Meant to Be (RightMatch.com Trilogy) by Kathryn Shay Page A

possible, but they’re not foolproof. I went back over the guy’s profile and I missed a few flags. He has some potential warning signs in his profile that signal he might be unstable. Or a liar, at the very least.”
    “If we cut out anyone with a hint of instability or capacity to lie,” Cole included with no small matter of guilt, “we wouldn’t have much of a business.”
    Sabrina laughed.
    “Anyway, we’ll get rid of him and I’ll make sure the lawyer follows up. I’ll personally keep an eye on her pages. Send me all the information by email.”
    “Okay. Thanks.”
    Their business concluded, Cole and Sabina took the kids to a nearby diner for some treats, then parted. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’re bound to get some bad ones in the bunch. We’ll take care of this.”
    His words were mostly bravado, though. He was more worried than he let on. His first thought was to talk to Beth and get her opinion, but he decided not to do that. He obviously couldn’t talk to her about unsavory characters online when he’d lied—was still lying—to her.
    Damn, he missed sharing his life with her. They’d come together last Sunday in a miasma of need and desire, but nothing had been solved between them.
    He got home, and as Ellie was ready for a nap, he rocked her until she fell asleep, then headed for the computer. Luckily, Beth was online, her instant message active.
    o0o
    Whew! What a week! her first missive read.
    Yeah, but it started off great on Sunday! He typed in a virtual wink. Want to tell me what happened?
    Cranky customers and too much work. How was yours?
    Problems with the site.
    A long pause. You can talk to me about what you do, Cole.
    Can I? We haven’t made any decisions about, well, us.
    An even longer pause. I have.
    His heart began to pound. Oh, what? the guy said trying to act casual but his heart is in his mouth. 
    I’ve changed my mind, Cole. Let’s give it shot.
    He practically fell off his chair with relief. What made you decide?
    Great sex.
    He grinned at the computer.
    Seriously? I’ve been miserable. Let’s see if we can handle this. I want to be with you.
    I want to be with you, too.
    I can take Sunday off. MJ’s with her family Saturday, I have Sunday to myself though we’ve got a big shindig on Monday because of Labor Day.
    Oh, okay. He made a split-second decision. Come to my place Sunday. Which translated to: time to reveal the second lie.
    Just send the address. I’ll be there early in the morning.
    Can’t wait.
    And that, Cole thought, was that. Time to come clean. Time to confess all. He’d made his bed, and now he’d see if she’d sleep in it with him.
    o0o
    Since early September in Rockland had turned hot, Beth stood before Cole’s apartment complex dressed simply in jean capris and a white camisole top; she’d brought pastries and the hazelnut coffee he liked. Please, she prayed as she headed inside and up the elevator, let this be the right decision.
    Even if it wasn’t, she was hooked. She’d lost her heart to the man behind the door she now approached and would take a chance on a relationship with him. They’d given themselves a week of sober thought—and no physical contact—to decide, and the entire time, all she’d thought of was him. Everything else—except the time she’d spent with Mariel—had been a chore and Beth didn’t want to live that way.
    She rang the bell at number thirty-one, the door opened and there he stood, looking sexy and rumpled in gray shorts and a red T-shirt. But he held a child, who she estimated to be close to two years old, like her granddaughter. The little girl had nearly black hair, big blue eyes and a heart-shaped face.
    “Hey, sweetheart.” Cole leaned over and kissed Beth’s cheek. She caught the familiar whiff of baby powder and milk, instead of the sexy cologne he usually wore.
    “Hi.”
    The baby said, “Kiss Ellie.”
    Beth smiled and kissed the girl’s head. “Aren’t you a little