which I believe is a perfect fit for you.”

“If only fate would cut my brother the same kind of break,” I grumbled.

“Pardon?”

“Nothing,” I sighed. “I’m not sure what kind of an opportunity a matchmaking service can offer me since I’m not interested in dating right now, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. But you caught me at a weak moment, so why not?”

Julia gave me the address of her office, and I was surprised to discover it was only a couple of blocks away. During my walk over, I tried to reach Sylvia to ask for more details about her experience with Luxe Connections. We’d been roommates in college, but she’d been more interested in earning her MRS degree than getting an education. It hadn’t been a surprise to learn that she’d used a discreet matchmaking service to meet prospective husbands, considering her less-than-subtle desire to marry…up. But it’d been a shock when Julia had asked if I’d be interested in being matched through them as well.

I’d meant to follow up with her. Not because I was really interested in finding a husband, wealthy or otherwise, but simply out of curiosity. However, my brother’s spine condition deteriorated shortly after we met. Dating and marriage had become the very last thing on my mind, which I didn’t see changing any time soon. By the time I reached Julia’s office, I was having second thoughts about meeting with her since I didn’t want to waste her time or mine.

“Kinsley, I’m so glad you could fit me into your schedule,” she greeted me warmly.

“It’s nice to see you, Julia, but—”

“No buts. I simply won’t hear of it,” she interrupted, waving me towards one of the padded chairs situated in front of her desk. “Not until you hear what I have to say.”

“Okay,” I sighed, fidgeting with the bottom of my shirt as she took the seat next to me instead of the one behind her desk.

“This is an unusual situation for me. In all the years that I’ve been in the matchmaking business, I’ve never reached out to a past client to ask for their help in putting me in touch with one of their friends like this.” She reached out a hand and placed it over mine, stilling my nervous gesture. “But when I bumped into her a couple of weeks ago, I asked her if she’d talked to you recently, since I was disappointed that you didn’t call me to set up an appointment. She mentioned your brother’s situation, and how it’s been eating up all of your free time lately.”

“Oh,” I breathed out. “Then I don’t understand why you’d want to meet with me anyway, when you know that I’m not in a place where I can devote any energy to a relationship right now.”

“It’s actually part of what makes you perfect for a new client I’ve taken on.”

My brow wrinkled as I tried to make sense of what she said. “What? Why? How does that even make any sense?”

“The matches we make here are often atypical. While I do have plenty of clientele looking for their soul mate, I also cater to a more discerning group. Those not looking for the usual kind of match, more of a business arrangement. The man I have in mind for you wants a companion to help eliminate family pressure to get married,” she explained. “As well as having someone on his arm at events to keep the…let’s just call them ‘social climbers’ away.”