“So other than that, why are you really here?” Wynona helped Daisy sink onto the couch that faced her desk, and then looked her over with an appraising eye. “Dear lord, are you ever pregnant, woman.”
“Seriously? Get out. I thought my rack grew to a 40 double F cup because I’d prayed to the boobie fairy. Wait ’til I tell Ryker.” Daisy leaned back, accidentally knocking a pillow off the couch. “Ugh, I’m so clumsy these days. All right, down to business. I’m here because we’re setting Cadence up on a date. She needs cheering up.”
Wynona looked at her skeptically.
“Does Cadence know this yet?”
Daisy waved a hand impatiently at the question. “Details, details. I’m swinging by her house in a bit, so I will inform her then. But you should get started now. She seems to prefer guys with dark hair, if that helps you narrow it down.”
Wynona shook her head. “Daisy, remember, this is a mating agency, not a dating agency. I arrange for shifters to find their life mates. I don’t arrange casual hookups.”
Daisy scowled. “Cadence really wants a family and a relationship, and she’s been totally depressed lately. She’s just losing her enthusiasm for everything. The other day I asked her to shift and go for a run with me, and she said she couldn’t. I said, okay, maybe tomorrow, and she said no, you don’t get it, I literally can’t. Then she got up and walked out of the room.”
“That is odd, I admit,” Wynona acknowledged. “Strange thing to say. And I’ve never known her to be moody, either.”
“It’s not work,” Daisy continued. “She loves working for that event planning company. She wants a mate. We just need to find her the right guy.”
“I thought she said that she never wanted to settle down,” Wynona protested. “In fact, I specifically heard her say that.”
“No, she said she that she is never going to settle down. Not that she doesn’t want to. When she comes to visit me and looks at the other families’ cubs, she gets this look on her face…she wants a family.”
“But she hasn’t said that,” Wynona pointed out.
“Cadence is my best friend.” Daisy got a stubborn look on her face. “Just because she hasn’t said it doesn’t mean she doesn’t want it.”
Wynona just raised an eyebrow and stared at Daisy.
“Seriously,” Daisy insisted.
“Based on your gut feeling?” She shook her head decisively. “No. I would need to have her contact me and ask me. And then of course I’d be happy to help her search for a mate, assuming that’s what she wants. She’s cute, she’s fun, she’s a loyal friend, she can mix a mean margarita. Heck, if I weren’t heterosexual and determined to die single, I’d fix myself up with her.”
“You do realize it’s weird to hear the founder of a mating agency say she’s going to die single.”
“It was also weird to throw a surprise birthday party for my mate and find him in the kitchen getting mouth-to-dick resuscitation from my best friend. Former best friend. Boy, was I surprised.” Wynona’s brow wrinkled. “But just because my marriage went down in spectacular flames doesn’t mean I can’t help others find love.”
“Like Cadence. Listen, it’s not just my gut feeling. I did a little snooping around.” Daisy assumed a self-righteous, determined expression. “Because I was worried about her.”
“What have you done?” Wynona’s tone was sharp.
At her rebuking tone, Daisy had the good grace to look a little embarrassed. “Okay, I maybe shouldn’t have done this, but the other day when I was at her house, I was in the living room and she was in the kitchen. And I heard the mailman deliver the mail through the kitchen door, and she swore kind of quietly but, you know, I’ve got that shifter hearing. So maybe I sneaked a peek through a crack in her kitchen door.”
Wynona’s frown lines deepened. “Because you were worried.”
“Exactly!” Daisy beamed at her. “Right? See what I good friend I am? I saw her open an envelope, look at the letter, and stuff it into her trash bin. Really far down. She hid it.”
“And? Then what did you do?”
Daisy sighed. “When she went to the bathroom, I went in and dug the letter out of the trash and looked at it real quick. It was from a fertility clinic! It said that she was exceptionally fertile.” She looked at Wynona appealingly. “See? So obviously she wants cubs! Why else would she do fertility testing, at her age?”
“Oh, Daisy, for heaven’s sake!” Wynona slapped her hands down on her desk. “Snooping on Cadence? Deciding that you’re a better judge of what she needs than she is? You sound like—”