Prologue

PROLOGUE

G erri Wilder’s heels clicked against marble flooring as she entered the grand ballroom of the Vale Estate. Crystal chandeliers cast a warm glow over elegant tables draped in cream silk, each adorned with towering arrangements of white roses and orchids.

The air sparkled with possibility—or maybe that was just the champagne bubbles floating past her nose. Either way, she had that familiar tickle in her matchmaking bones. Someone’s carefully constructed single life was about to be gloriously disrupted.

She paused to admire Victoria Vale’s impeccable taste. The matriarch of New York’s most powerful shifter family never did anything half-assed, including this exclusive Matchmaker’s Book Club dinner.

Though “book club” might be stretching it, considering these society women spent more time plotting their children’s futures than discussing literature. The last meeting’s “book discussion” had devolved into a thirty-minute debate about whether a destination wedding in Tuscany was too cliché.

“Gerri!” Victoria Vale glided toward her, silver-streaked black hair caught up in an elegant chignon. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“And miss the chance to see what masterpiece you’ve created this time?” Gerri gestured at the stunning décor. “Besides, your text about Marcus had me intrigued. Though I should warn you—the last mother who sent me a midnight SOS about her son ended up with a daughter-in-law by Christmas.”

Victoria’s elegant features creased with maternal concern. “That’s exactly what I’m hoping for. He’s impossible, Gerri. Wealthy, successful, devastatingly handsome—and absolutely refuses to consider anyone who isn’t his fated mate.” She lowered her voice. “Do you know how many eligible women he’s dismissed after exactly one week of dating?”

“Knowing Marcus? All of them.” Gerri took a sip of champagne, remembering the commanding presence of the Vale Pack Alpha at last month’s charity gala. Even then, she’d noticed how his sharp gray eyes had surveyed the room like a king examining his domain—and finding it wanting. “Though I heard the software heiress lasted eight days.”

“Only because she got stuck in an elevator and missed their breakup coffee.” Victoria threw up her hands. “He actually sent her a polite text ending things while maintenance worked on getting her out. Who does that?”

“A man who’s learned to weaponize efficiency,” Gerri chuckled. “But tell me more about these one-week wonders.”

“It’s maddening. He takes them to the finest restaurants, shows them a perfectly pleasant time, then announces they’re ‘not compatible’ and moves on. His assistant has a template for the ‘it’s not you, it’s fate’ speech.” Victoria’s eyes narrowed. “And don’t get me started on his dating rules.”

“Rules?”

“No personal questions about his work. No unexpected visits to his office. No meeting the pack unless he initiates it—which he never does. And absolutely no attempts to extend the relationship past seven days.” Victoria sighed. “He’s running Vale Corp brilliantly, expanding into new ventures, protecting the pack... but I want grandchildren before I’m too old to spoil them rotten. Is it too much to ask that my son find someone who challenges him? Someone who won’t let him hide behind all these ridiculous boundaries?”

“I might have someone in mind,” Gerri mused, thinking of a brilliant scientist who’d caught her attention recently. “I met your son at the Children’s Hospital fundraiser. He’s not just charming—he’s a natural leader. Perfect for—Eleanor Grant’s daughter.”

Gerri turned to find Eleanor approaching, her tailored Chanel suit as pristine as her reputation as New York’s top neurosurgeon.

“Are you certain?” Eleanor’s piercing blue eyes narrowed. “Natalie intimidates most men. She won a Nobel Prize in medical research, then switched fields entirely because she wanted a new challenge. My daughter’s brilliant, but...”

“But she secretly wishes for love,” Gerri finished softly. “Despite burying herself in her work.”

“And her ridiculous lists,” Eleanor added. “She has a spreadsheet ranking potential partners based on intelligence, ambition, and—I kid you not—their understanding of molecular biology. The last man I tried to set her up with got eliminated because he couldn’t explain quantum entanglement during dinner.”

“In his defense,” Victoria offered, “how many first dates involve quantum physics?”

“Only Natalie’s,” Eleanor groaned. “She claims she’s too busy for dating, but she finds time to attend every scientific conference in the northern hemisphere. Last week she flew to Stockholm for a two-hour lecture on biochemistry. A lecture she’d already attended virtually!”

Gerri’s eyes twinkled. “Sounds like she’s running just as hard as Marcus is from meaningful connection.”

“She says she’s married to science,” Eleanor confided. “Though I caught her reading a romance novel in her lab last month. She tried to convince me it was research on human pair bonding behaviors.”

“Victoria” Gerri turned to her hostess, Marcus’s mother, a plan forming. “You’re on the board of that research company Marcus is considering acquiring, aren’t you?”

“Biothera Labs? Yes, but—” Victoria’s eyes widened. “Oh! You want me to encourage the purchase because Natalie works there?”

“Her research would be invaluable to Vale Corp,” Gerri s innocently. “Just mention what an asset she’d be to the company.”

“And how exactly will that help them fall in love?” Victoria crossed her arms. “Marcus sees right through matchmaking schemes. He has a sixth sense for them ever since I tried to accidentally-on-purpose seat him next to that lovely wolf shifter at Thanksgiving.”

“The one who memorized his coffee order and started having it delivered to his office?” Eleanor asked.

“That’s the one. He donated her coffee shop to charity and had it turned into a cat café out of spite.”

“And my Natalie’s worse,” Eleanor interjected. “She’s an overachiever who doesn’t know when to quit. Last year, she created an algorithm to automatically decline my dinner party invitations if I’ve invited any eligible bachelors. Getting her to look up from her microscope long enough to notice a man is nearly impossible.”

“Trust me, ladies.” Gerri’s smile turned mischievous. “They’ll be getting to know each other very well soon enough. No one stays single forever when I set my sights on them.”

“But how?” both mothers demanded in unison.

“Now, now.” Gerri waggled her finger. “A matchmaker never reveals her secrets. Though I will say, it’s amazing how often true love blooms in the middle of a crisis.”

“Crisis?” Victoria paled. “What crisis?”

“Did I say crisis? I meant... opportunity.” Gerri’s innocent look fooled no one. “Don’t worry. I have a perfect track record.”

“That’s what concerns me,” Eleanor muttered. “Wasn’t it your matchmaking that led to that tiger shifter and the librarian getting trapped in the rare books vault?”

“They emerged engaged, didn’t they?” Gerri shrugged. “And the fire damage was minimal.”

“Fire damage?” Victoria squeaked.

“Gerri!” A wave of perfume announced the arrival of Margot Chen, another society mother. “You have to help my Sarah. She’s brilliant—graduated MIT at nineteen—but she can barely make eye contact with potential suitors! Last week, she tried speed dating and calculated the statistical probability of finding love instead of talking to her dates.”

“And my twins,” Amanda Porter chimed in. “They’re running their own tech startup, but their dating life is a disaster. They keep trying to optimize their dating apps and ended up creating an AI that rejected everyone in New York!”

Gerri found herself surrounded by a circle of concerned mothers, each eager to secure her services. She held up her hands in surrender. “Ladies! One match at a time. Though I should warn you—once I take on a case, there’s no stopping fate. Just ask Mrs. Rodriguez about how her daughter met that lovely merman during what was supposed to be a simple beach vacation.”

“Didn’t they end up stranded on an island?” someone whispered.

“A very romantic island,” Gerri corrected. “The Coast Guard said they’d never seen such a happy rescue. And the merfolk community threw a beautiful underwater wedding.”

“But you’ll help Sarah next?” Margot pleaded.

“I promise to work my way down the list.” Gerri’s eyes twinkled. “Though at this rate, matchmaking might become my full-time job. Now, who’s ready to officially not discuss any books at this book club?”

The women laughed, tension easing as servers began circulating with the first course. Victoria and Eleanor lingered behind as the others drifted toward their seats.

“Do you really think it could work?” Victoria asked softly. “Marcus and Natalie?”

Eleanor nodded. “They’re both so driven, so independent...”

“Which is exactly why they’re perfect for each other.” Gerri raised her champagne flute. “To the success of the Matchmaker’s Book Club—and to love finding a way, even for the most stubborn hearts. Especially when they least expect it.”

As glasses clinked and conversation flowed around her, Gerri smiled. Marcus Vale and Natalie Grant had no idea what was coming. But then, the best matches often started with an element of surprise—and maybe just a touch of mischief from a certain matchmaker.

She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to her contact at the lab where Natalie worked. Time to set the wheels in motion. After all, nothing brought two stubborn people together quite like a little chaos, a dash of danger, and perhaps a small, controlled explosion or two.

Purely accidental, of course.

Gerri couldn’t wait to see how it all unfolded. In her experience, the harder they fought fate, the harder they fell in love.