Searching for Disaster by Jennifer Probst Page A

about it, especially when people held a willingness to see the truth about themselves.
    Izzy had reached that type of epiphany that most never got to. She’d done it the hard way, but damned if he didn’t want to delve deeper to see the woman she’d built through disaster.
    So he gave the only answer he could. “Yes.”
    She tilted her head, regarding him. “Yes what?”
    â€œYes, I think it will be fun, because I’d get to be with you. Will you go out to dinner with me?”
    She gulped, staring at him like he’d gone crazy. “No! I just told you all the reasons we’re not good together.”
    He smiled slowly. “I don’t think they’re good reasons. Unless you’re seeing someone?”
    He caught the flash in her blue eyes. She wanted to lie, but she didn’t. “No.”
    â€œGood. How about Friday night?”
    â€œNo, Liam. You have to go. I’m not going to date you or pursue this any further. Kinnections will find you a woman who’s meant for you.”
    He analyzed the situation. He bristled at her determination to dismiss him before getting to really know him. He also understood her wariness. He needed to move slowly so she could get used to the idea of him being around. She needed to begin to trust he was interested in her, including her past. This brief encounter only proved the energy between them was real. They were connected in some way and needed to explore that deeper.
    He also desperately wanted her in his bed.
    Devine nodded. “Okay, I’ll leave. But first you need to answer one question.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWhat’s your last name?”
    Her tentative smile was sweet and ripped at his heart. “MacKenzie. Isabella MacKenzie.”
    There was so much more he craved to know, but it would have to come later. “Isabella MacKenzie,” he repeated, rolling the name on his tongue like a caress. “I like it.”
    â€œShould I be calling you Devine, instead?”
    â€œNever. You can call me Liam. That’s who I will always be with you.”
    She pressed her lips together. Then opened the door. “Good-bye, Liam.”
    He wanted to ruffle her hair or touch her cheek. Tell her not to worry. Instead, he kept his distance. “Good-bye, Isabella.”
    When he left, excitement and promise surged in his blood. Her honesty humbled him. She never flinched when she told him her story, owning her mistakes as well as her triumphs. She had been fascinating and confident when he’d first met her six years ago.
    Now she was pure magnificence. Real.
    And the challenge of a lifetime.
    Driving away, he felt as if the color had leaked back into the world around him, ripe with the tantalizing fruit of the unknown. The strange restlessness inside quieted.

chapter five

    I ZZY DRAGGED IN A BREATH and prepared herself for the upcoming hour.
    She could handle it. Liam had an appointment with Kate for his interview so he’d be matched with the right woman. Kate was a genius when it came to her matchmaking skills, besides having a very special talent that Izzy had a hard time believing at first but finally witnessed in full force. When Kate put her hands on two people who were soul mates, she got jolted by an electrical shock. Gen had given her the entire story of how Kate had met her husband, Slade, when he stormed into Kinnections calling her a fraud. Izzy could only imagine how their love story had played out.
    Arilyn and Kennedy were out of the office, and the day had been a bit calmer than usual for an early Wednesday afternoon. The lunch-hour rush had passed, so she kept busy working on the spreadsheets and calculating matching data to load back into the system to find proper matches.
    She was still experiencing aftershocks from Liam’s evening visit.
    Knowing she’d been just as important to him that night had healed some deep wounds. But there was no way she could relive a night