Breaking the Bachelor (Entangled Lovestruck) (Smart Cupid) by Maggie Kelley Page A

whether to use a feather-light caress or a bold stroke, how he rocked her endlessly until an explosion of sensation filled her body, making her pretty much worthless for any other man. Except, of course, her Ultimate List Man.
    “Definitely better limit the personal details. Keep it straightforward and safe.”
    Marianne nodded and got up to leave. “Right. Straightforward and safe.”
    Like her UML. Predictable. Reliable. Safe.
    “Jane, can I ask you a question?” Marianne stood in the doorway a few steps shy of an actual exit, all spit shined and sweet in her tortoiseshells and cornflower blue cardi. “Ever run your relationship with Charlie through the matrix?”
    She sighed and rubbed her fingers across her temple in an effort to beat back the inevitable migraine. “Actually, yes, and according to the algorithm’s analysis, the statistical probability of my having a successful relationship with Charlie is…well…there is no statistical probability.”
    “But that’s impossible.”
    “Tell that to the matrix. Ours was the lowest score ever recorded.” The result had screamed: Break it off or your pathetic little heart will be in shreds by noon.
    In shreds. By noon.
    An epic failure.
    “Maybe the matrix doesn’t always get it right.” Marianne’s words exploded from the doorway like a bomb.
    Jane fought the rising tide of panic in her throat. “Of course the matrix always gets it right. Without logical criteria, the heart is vulnerable, at risk for all kinds of bad choices.”
    “But what if a heart’s randomness is the part of the equation that makes love work?”
    “No.” She shook her head in firm denial. “Random romantic impulses fast-track a heart straight to Painsville. Long-term love requires compatibility and commitment.”
    “But—”
    “Marianne, you built the matrix.”
    “Yes, that’s true, but—”
    “Designed the whole thing. Wrote all the code.”
    “I realize that, of course, but love’s chemical properties—”
    “This isn’t about chemical properties,” she said, her voice full of the certainty that comes from experience. “The matrix works.”
    Marianne was a wonderful friend, a true partner in the business of love, but she knew nothing about risk or intuition, and even less about being a gambler’s daughter. Playing unpredictable odds was natural for Jane. Thanks to her father, risk flowed through the blood in her veins, and if her recent behavior at the Fluff ’N Fold proved anything, it proved how hard she needed to work to control the part of her that loved a gamble.
    “Maybe the heart is a wild card, but there’s no sense gambling on love. True, long-term love needs logic and focus.” An uncertain look creased her friend’s face, but Jane kept her tone confidant. M.A. wasn’t ending up at the unemployment office. Not on her watch. “We’re going to win this bet. Charlie may not realize it yet, but his bachelor days are numbered. Not only will I find his true love, but I intend to prove to him and to every other single guy in Manhattan that smart love works.”
    And yet despite her words, Jane wondered if her own list of criteria would result in a happily-ever after, or if maybe, in spite of all her careful planning, and all the energy spent managing the small time gambler in her, she’d be the one who ended up with a broken heart.
    Because the truth was—sometimes Cupid’s aim really sucked.

Chapter Six
    @Goodman The NY Rangers are killing me. And they’re not the only ones.
    @KathieLeeandHoda Our Bachelor went on his first date tonight…was it love? #offthemarket?
    Temptation bustled with the small crowd of weeknight regulars, plus a passel of women setting their spiked heels in the bar for the first time, newcomers courtesy of NY Single’s photoblog. At the back of the bar, Charlie took aim at the red, white, and blue board on the far wall. He tossed his last dart and missed the damn thing completely. He missed. He never missed.
    Nick Wright