It kept him from ever suspecting she would even think of wanting anything other than friendship with him.
It’s why they worked.
If they were going to spend the next couple of weeks together, she was going to have to be more careful. Otherwise, she’d spook him, and the very thing she was trying to prevent would happen—he’d deem their relationship “too complicated,” and she’d go the way of the rest of the women in his life.
Why had she agreed to this? Matchmaking Peggy was one thing, but doing it with Hayes was something else entirely. They were bound to have conversations about what made two people compatible—how was she supposed to play it cool then?
The knock on her door forced her to stop thinking crazy. Seconds later, Hayes’s beautiful face appeared in her entryway.
She looked up from the stove, where she stood making pancakes and bacon, and flashed him a we’re just friends smile.
“You’re cooking,” he said.
“I figured we needed some sustenance to get us through the day,” she said.
He strode toward her, picked up a piece of bacon from the napkin on the counter, broke it in half, and popped a piece in his mouth. “Yeah, matchmaking is bound to take it out of us.”
She gave him a shove, and only then did she take a moment to look him in the face. His eyes were drawn, his skin pale. “Did you sleep last night?”
He ate the other half of his bacon and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Sure. About three hours.”
She turned off the burner and carried a plate of pancakes to the table. “Three hours?”
He set his mug down at the place she’d set for him, a place where he’d eaten a hundred times before. There was nothing more special or intimate about this time—so why did it feel like there was?
Wishful thinking . . . ?
Yes, her imagination did have a way of running off on its own, especially where Hayes was concerned.
“I told you I don’t sleep well,” he said.
“Yeah, but you didn’t tell me why.” She topped off her own cup of coffee, added peppermint creamer and stirred, watching the colors meld together to form the perfect shade of brown.
He inhaled, then let out a sigh.
“Not yet?” she asked.
He found her eyes and shook his head.
“Let’s eat.” She couldn’t push. Whatever this was that was bothering him, it was big enough to steal something from Hayes that made him who he was. That joyful, outgoing personality he’d always possessed had been doused by something he didn’t want to talk about.
What if he’d had his heart broken? What if one of his casual relationships had actually meant more to him than he’d let on?
If that was the case, it was better that he stayed quiet. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“So, we should get a plan,” she said.
“Right.” He poured a ridiculous amount of syrup over his buttered pancakes.
She quirked a brow, nodding at his plate.
“What?”
“Do you think you’ve got enough syrup?”
He picked up the bottle, turned it over, and squeezed another circle onto his plate. “Now I do.”
She shook her head. “You’re like a twelve-year-old boy.” If only that made him less—and not more—adorable. These childlike qualities only endeared her to him, and she hated that.
“Maybe we should talk about Peggy,” Pru said, desperately needing a mental subject change.
“So, we’re actually doing this.” He said it like a statement, not a question.
She stopped mid-bite. “Didn’t we say we were?”
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s just so bizarre. And Aunt Nellie left for Paris today. What would she have done if I’d said no?”
Pru grinned. “She knew you wouldn’t say no. She flattered you into saying yes.”
“You think I’m that easy?” he asked. “That a little flattery will make me do something I’m morally opposed to?”
“Morally opposed?” She took a bite. Her pancakes were perfect today. She wouldn’t let on that she’d tried extra hard. And she certainly wouldn’t show him the pile of burnt ones that had landed in the garbage can. “Why?”
He ate another piece of bacon. Oh, to be a man and eat bacon like it was fruit. “I just don’t think this is how it works. It’s like online dating—not natural.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
“You think so?”
“Sure,” she said. “First, you’re a good-looking single guy, which already puts you at an advantage. Second, you’re good with people, so you have no problem meeting women. But for someone like Peggy Swinton, that’s not reality.”
“You think I’m good-looking?” He grinned.
She rolled her eyes. “Is that all you heard?”
He shrugged. “I’ve learned to filter out what’s not important.”
“You’re right, it’s weird Aunt Nellie picked you as her replacement.” She took another bite. “You know nothing about the plight of the single woman.”
“So, tell me.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. “No.”
“No, really,” he said. “I want to hear about your plight.”
She squinted at him. “Why do you sound skeptical?”
“Because I don’t believe you suffer any kind of plight.” He chewed another bite, swallowed, then raised his eyebrows, waiting for her reply. “I think you could have any guy you wanted.”
She knew it was her turn for a witty retort, but her mind had gone blank.
His smile wasn’t helping her focus.
Finally, words returned. “Well, good men are typically harder to find than good women,” she said. “So, we already have that working against us. It’s like men are genetically dispositioned to not seek out meaningful relationships, whereas women are.”
He frowned. “That’s a little stereotypical, don’t you think?”
“I’m just trying to explain why someone good and kind like Peggy can’t find a decent man.”
“I thought we were looking for her soulmate.”
She knew that would be back to bite her. “Take the soulmate out of the equation.”
“Because you know it doesn’t exist?”
“No,” she said. “Because we’re just talking about dating right now.”
“Okay, so what about you?” He shoveled a stack of pancake onto his fork.
“What about me?”
“If women are created to seek out meaningful relationships, why are you still single?”
She picked up her mug and did her best to avoid his gaze. Her best wasn’t good enough. Nothing could’ve withstood the magnetic pull of Hayes’s hazel eyes. “I’m not a good case study. I think more like a guy.”
“So, you don’t want a meaningful relationship.” His tone turned casual. “A soulmate.”
His emphasis on that word was very effective.
“That’s not what I said.” She didn’t like this conversation one little bit.
“But you haven’t had a meaningful relationship for as long as I’ve known you,” he said. “I mean, I remember you dating a few different guys, but after about two months, you were single again.”