A tear slipped for Ariana’s eyes and dropped onto Fiona’s hand. She wiped away others she couldn’t keep from falling. “We weren’t supposed to be matched.”
“You and Dillon?” Fiona asked.
“Yes.”
“You’re falling for him, aren’t you?” Fiona pulled her rolling chair closer and put her arm around her. “Sweetie, sometimes love hurts. You know that.”
“I didn’t think I could love anyone but Sam,” Ariana sniffed. “We were so much alike in every way. We never really dated anyone else. It was so easy to marry him and hard to lose him.”
“And Dillon isn’t anything like Sam,” Fiona stated.
“Nothing at all like Sam.” Ariana looked up into Fiona’s eyes. “But he’s so animated, full of life and interesting. And we love to cook together. He wants to teach me how to fish and ride. And I want to learn.”
“So, what’s keeping you two from doing all that?” Fiona asked.
“BODS.”
“What?” Fiona’s brow creased.
“Our match was a mistake. Our preferences don’t match. We’re so different.”
“When I took your meditation class, you talked about balance. For every action there’s a reaction. For things that are off balance, nature has a way of providing the balance. You were never off balance with Sam. You two were perfectly in balance.”
“Exactly. Which makes me and Dillon so wrong for each other.”
“Wrong,” Fiona said. “He leans one way, you lean the other, and in so doing, you create a perfect balance.”
Ariana laughed through her tears. “If only I’d applied that principle when we were on the boat.”
Fiona smiled. “Tell Leslie you’re not interested in another match. You and Dillon are perfect together.”
“I can’t,” Ariana said. “Dillon said he wouldn’t stand in my way. That means he’s not as committed to us as I am.”
“You’re putting words in that man’s mouth. That can never be a good thing. Why don’t you call and talk to him about it? There might be a perfectly good reason he said that to his sister.”
“I don’t want him to think I’m desperately clinging to him—God, though I want to. He could have anyone. Why would he want me?”
“Because you’re beautiful and kind,” Fiona said. “Any man would be lucky to have your heart. Don’t sell yourself short.”
“It’s hard not to. The man is loaded. Did you know that?” Ariana looked into her eyes. “He owns an entire top floor of an office building—and it’s just his in-town home.”
Fiona smiled. “That’s why it’s called BODS.”
Ariana’s brow dipped. “I don’t understand. I never could figure out what the B stood for.”
Fiona’s smile broadened. “Billionaire. As in Billionaire Online Dating Service. It’s an elite service just for people like Dillon, Coop and Gage, who have money, but don’t have the time or patience to weed through all the gold diggers to find a gem of a woman who will love them for themselves.”
Ariana sat back in her seat, her head spinning. “You’re kidding me.”
“No, ma’am,” Fiona patted her hand. “Leslie vets everyone she invites to enter their profiles into the BODS database. She trusts you and knows you would only date or marry someone for love, not money.”
“Frankly, the money thing intimidates the hell out of me,” Ariana admitted. “Maybe it’s right of Leslie to find me another match. I’d never want Dillon to think I love his money more than him.”
“You do love him, don’t you?” Fiona gave her a crooked grin. “And you’re thinking it’s too soon. For me…when I knew…I knew. Time only validated my suspicions.”
Ariana chewed on her bottom lip as she pondered her dilemma. “Still, if he wants me to give the BODS system another chance, so be it. He doesn’t care enough to fight for me. My feelings for him must be one-sided.”
“Seriously, you should talk to him. Sometimes, talking clears things up before they get blown out of proportion.”
“If he calls me tonight, I will,” Ariana promised. How she’d bring it up, she wasn’t quite sure, but she’d do it.
Emma poked her head into the conference room. “Fiona, could you help me for a moment. I need for you to reach something for me.”
Fiona glanced once more at Ariana. “Don’t give up, yet.” She looked up at Emma. “Coming.”
Ariana sat in the room by herself, pondering Fiona’s words. Should she fight for Dillon? Did he want her to? Was he bored and tired of their nightly chats?
She thought back. Dillon had initiated all of the phone calls. If he was tired of her, wouldn’t he just stop calling?
Her head hurt from all the second-guessing. She buried her face in her hands and applied pressure to the bridge of her nose. Why did falling in love have to be so damned hard?
The door opened and Ava returned, followed by Fiona, Emma and, finally, Leslie.
Leslie had a file folder in her hand. She set it on the smooth, dark surface of the conference table and tapped her finger on it. “Told you it wouldn’t be long before BODS found your match. Check him out.”
Ariana didn’t want to open the folder. The man inside on the profile wouldn’t be Dillon. She just wasn’t interested.
“Go on.” Emma leaned across the table and flipped the file open. “He’s good looking, is a certified public accountant and owns his own business. He likes yoga and going for long walks. And he likes cats. I sneaked a peek. He sounds perfect.”
“Perfect” was Dillon, a man she felt like she’d known forever even though she’d just met him in the dark.
Emma pointed to the man’s phone number. “Why don’t you text him and see if he wants to go to the firefighter fundraiser tomorrow?”
“I don’t know,” Ariana hedged. “The fundraiser is an all-day event. I’d rather meet him for coffee. That way, if we don’t connect, I can leave, and neither of us will be stuck with each other’s company for hours.”
“True, but it’s for a good cause,” Emma said. “And the sooner you meet
