The Bear's Bride (Mail-Order Mates #3)(2)

“How could they find me a match if I’ve never even applied?” Amy said smugly. “Wait. Karen, what did you do?”

“Do you remember that survey I had you take? The funny personality test from the Internet?”

Amy slumped in her chair. “Oh, no.”

“It was a personality test.” Karen held up her hand. “So, technically, I didn’t lie to you.”

“That was only last night. How could they find me a match already?”

Karen shrugged. “I don’t know. The guy must have already been in the system. As soon as I submitted your profile, I got a match. It was a ninety-nine point five percent match. The woman called me today.”

Amy was curious, not that she’d tell Karen that. A match right away? That had to be some luck. She’d tried online dating a decade ago and it had taken months for her to find someone she liked. She wanted to know who this guy was. Even if he had a great personality and looked good on paper, he was probably a troll. No normal guy would be using an agency.

“A mail-order bride agency,” Amy said suspiciously. “There’s only one reputable agency I can think of.”

Karen nodded. “You know it’s Lovely and Kind Brides. I wouldn’t trust anyone else.”

“Dammit, Karen!”

Karen looked up sharply. “You said you were going to sign up one of these days.”

“One day. That meant I was going to check them out and then decide.”

“I’m worried about you, Amy.” Karen sighed. “You’re becoming a bitter old cat lady. Don’t you remember when we used to read Mom’s romance paperbacks to each other? What happened to that little girl? She believed in finding her true love.”

“That little girl got three divorces.” Amy pushed her red hair back from her forehead. “I’m sorry, Karen. I can’t get into it with another man. I just got a divorce.”

“But this won’t be just any other man! This could be your life mate. LK has a ridiculously high success rate. They don’t make mistakes. You should at least see this guy. He’s so handsome, and just your type.”

Amy considered it for a moment and decided it was too risky. If she saw the guy and he was wicked hot, she wouldn’t be able to resist talking with him. She had a weak spot for men, especially the ones who were no good for her. Experience told her that if a man was interested in her, he was going to be no good. A woman with a track record like hers had to take the hint eventually. She wasn’t cut out for dating or marriage. The best she could hope for was finding the perfect best friend she could spend her days with. Love was out of the question and marriage was laughable.

She shook her head. “I can’t. I can’t do this all again. I know you’re worried, but I’m okay. I have a very full life. I don’t need to go chasing love again at my age.”

“You’re thirty-four, Amy, not ninety-four. There are a lot of women your age who are pregnant for the first time. It isn’t too late for you.”

Leave it to Karen to remind her about her ticking biological clock. It was true that she wanted children of her own. Amy had resigned herself to a childless life when she got her second divorce. She’d been stupid enough to hope that she still had a chance when she got married a third time. Idiot. She was okay with it now, though. She had Max and was sure she’d have more nieces and nephews. She could come and play with them whenever she got lonely.

“I’m just starting to see success in my career. I have social engagements regularly. I just started working out again. I mean, I’ve got a lot of things going on. I don’t need to have a baby right now.”

Karen rolled her eyes. “When was the last time you got laid?”

Amy pushed her older sister lightly. “I’m not telling you that. You’re my sister, for goodness’ sake.”

Honestly, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been pleased by anyone other than her Mr. Rabbit. Not that any man was ever as good as Mr. Rabbit was at pleasing her. She would keep that one to herself, though. Amy might have been married a few times but that didn’t mean she’d ever had mind-blowing sex. Whatever that was. She didn’t even see what the big deal about sex was. Her theory was that since it was taboo, people liked talking about it. It was just a man jerking around on top of you for a few minutes and then you could get to sleep.

“So, probably not since Brandon left.”

“Since I kicked Brandon out on his sorry ass,” Amy corrected and then blushed. Now Karen knew that it had been three years since she’d been with a man.

“You know what they say about shifters, don’t you?” Karen smirked. “I know you have to be a tiny bit curious to find out if the rumors are true.”

“Not in the least.” Of course she was. In college, the shifters were the most popular guys on campus. Amy had been married at the time but that hadn’t stopped her classmates from telling her in detail why they were never going to sleep with human men again. She’d always wondered if what the girls had said was true. She was way too chicken to ever find out for herself. Shifter men were supposed to be the best lovers and the best husbands. They mated for life and were extremely loyal. Their divorce rate was less than 0.01 percent, a statistic that interested Amy greatly.

“What if I told you this guy was smart, successful, incredibly handsome, wanted to start a family ASAP, and wanted to get married even sooner?”