Mrs. Wilder broke into laughter. “I like her.”
“Uh-oh,” Aurelis said. “That’s never a good sign.”
“That’s not true.” Dani winked at her friend. “What if Mrs. Wilder has a super-hot son she wants to hook me up with? She’ll change her mind listening to you.”
Mrs. Wilder raised a brow. “Please, call me Gerri.”
“And she probably can hook you up with a sexy guy, but I don’t think she has a son. Do you, Gerri?” Aurelis asked.
“I don’t. Sadly, my husband and I never had children. As far as finding you a man...” Her gaze roamed over Dani’s face, searching for something. “I can help you find a mate if that’s what you would like.”
Dani shook her head and laughed. “I was kidding.”
Aurelis’ eyes widened. “No, she can help you. She has a matchmaking business. The Paranormal Dating Agency. They’re shifters. Hot shifters.”
“Really? But—”
“Wait. What about Tom?” Aurelis asked.
Gerri frowned. “You are seeing someone?”
Dani groaned. “Only in his mind. We’ve gone to some local events in a group and somehow he’s now under the impression we’d make a great match.” She frowned. “I disagree.”
Aurelis grinned. “He’s very persistent.”
Dani pursed her lips. “I keep rejecting him and he keeps coming back for more. I think he’s a masochist. Gerri, I don’t know—”
Gerri raised a hand to stop her mid-speech. “I do think I have what you need.”
The door dinged and Aurelis stood. “I have to go take care of this delivery but you sit here and talk. I’ll be back soon.” She patted Gerri on the shoulder. “I’ll send someone over to bring you tea.”
Gerri nodded and turned to face Dani fully. “Are you looking for a match?”
Was she? She’d given up on being the cream in a Kane and Blake’s cookie sandwich years ago. But most men were afraid of her brother and didn’t usually survive past “the talk” he had with them. The hurt–my-sister-and-I’ll-hurt-you talk.
She’d had boyfriends, but after a while she lost interest. The men she dated were boring. It was one thing for her to live with her head in romance books and quite another to make her own romance happen. Reality was she dated boring accountants and teachers, and the combination was lacking more than a little in every area. So much so that she ended up breaking things off after a few months. No man held her interest long enough for her to fall in love. Or even fall in lust.
“I might be harder for you to match than your usual clients,” she started. “I am a librarian. I love romance novels. My expectations of what a relationship should be about are probably way out there.”
Gerri nodded. “Tell me what it is you want.” She pulled out a notepad from her handbag and started jotting stuff down.
“Um. I guess I’d like to find that connection with someone that’s real. No fake shit.” She thought back to her last relationship and winced. “I’m tired of men thinking they’re doing me a favor by being with me. I want a man who will be dying to be with me. Not just some lame sex with a guy who thinks he has to ‘settle’ for the big girl.” She stared Gerri in the eyes. “If I’m matched with any man who acts like I should be glad he’s even looking at me, I won’t be responsible for what happens.”
“No need for that. The men requiring my services love curves. They appreciate and want a woman for who she is. Generally, my clients prefer someone who loves the body she has. Ideally with lots to hold on to.”
Dani blinked. “And these are shifters, like Aurelis said?”
Gerri nodded slowly. “All of them.”
Wow. She sighed. “That’s good then.”
“May I ask, are you averse to multiples?”
Say what? “I’m sorry what do you mean? Multiple what? Dates?”
“Multiple men. I’m not sure if you are aware, but some shifter packs have what’s called a Triad. That means two leaders need a female to complete their Alpha set and lead the pack. Together. They mate together and they sleep together. Almost all the time.”
She raised her brows in surprise. “You mean like a ménage but forever?”
“Yeah. Happily ménage ever after.”
“Well, shit. Count me in. I don’t care if you can get me one, two, or a whole pack of men who want me. As long as they genuinely want to be with me and are not just doing it out of some duty to help out the fat girl.”
“My clients are not that kind. They’re aggressive. Possessive. Jealous. They love their women because of their curves, not despite them. And they will show it.”