Free The Bear's Bride (Mail-Order Mates #3) by Lola Kidd Page A

“It’s his big head. Sometimes I’m afraid he’s going to fall down when he runs around a corner too fast.”
    Amy laughed. “He is a little top-heavy.”
    Karen ran her finger around the rim of her coffee cup. “I have something to talk to you about, Amy.”
    Amy rolled her eyes. “I’ll watch Max this weekend. You don’t even have to ask. I know you and Tom really need a date night.”
    “Actually, this is about you needing a date night.”
    “Oh, no. Not another setup, Karen. No way. I told you I’m done with those.”
    “This isn’t a setup, though! Well, not exactly, anyway.”
    Amy shook her head empathically. “No. N-O. I can’t. Not again.”
    “This is a dating agency. It’s not the same as a setup.”
    “I tried a dating agency. Don’t you remember Kevin?”
    Karen shivered. “Ex-psycho number two. No, I couldn’t forget about Kevin.”
    “So then you know why I’m not doing dating agencies.”
    “That’s good.” Karen circled the rim of her coffee cup again. “This isn’t a dating agency. It’s a mail-order bride company. And they found you a match.”
    “How could they find me a match if I’ve never even applied?” Amy said smugly. “Wait. Karen, what did you do?”
    “Do you remember that survey I had you take? The funny personality test from the Internet?”
    Amy slumped in her chair. “Oh, no.”
    “It was a personality test.” Karen held up her hand. “So, technically, I didn’t lie to you.”
    “That was only last night. How could they find me a match already?”
    Karen shrugged. “I don’t know. The guy must have already been in the system. As soon as I submitted your profile, I got a match. It was a ninety-nine point five percent match. The woman called me today.”
    Amy was curious, not that she’d tell Karen that. A match right away? That had to be some luck. She’d tried online dating a decade ago and it had taken months for her to find someone she liked. She wanted to know who this guy was. Even if he had a great personality and looked good on paper, he was probably a troll. No normal guy would be using an agency.
    “A mail-order bride agency,” Amy said suspiciously. “There’s only one reputable agency I can think of.”
    Karen nodded. “You know it’s Lovely and Kind Brides. I wouldn’t trust anyone else.”
    “Dammit, Karen!”
    Karen looked up sharply. “You said you were going to sign up one of these days.”
    “One day. That meant I was going to check them out and then decide.”
    “I’m worried about you, Amy.” Karen sighed. “You’re becoming a bitter old cat lady. Don’t you remember when we used to read Mom’s romance paperbacks to each other? What happened to that little girl? She believed in finding her true love.”
    “That little girl got three divorces.” Amy pushed her red hair back from her forehead. “I’m sorry, Karen. I can’t get into it with another man. I just got a divorce.”
    “But this won’t be just any other man! This could be your life mate. LK has a ridiculously high success rate. They don’t make mistakes. You should at least see this guy. He’s so handsome, and just your type.”
    Amy considered it for a moment and decided it was too risky. If she saw the guy and he was wicked hot, she wouldn’t be able to resist talking with him. She had a weak spot for men, especially the ones who were no good for her. Experience told her that if a man was interested in her, he was going to be no good. A woman with a track record like hers had to take the hint eventually. She wasn’t cut out for dating or marriage. The best she could hope for was finding the perfect best friend she could spend her days with. Love was out of the question and marriage was laughable.
    She shook her head. “I can’t. I can’t do this all again. I know you’re worried, but I’m okay. I have a very full life. I don’t need to go chasing love again at my age.”
    “You’re thirty-four, Amy, not ninety-four. There are a lot of