11. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Theo

Y ou have one new message.

I check on my phone and see a red dot on the corner of The Perfect Bride agency's app. That's weird. I click on the app only to find a message from Helene. I focus on the message, and it says Helen, not Helene. I click on the message.

Hi Theo, this is Helen, your match. I had to leave for a family emergency and was never able to respond to your messages in the app. I hope it's not too late for us to meet. Let me know of a date and place, and we can see if we're truly a match!

I read and reread the message many times. The one thing that jumps out at me is the name. My match's name is Helen, without an e at the end and she's just getting back to me. So, who in the hell is my goddess? I messaged Helen back and set us up for a coffee date, to which she quickly agreed. Meanwhile, my thoughts are going wild.

Clearly, I got the wrong person on social media, but Helene went along with it. Why? For fun? Did she know who I was and take advantage?

I get several messages from her during the day, but I don't text her back. I don't know if I should be angry or disappointed. What I need is to focus on my date with Helen.

I meet her at a fancy café. She is already there, waiting for me. I like that. She's prompt. She's also very beautiful. Long dark hair, amber-colored eyes and a lovely smile. But she does nothing for me at all.

She gets up when I approach the table and puts her hand out.

"Hi, you must be Theo."

"At your service. It's lovely to meet you, Helen."

"I'm so sorry we lost all this time, Theo, but it was inevitable. My mother lives in San Diego with my grandmother, who takes care of her. My mother broke her arm and wasn't able to be there for Grammy, so I had to step in. Her recovery was slow, so I had to stay longer than expected. I have my own business, so I was okay with working from San Diego, but everything is more complicated when you're a caretaker."

She's beautiful, has her own business, and cares about her family—three things that should move me but don't. She's a stranger, and there's no chemistry between us. I think I'm just upset that the woman I want is not who she's supposed to be, and it's driving me crazy. I try my best to be charming to Helen and ask her questions about herself and her life so that we can get to know one another.

In the back of my mind, a platinum-haired, violet-eyed beauty won't leave my thoughts. Our coffee date ends and we agree to meet again for dinner in a few days. She promises she'll text me, and I nod and walk her to her car.

My first instinct is to go directly to Helene and shake her for not telling me the truth. My second instinct is to stay away from her. What if everything she's said to me is a lie? But I've got proof of everything because I've been following her on social media for three months. I try to remember back to the first time she showed up at the club, and she was genuinely surprised when I went to get her from the line so she could come into the club.

This situation is truly messing with my head. Helen messaged me to thank me for coffee, and I gave her a random reply. It was polite but nothing more. Not knowing what to do, I go back to the office and do a deep dive into our accounts. Maybe if I lose myself in the business, I can forget everything else. I do this for three days, and tomorrow is my second date with Helen. I really need to talk to Helene.

I check out the time and it's after school hours, so I call her up.

"Hey stranger, how have you been?" she answers.

"Hi. I'm good, thank you, just busy with work."

"I thought as much. That's why I haven't texted. I knew you were busy. Do you think we can get together tonight?"

"Yes, I want to see you and talk to you about something. Can I come over to your house around seven?"

"That'll be wonderful." She says happily. "I'll fix us something to eat."

"Don't go to too much trouble. I'll see you later."

I hang up and find that my heart is beating a mile a minute. This is how I react to this magnificent goddess. It's how I reacted when I first saw her image on social media and how she makes me feel whenever we are together. There's a battle going on inside me. I just think I owe it to Helen to give her a chance. There was a reason we were matched.

Having no one to discuss this with, I submerge myself in numbers until six p.m. I go home, change into jeans and a t-shirt, and knock on Helene's door at exactly five minutes to seven. The door opens fast and my goddess is standing there with a radiant smile on her face.

"Theo, I've missed you!"

She jumps into my arms and gives me a bear hug. The whole thing bothers me because, in her arms, I feel like I've come home. She lets go of me so I can enter the house.

"Food smells great," I say.

"Italian food. You'll love it."

Her smile is still radiant, but she seems to notice all is not well with me.

"Hey, Chip, what's troubling you?"

"We need to talk."

"Uh oh, that's never good. Come, let's sit down on the couch."

She takes my hand and guides me to her living room couch. I veer toward the armchair so I'm not sitting next to her. I need my space if I'm going to get through this tonight. Her face falls when she sees where I've sat. I fidget a little but decide being direct is always the best way to deal with something as important as this.

"I got a message from the mail-order bride app on Monday. It was a message from Helen Hudson, my agency match."

"Theo…"

"Helen without an e at the end. It seems she had an unexpected trip to help family members and has been too busy to get in contact with me."

Helene gets up from the couch and grabs her hands before her, almost like in prayer.

"Theo, I'm sorry."

"I had coffee with her. She seems nice."

"Theo, I wanted to tell you so badly that I wasn't her, but you came in like a whirlwind and swept me away. After knowing you for a while, I wanted to believe that I was that perfect match for you because I wanted you so much."

"Would you have told me?"

"Yes, of course."

"I'm not blaming you completely. I had a big part in all of this. It's just when I saw you that first time, I couldn't take my eyes off you. I think I fell for you right then and there."

"Theo…"

"The big problem I have, though, is that we were not matched. I was matched with Helen, and I think I owe it to her to see if things will work out between us."

"You're going to date her?"

"I owe it to her."

"You said that already."

Her tone is dry, and I think she's mad at me. I'm an honorable man. I have to do this.

"I should go," I say.

"What about us, Theo?"

"I need to do this, Helene. We'll talk soon."

I avoid looking at her because I can't handle seeing her disappointment. I've never run out of a house as fast as I did this time, and my stomach hurts from what I've just done.

Would this hurt less if I wasn't so in love with her already?

Helene

As soon as I saw the look on Theo's face, I knew my world would come crashing down all around me. He told me how his match contacted him and that they had coffee and talked. Now, he thinks he owes her to find out if they truly are a match. Well, what was I all this time? His side piece? I thought our relationship had evolved to something more. My heart hurts as if that is true.

But no, he's got to be a gentleman, and I'm such an idiot letting him go without a fight. How exactly will he find out if she's truly his match? Once he sleeps with her? How many orgasms will that take? I shake my head and cry out in anguish, then I crumble onto the couch and start crying. I manage to send a 911 to Tammy before grabbing some liquor.

I'm not a big drinker, so I'm already slurring my words when Tammy arrives. Unfortunately, she arrives with backup. My sister Mags. I groan. I don't want to talk to my sister. She's judgy, and that's the last thing I need right now.

"What happened, Hellie? Why are you drinking yourself stupid?" My sister asks.

"He found ou…out I wasn't his match. He's going to date her !"

"I think you are better off without him. His stalker ass is bad news." She looks judgmental.

Tammy brings a glass of her own and serves herself some whiskey.

"Don't be like that, Mags. She really cares for this guy."

"Well, he doesn't seem to care as much for her if all of a sudden he's dating this other woman. Where's the loyalty? You two have been sleeping together, for goodness sake, and he's just going to set you aside like a side piece? Nope, not worth it."

"He's a good man." I manage to say between sniffles.

"I think he loves Hellie. He looks at her like she walks on the moon."

"Not tonight," I pout.

"He's the one that picked you and stalked you and learned everything about you. He came in with a strong game and seduced you. I don't think you are at fault here. How did he leave things?"

"He'll talk to me soon…"

"What is he going to do about his match?" Mags asks while making coffee.

"I told you, get to know her, date her. I hate her, the bitch. I'm not drinking that coffee."

"Looks like big sister won't let us get thrashed," Tammy says.

"I don't think this guy is worth that. You'll like this coffee, Hellie. I got it specially ordered."

"You guys, I screwed up, and now I'm paying the price. He'll never look at me the same way again."

My sister Marguerite comes back to the living room holding a tea towel and just looks at me.

"You fell for him. Damn it, Hellie, it's just been three weeks. How do you fall in love that fast?"

"He's really good to me."

"Except now, when he's off trying to charm some other woman."

"What do you want me to say, Mags? That he's an idiot for pushing me aside for his one true match? He is, but knowing that doesn't ease the pain in my heart."

"Those matches are made by computer algorithms and based on people's answers. If she lied, it might be a false match." Tammy says.

"You think she lied?"

"I'm just looking for a silver lining, babe."

"You know what? You two suck at giving moral support. I'm going to go back to self-soothing with alcohol." I smirk.

Marguerite swipes the bottle of whiskey off the table and takes it away, replacing it with a cup of coffee.

"I put in the creamer you like. You deserve the best. If this guy can't see that, he's the one missing out."

I grab the cup and hold it between my hands so that it warms me. She did use the creamer I like and I settle down knowing I've got people who love me. I just hope Theo Foley realizes he's one of them soon.