Dating for Two

“Cooking relaxes me,” Erin explained.

“Funny, it has just the opposite effect on me,” he said.

“Your strengths obviously lie in other directions,” she countered.

Steve had to admit he appreciated the way she tried to spare his ego.

“If you don’t mind my asking, exactly what do you plan on making?”

“A frittata,” she said cheerfully. Combining a total of eight eggs in a large bowl, she tossed in a dash of salt and pepper before going on to add two packages of the frozen mixed vegetables. She would have preferred to use fresh vegetables, but beggars couldn’t afford to be choosers.

“A what?”

“Just think of it as an upgraded omelet. You have ham and bread,” she said, pleased.

“That’s because I know how to make a sandwich without setting off the smoke alarm,” he told her.

“There is hope for you yet,” she declared with a laugh.

Watching her move around his kitchen as if she belonged there, he was beginning to think the same thing himself—but for a very different reason.

* * *

Matchmaking Mamas: Playing Cupid. Arranging dates. What are mothers for?

Dear Reader,

Many articles have been written about the really difficult world of the single mother. But more and more I am beginning to see a new phenomenon emerging: the single dad. I see single fathers with one, two and sometimes three kids in tow, shopping in the grocery stores, looking haggard in the mall or on the street, going to or from stores while attempting to keep children in line—mainly by distracting them.

What started me thinking along the lines that this story eventually took was a letter from a single father to an advice columnist. He wanted to know where to find maternal-minded women. He had a small son and he wanted not just a wife but a mother for his boy (which I found extremely sensitive). She gave him some decent-sounding advice (none of which I could use in my story), but the seed was planted. I started thinking about all those fathers I’ve been seeing and wondering if they were married and if they weren’t, and what did they do to try to fill not just one void, but two? Because, in essence, when a single father goes out on a date, he’s really dating for two: himself and his child.

Since I am master (mistress?) of this universe I’ve created, my single dad’s problems are solved by those three wonderful matchmaking mamas, Maizie, Theresa and Cecilia. Come and read their latest success story.

Thank you for reading and, as always, I wish you someone to love who loves you back. You have that, you have everything!

Best, Marie

Dating for Two

Marie Ferrarella

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MARIE FERRARELLA is a USA TODAY bestselling and RITA Award-winning author who has written more than two hundred books for Mills & Boon, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website, www.marieferrarella.com.

To Allison Carroll for displaying concern over and above the call of duty. Thank you.

Contents

Cover

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Extract

Copyright

Prologue

That was the third time Maizie Sommers had caught her client staring off into space in the past half hour.

Eleanor O’Brien had come to the real-estate agency that Maizie owned several weeks ago. The middle-aged, sweet-faced woman wanted to downsize her lifestyle, replacing her thirty-year-old two-story house with a more space-efficient condominium. Maizie had given her the benefit of her expertise, instructing her on how to present her home to its best advantage. The crash course had definitely paid off. There were already several buyers not just interested in Eleanor’s house but ready to make an offer.

Eleanor had decided to hold off accepting one until after she’d found a condo that caught her attention.

But today, apparently, her attention was elsewhere. Maizie had taken her to three different condominiums today and she had the impression that her client was there in body, but her mind seemed to be a hundred miles away.

Initially, she had politely ignored Eleanor’s preoccupation. But there was no sense in showing her these homes if she wasn’t really seeing them.

“If you don’t mind my saying so, you seem rather lost in thought,” Maizie told the petite woman with the frosted blond hair. “You know,” she went on tactfully, “we don’t have to see these condos right now.”

Maizie wasn’t just pretending to be thoughtful of her client’s sensibilities—she really was concerned. She’d taken to Eleanor in these past few weeks and she prided herself on being a people person first, a Realtor—something she was exceedingly successful at—second. Or third if she counted the vocation she really had a passion for—matchmaking.

While she made her money being a Realtor with a very successful track record of matching the right person to the right home, her heart was even more firmly entrenched in her matchmaking endeavors, something she did on a joint basis with her two very best friends, Cecilia and Theresa, both accomplished businesswomen in their own chosen fields. Friends since third grade, the women enjoyed bringing happiness into people’s lives by matching them up with their soul mates. So far, that track record was stellar.