Prologue

PROLOGUE

T he soft glow of crystal chandeliers bathed the private dining room of La Grande Boucherie in a warm golden light.

Gerri Wilder surveyed the scene with amused satisfaction, her silver-white bob swaying as she shook her head at the elaborate decorations. Trust a group of determined mothers to turn even a simple celebration into a potential matchmaking opportunity.

“Victoria, darling,” she called out to an elegant woman in Chanel who was studying the seating chart with suspicious intensity. “I don’t think rearranging the tables is going to improve anyone’s love life.”

“But, Gerri,” Victoria protested, brandishing her tablet, “if I seat the Thomson boy’s mother next to?—”

“The same Thomson boy who fled the country when you orchestrated that ‘surprise’ yacht party with twelve eligible shifter daughters?”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Victoria defended, though her lips twitched. “How was I supposed to know he gets seasick? And they were all very nice girls from excellent families...”

Laughter rippled through the gathering of mothers. Eleanor raised her wine glass. “At least yours showed up. I hired a matchmaking service to ambush my son at his own office. He took one look at the line of candidates in his lobby and ran for the fire escape.”

“You think that’s bad?” Martha adjusted her pearls with a rueful smile. “I convinced my daughter’s assistant to schedule all her lunch meetings at restaurants where I’d arranged for ‘accidental’ meetings with eligible bachelors. It worked perfectly until she started sending her intern to pick up takeout.”

“Did anyone try the charity auction approach?” someone asked.

“Oh honey,” Regina chimed in from near the dessert table. “I organized an entire fake charity gala. Had everything planned – romantic lighting, live music, carefully selected guest list. My son took one look around and spent the whole evening hiding in the coat check room with his phone.”

Gerri bit back a laugh. “These children,” she mused, sampling a chocolate. “They can run international corporations and revolutionize entire industries, but mention the word ‘date’ and suddenly they’re too busy to eat lunch without their laptops.”

“Do you know what my Alexander did?” Rebecca announced, getting into the spirit of sharing matchmaking disasters. “I arranged this lovely ‘coincidental’ meeting at his favorite coffee shop. The young lady was perfect – successful attorney, comes from a respected wolf shifter family. I timed it down to the minute. He walked in, took one look at the setup, turned into a bear right there in the middle of Starbucks, and hibernated for a week!”

“A week?” Gerri arched an eyebrow.

“In December! He claimed it was ‘just good timing for winter rest’ but I know better.” Rebecca huffed. “Though I suppose I shouldn’t complain. Catherine’s daughter portaled herself to another dimension to avoid a blind date.”

“It took us three weeks to find her,” Catherine admitted, dabbing her eyes with a linen napkin. “And when we did, she’d already established a thriving consulting business with the local mages. Still single, of course.”

Gerri’s attention shifted to a quieter corner of the room where two women sat slightly apart from the laughter. Dr. Evadne Andrews and Nellie Draker huddled close in conversation, their untouched desserts evidence of heavier concerns.

“I worry about Asher,” Evadne confided, her fingers tracing the rim of her water glass. Unlike the other mothers sharing their matchmaking misadventures, her elegant features carried real fear beneath the maternal concern. “She’s so focused on her research, on finding a cure for her fatal condition... she doesn’t even give herself a chance at happiness.”

Nellie nodded sympathetically, her auburn curls catching the light. “Talon’s similar in his own way. Eight hundred years old and still married to his work. I tried introducing him to a lovely dragon shifter last month – she runs a global conservation foundation, perfect match really.”

“What happened?”

“He promoted her to head of environmental initiatives at DragonTech and spent three hours discussing corporate sustainability.” Nellie sighed. “She’s now dating his CFO.”

“At least she stayed in the family,” Gerri quipped, sliding into an empty seat at their table. Both women startled slightly at her sudden appearance. “Though I’m guessing that wasn’t quite the merger you had in mind.”

“Gerri.” Evadne’s voice carried a hint of desperation. “I don’t know what to do anymore. With Asher’s condition... time isn’t on our side. But she won’t even consider?—”

“Taking risks?” Gerri’s blue eyes sparkled with secret knowledge. “Maybe it’s time to let her take a different kind of risk entirely.”

“What do you mean?” Evadne leaned forward, nearly knocking over her untouched champagne. Behind them, someone’s mother was cheerfully describing how she’d tried to trap her daughter and an eligible alpha in an elevator, only to discover he was claustrophobic.

“Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come from unexpected places,” Gerri said, smoothing her emerald dress. “Tell me, Evadne, what would you say if I told you the answer to Asher’s research might be connected to her love life?”

“I’d say you’ve had too much champagne,” Evadne replied dryly. “My daughter’s already thoroughly researched the genetic compatibility matrices for potential partners. She has a PowerPoint presentation explaining why dating is statistically inadvisable given her current circumstances.”

“A PowerPoint?” Nellie’s eyebrows shot up.

“With charts. And a risk assessment spreadsheet.” Evadne rubbed her temples. “She presented it at our last family dinner.”

“Now that’s a new one,” Gerri chuckled. “Though not the worst approach I’ve seen. Last month a physicist tried to calculate love using quantum entanglement theories.” She waved off their questioning looks. “Don’t ask. The point is sometimes the heart knows better than the head – even brilliant, overly analytical heads.”

“But Asher’s illness...” Evadne’s voice caught. “The progression is accelerating. She barely takes time to eat or sleep, let alone?—”

“Let alone notice anyone who might have more than a professional interest in her research?” Gerri’s eyes twinkled.

Nellie straightened so quickly, she almost knocked over her own glass. “Gerri, are you suggesting...”

“I’m not suggesting anything.” Gerri’s innocent look fooled no one. “I’m simply saying that your son, Nellie dear, might find Dr. Andrews’s genetic research particularly relevant to certain... draconian interests.”

Both mothers stared at her. Around them, the other women’s voices created a cheerful backdrop of matchmaking schemes gone wrong – someone was now describing an attempt to matchmake at a supernatural peace summit that had nearly started a war.

“But Talon’s so...” Nellie gestured vaguely.

“Stubborn? Set in his ways? Convinced he’s got the next few centuries perfectly planned out?” Gerri supplied helpfully. “Amazing how eight hundred years of careful planning can get derailed by one brilliant scientist with a revolutionary theory.”

“And Asher’s so focused on her work...” Evadne bit her lip.

“Maybe it’s time for her to expand her research parameters.” Gerri’s smile held secrets. “Sometimes the cure we’re looking for comes packaged in unexpected ways. Ways that might include corporate funding, cutting-edge labs, and a CEO with a very personal interest in genetic mysteries.”

“Gerri.” Nellie’s voice sharpened with maternal insight. “What exactly do you know?”

“Let’s just say the universe has a way of bringing the right people together at the right time.” Gerri rose gracefully, gathering her small clutch. “Even if those people happen to be a brilliant scientist with a genetic illness and a dragon shifter CEO with centuries of secrets.”

“But—” both mothers began simultaneously.

“Trust the process, darlings.” Gerri winked. “And maybe encourage Asher to take a few calculated risks with her research. The results might surprise everyone.”

She glided away toward the dessert table, leaving them to exchange bewildered glances. Behind her, she could hear their urgent whispers mixing with the ongoing chorus of matchmaking misadventures – something about a flash mob proposal gone terribly wrong.

Later, as the celebration wound down, Gerri stood by the window overlooking Manhattan’s glittering skyline. The mothers gathered their belongings, still sharing stories of their children’s romantic obliviousness. She smiled, raising her glass in a private toast.

“To brilliant minds about to learn that love doesn’t follow scientific protocols,” she murmured. “And to mothers who never stop trying to help them figure it out – no matter how many fake charity galas it takes.”

She had other matches to orchestrate, other lives to guide toward their destiny. But something told her this particular story would be one of her favorites to watch unfold. After all, what could be more entertaining than watching love triumph over science – especially when science itself would end up proving love’s existence?

With that amusing thought, Gerri rejoined the departing group, already looking forward to the next Matchmaker’s Book Club dinner. She had a feeling they’d be planning another celebration soon – preferably one without PowerPoint presentations about dating statistics.