Free Romance Me (Boxed Set) by Susan Hatler, Virna Depaul, Ciara Knight, Rochelle French

for repair.
    Maybe storybook romance did exist, but I was the bonehead princess kicking the prince to the curb before he’d had a chance to ask me to the ball. Or, even better, to a picnic by the dog park.
    ****
    After work, I sat on my couch debating whether or not searching “Henry Holbrook III” online would make me creepy-obsessive. As I weighed the pros and cons of internet stalking, my mom called on her way home to tell me where she’d made dinner reservations before we hit the art show tonight.
    I’d tried to keep my voice upbeat to hide my miserable mood, but apparently I’d done a lousy job because as we were wrapping up, my mom said, “Is something wrong? You sound down. Are things not going well with your new man?”
    “Who? Oh, Craig.” I’d forgotten about him. I sat on my couch and hugged one of the embroidered pillows to my chest for comfort. “No, I broke that off.”
    “Why?” Mom’s voice oozed with sympathy. “He sounded perfect.”
    No, apparently just eighty-six percent. “He kept a chart, Mom. To rate how compatible we are.”
    Long pause. “How’d you do?”
    I bolted upright. “Mother!”
    “What?” She used her innocent tone. “I want to know your score. Any man who didn’t think you were a catch is doing the math wrong.”
    “You know, it doesn’t even matter.” I dropped back into the cushions and took a big breath. “I’m interested in someone else.”
    Not that it mattered at this point.
    “The other man from Detailed Dating? ” I could hear the humm of her garage door going up and knew she’d arrived home.
    “No.” I bit my lip, hoping I’d have her support. “From, uh, doggy class. I took Rachel’s miniature beagle when I was puppy sitting, long story, and that’s where I met Henry. He adopted a stray dog and signed her up for obedience school. Isn’t that sweet?”
    Short pause, then I heard a car door slam. “But you don’t like dogs.”
    Why did everyone keep saying that? “I do, too.”
    “I’ve known you since birth and you’ve never expressed a smidgeon of interest in animals.” Then she laughed. “Remember when you were in high school and Frank brought home his sister’s King Charles Spaniel, Bitsy? You ran around the house with that lint remover permanently attached to your hand until the day she picked her up.”
    I rolled my eyes at the mention of Mom’s husband number two. “That was fifteen years ago.”
    Not that a lint remover wouldn’t come in handy with a dog around . . .
    “All right, honey. He has a dog and you love dogs.” She snickered. “What else do you know about him?”
    “He’s sweet. Funny.” I fingered the dog bone keychain in my hand. “Thoughtful.”
    “Hmmm.”
    My stomach clenched at her disapproving tone. “What?”
    She sighed. “Sweet and funny seem nice in the beginning, but they won’t keep the relationship going long-term. What are his goals? What are his interests? I thought we decided Detailed Dating was the way to go. Those men are looking for serious relationships and they lay it all on the line. That’s how I met Robert. Online dating.”
    My jaw clenched. “You don’t even know Henry. How can you just rule him out?”
    “It sounds like you don’t know him very well either.” She cleared her throat. “I’m not trying to upset you, Ellen. I want you to be smart so you don’t get hurt. Lasting relationships are about compatibility.”
    Tears burned my eyes. “How would you know?”
    “After two failed marriages, I think—”
    “Don’t forget about my dad.” Okay, my voice might’ve sounded a tad sharp.
    “Well, I never married him so—”
    “He doesn’t count. I’ve heard it before. You know what? That’s your life, not mine, and you don’t have all the answers. Who even knows what will happen with your marriage to Robert? You haven’t even had your first anniversary yet.”
    “Ellen!”
    “You think you know what’s best for me, but you don’t.” My throat felt raw as