Meant to Be (RightMatch.com Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page A

literally, dropped. “You can’t be. The site is only for people over forty. I never would have gone on after Ava signed me up if it hadn’t been for people my age. Did you lie to the owners?”
    “No, honey. I am the owner.”
    “You are? You said you were a computer specialist. You designed things.”
    “I do. I did in the past for companies. But now I need to work from home and my brother’s a venture capitalist. He financed the site twenty months ago.”
    “Why do you need to work from home?”
    “I’ll get to that in a minute. What’s important is I tell you why I lied.”
    Letting go of his hands, she leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. He didn’t need his site psychologist to read her body language. “Okay, go ahead.”
    “I was lonely, Beth. I’ve dated off and on, but the bar scenes and sports groups like Joey belongs to weren’t my thing. I never found my soul mate.” He lifted his chin. “Until you.”
    “Isn’t that a bit premature?”
    “No, I knew it before I even came down here, but after being with you for nearly two days, I’m totally sure.” She just watched him, and he couldn’t read her expression. “In any case, because I was lonely, I studied the profiles people created on my site. Joey and Spence found their wives on it, as well as hundreds of other couples who have found matches. I zeroed in on you because you were so appealing.”
    “Appealing?”
    “I loved your combination of sophistication and shyness.” He smiled. “It’s even more attractive in person. And I had a sense you were adventurous—or at least you wanted to be.” Here he chuckled. “I discovered I was right about that. In bed.”
    She blushed, closed her eyes and said, “Oh, God, don’t remind me.”
    Now he was confused. “Why not remind you?”
    When she opened those pretty hazel eyes again, there was sadness in them. “Where would you like to me start, Cole?” Hmm, a hint of anger in her voice.
    “Anywhere.”
    “Number one, you’re eleven years younger than I am.”
    “I realize that. No big deal.”
    “It is to me, and I’ll tell you, my kids will feel the same way.”
    “Why?”
    “Oh, come on. You can’t be that naïve.”
    Her accusation rankled him. He’d had a nice life, had been protected in many ways from the harshness of it by his intellect and his good looks, but he’d shared Joe’s and Spence’s tragedies. “Must be I am, because I don’t see the problem.”
    “We don’t have anything in common.”
    “Sure we do. We found that out online. We like the same activities, restaurants, books. And we have a similar philosophy on life. Remember when we read that book on happiness together? We agreed on things that would make us happy.”
    “Cole, we’re at totally different stages in our lives. Can you imagine going out with my friends? They talk about retirement, vacation homes, college for their kids. You’re nowhere near any of that.”
    “So, I can listen. Comment. I may be young but I’m not an idiot.”
    “What about your friends? I’d have nothing in common with them. They’d party, talk about pursuing their careers, having kids, which I’m way past.”
    He’d lost contact with his friends from work and had bowed out of most relationships he’d been in before he had Ellie.
    Tell her about Ellie. Get it all out.
    He couldn’t. He thought she’d be mad he lied, not angry about their age difference. Especially after this weekend. His plan to proceed didn’t include this reaction.
    “Cole, did you hear what I said about your friends?”
    “Truthfully, I spend most of my time with my family. My brothers and their wives are about your age.”
    Giving him a very hard stare, she said, “I won’t have any more children.”
    Tell her.
    “That’s all right by me.”
    “Why?”
    Tell her.
    Cole felt like he was standing on the sand at the ocean, with the ground slipping out from beneath his feet, the water about to pull him under. He saw