Flirting in Flagstaff: At the Altar, #20

By Keira K. Barton

Tess Messerly's love life is a mess. She's fallen for the "wrong guy" more times than she can count. When her three college roommates suggest she sign up for Matchrimony, she's hesitant because she's sure she'll find some way to screw up Dr. Lachele's flawless success rate. Not wanting to be the only one still single by the end of the summer, Tess pushes past her unease and agrees to their plan.

Levi Thomas has one goal—buy Mr. Earl's gorgeous ranch. The only problem: the old man won't sell to a bachelor. Faced with giving up his dreams or getting married, Levi turns to Dr. Lachele to find a wife as quickly as possible. When the process takes longer than expected, Levi is impatient and willing to do anything to get a bride—including moving to Flagstaff, Arizona.

Will Levi and Tess manage to create a life together? Or will Tess utterly destroy Dr. Lachele's perfect streak?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keira K. Barton
• Release date: Feb 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393549680

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Copyright © 2019 by Keira K. Barton

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Erin Dameron Hill/EDH Graphics

Edited by Tristi Pinkston

Printed in the United States of America.

First printing edition 2019.

Tess Messerly’s love life is a mess. She’s fallen for the wrong guy more times than she can count. When her three college roommates suggest she sign up for Matchrimony, she’s hesitant because she’s sure she’ll find some way to screw up Dr. Lachele’s flawless success rate. Not wanting to be the only one still single by the end of the summer, Tess pushes past her unease and agrees to their plan.

Levi Thomas has one goal—buy Mr. Earl’s gorgeous ranch. The only problem: the old man won’t sell to a bachelor. Faced with giving up his dreams or getting married, Levi turns to Dr. Lachele to find a wife as quickly as possible. When the process takes longer than expected, Levi is impatient and willing to do anything to get a bride—including moving to Flagstaff, Arizona. Will Levi and Tess manage to create a life together? Or will Tess utterly destroy Dr. Lachele’s perfect streak?

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Keira K. Barton

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For Gideon. It’s never easy, but it’s worth it.

Prologue

Dr. Lachele stared at the brown-haired girl across the table from her. Tess Messerly would be her most difficult client. She didn’t usually work with anyone who wasn’t one-hundred percent on board with meeting their match at the altar, but she’d decided to take a chance on Tess due to her relationship with Alexis Casey, one of Lachele’s former employees and a dear friend.

She’d finished interviewing the girl, and Tess had been talking for the last ten minutes about all the reasons why she thought Matchrimony was a bad idea, especially for her. Lachele had tried to be patient and listen, but she just couldn’t take it any longer. "Tess, I understand what you’re saying. Truly, I do, but you need to trust me when I tell you that my system works. I don’t know how else to convince you if my success rate doesn’t do so on its own. I’ve never failed to bring happiness to my couples."

Tess closed her eyes and took a deep breath. You know, she said when she finally opened her eyes, you’re right. I just need to decide that I’m going forward with this no matter what. I’m here, aren’t I? I’ve done a terrible job matching myself up—you couldn’t possibly do worse.

Finally, the girl’s shell was cracking. I take it you’ve had a lot of failed relationships? Lachele asked.

Tess nodded. Oh, yes. I guess that’s what makes me so nervous about marrying someone I don’t know. I’ve fallen for way too many men at first sight. I dream about our lives together, and how we’re going to get married and have babies and live happily ever after, forever and ever, amen. Then the next thing I know, they’re not returning my calls, and they’re always busy and I’m heartbroken.

Lachele felt sympathy for Tess, but she also knew the girl needed to hear the words she was about to say, and that they’d come across harshly. Sounds like you need someone like me to pick the right man for you. You obviously don’t know how to do it yourself.

Tess recoiled and put her hand over her chest. "I’m a romantic. I’m sorry if that seems silly to you, but I start every new relationship with the hope that it will be my happily ever after."

Lachele laughed hysterically. "Oh, honey. There’s a difference between being romantic and being stupid. It sounds like you need to get a grip on your emotions. They’ve clearly been leading you astray." Dr. Lachele knew she was being blunt, but she wasn’t about to let this girl, who couldn’t even pick out a boyfriend who lasted longer than a month, tell her how flawed her system was when she’d had such success.

Lachele had been prepared for Tess to become ultra-defensive and fight back, but instead, the girl crumpled into a heap on top of the table and started sobbing. "You’re right, she wailed. I’m such a failure. I guess that’s why I’m so scared of having you match me. I’m sure I’ll find some way to screw it up."

I’m torn between patting your back and saying ‘there, there’ and telling you to pull up your big girl panties and get some guts. You’re a beautiful girl, and you obviously have so much love to give in a relationship, but come on! I thought you were a cowgirl! You’re so much stronger than this, Lachele said, motioning to the crying mess in front of her.

Tess wiped at her tears and squared her shoulders. "You’re right. I can do this...with your help."

Lachele gave a satisfied nod. Listen, you’ve made a brave decision to move forward with me today. That shows me that you’re not a complete imbecile. Just trust me—you’re not going to screw this up. I’m going to find the perfect man for you. A sly smile crossed her lips because even though she’d only just finished Tess’s interview, she was pretty sure she knew who she was going to match Tess with. She’d have to run her tests and calculate all the data, but her gut was rarely wrong, and she couldn’t wait until the data proved her right.

A FEW WEEKS AFTER LACHELE’S meeting with Tess—once she’d compiled all of her findings for Tess’s potential match and run them through her system—Lachele received her answer about her gut instinct. She was right. Without wasting any time, she looked up the phone number for Mr. Thomas, the man who’d been most compatible with Tess, and gave him a call.

Hello? Levi’s deep voice was very unique, and though Lachele had only spoken to him a handful of times, she knew right away it was him.

Levi! Hi! I am calling because I have a proposition for you. You’ve been waiting for a match longer than any client on my roster, and I think I’ve found one for you. The only problem is, she’s not willing to move. You put on your application you’d like to stay where you were, but that you’d be open to moving. Is that still true?

Levi paused for a moment. I guess so, he finally said.

Oh, great! That’s just great. Well, if you’re willing to move down to Arizona, I can have you married before the end of the summer, Lachele said.

Levi scoffed. I’ve already been waiting for almost a year, and it’s only March. Why would I move to Arizona if it’s still going to be months and months before the wedding? If I’m relocating that far, I would expect that the wedding would happen sooner than the end of summer.

Lachele giggled. "Well, you could always just keep waiting for the next girl if you want. This particular match requires a move to Arizona. Are you open to it or not?" asked plainly.

Well, I—I, uh . . . Levi stammered, then paused for a moment. "Okay, if I waited, what are the chances it would happen before summer?"

I really can’t say. I didn’t think it would take this long for you to be matched, and there’s no telling how long it will be if you pass this one up. I usually don’t consult my clients like this, but because this requires you to relocate, I decided to ask before just booking the wedding. Lachele was slightly annoyed. This was precisely why she matched people blindly. People always thought their opinions were so important, but they really weren’t. She worked with numbers and facts, and that’s why she succeeded. She was not emotionally swayed in her decisions in the least.

Levi let out a long breath. When would I have to move?

Well, I suppose you wouldn’t have to move until a few weeks before the wedding, which would be... Lachele looked over her calendar. Sometime in July. I haven’t decided on a date yet because of a few other weddings I have in the works.

July... Levi paused. I’m willing to relocate if this match is a for-sure thing.

Well, it is now! Lachele said before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Oh, this is going to be so fun!

"I