One Right Swipe

By Davina MacDonald

Stephanie has no experience when it comes to men. Or online dating. That changes now. With an assertive push from her best friend, she steps into the world of eligible bachelors, waiting for a woman to rock their world. The heavy attraction she feels to the one-picture guy is too good to be true. But old wounds threaten her new-found connection. Can she heal fast enough to save this bond? Or will it fall apart, like everything else in her life?
Logan is at a cross-road. Between his best friends and his mother, he’s backed into a corner he has no business being in. He’s terrible when it comes to people and even worse when it comes to women. Desperate to get them off his back, he joins a dating app. And damn, his luck may just turn around when a stunning golden goddess swipes right. He’d fly across the country to meet her, and when he does, the connection brings his world to a complete stop. He is all too willing to burn in her fire and claim her before anyone else does.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Davina MacDonald
• Release date: Feb 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005812867

Davina MacDonald

Fiction and Romance has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I read everything and anything I could get my hands on. I was hooked on the story world and at some point, I was burning to put the vivid and sometimes wild stories that play off in my mind, onto paper. And that's when my own stories found their way into the world.

Book preview

One Right Swipe

Davina MacDonald

Copyright 2021 Davina Mac Donald

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or distributed in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotation in a book review. For permission requests, email to [e-mail]

Note that this is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblances to people, living or dead, places, business establishments or locales is completely coincidental. The author recognizes the copyrights and trademarks of all registered works and products mentioned within this work.

If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favourite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Epilogue

About the Author

Chapter 1

Stephanie

I think I’m going to be sick. The pit in my stomach widens, and I drop my adrenalin-jacked body onto the couch. I take a few deep breaths, desperate to calm my racing pulse. If my lungs don’t give out, my heart certainly will.

What do I do? I shriek. My head feels heavy as the room starts to spin, and my fingers cramp around the cell phone in my hands. The image on the screen swims before my eyes, and I struggle to maintain my focus.

Lilly drapes her body on the couch across the room and laughs into her wine glass. Steph. Just swipe. Stop overthinking it. If the guy is good looking or you like his profile, swipe right. If he only has one picture, swipe left.

The corners of my mouth turn down, and I eye her suspiciously, That’s the criteria for rejection? Just one picture?

She nods, If he doesn’t have at least two good pictures of himself, he’s not worth the right swipe.

I drop the phone in my lap and reach for my wine. The glass is almost empty, but given the situation, I am not going to feel guilty about it. I glance down at the dimly lit screen and grimace at the moderately attractive man smiling up at me. My anxiety is radioactive, burning through my veins and rendering me motionless as I stare at the phone.

I close my eyes in exasperation, I can’t believe you pulled me into this. I watch the wine shake in the glass, my trembling hands a testimony of my fear. I fish the phone from my lap and flick my thumb across the screen, barely looking at the pictures flying by.

Not so fast, she yells and catapults her body across the coffee table. I have to duck into the corner of the couch to prevent a collision. You’ll miss potential matches.

So? I’m following your rules.

You’re not even reading their profiles. Lilly sighs and grabs the phone, then taps two fingers against my legs. I twist to shift them open, and she nestles snuggly between my thighs.

Holding the phone in front of her, she starts to scroll through the profile on the screen. I spatter, getting some of her strawberry blonde hair caught in my mouth. She winces apologetically and reaches up to tame the wayward strands, before shaking the phone, drawing my attention back to the screen. I squeeze my thighs together, signalling for her to continue.

What about him? she asks, her thumb hovering over the photo.

Is that an iguana? The shock in my voice makes her giggle.

You don’t like lizards? she asks innocently. I raise an eyebrow above her head, knowing she can’t see my horrified expression.

You know I hate lizards. My face turns to disgust, and I reach for the bottle of sweet rosé on the table. It’s a little awkward since she’s hampering my range of motion.

Lilly is my best friend and roommate. We have been living together for the last five years, and the woman is certifiably insane.

The day we met was the best and weirdest day of my life. She was bawling into a beer at the bar where I worked. Her exam didn’t go well, and I spent most of my shift listening to the stranger recount her entire existence. By the end of the night, I knew more about her than anyone else I’ve met during my short time on US soil. The following day, she returned to the bar and invited me for coffee. I was hired at GLY Technologies a week later, and she roped me into celebrating at Hell’s Bridge, one of the hottest clubs in LA. Three days after that, we moved in together. We have been inseparable ever since, and I often fall prey to her unconventional eureka moments.

I blame the wine for my current predicament. Alcohol brings forth honesty, and I let it slip that I was thinking about dating. That was it. The confession inspired Lilly.

And doomed me.

We spent most of the afternoon setting up a profile for yours truly on one of the most popular dating apps in the area. Online dating turned out to be a shit load of admin. Choosing the right photos, creating a witty bio, and being as truthful as possible without sounding like I needed a therapist, proved to be more difficult than I anticipated.

Now, with the profile up and running, my nerves are a bundle of frayed wires as we scan through the city’s most eligible bachelors, trying to find someone suitable for me. That is not going so well.

Okay, so that’s a no on Lizard guy, her thumb flicks left, and the image disappears. The next picture pops up, and we both laugh.

Definitely a no, she giggles and swipes the photo away. Him? she asks.

I grimace at the picture. A man, dressed in a tie-dye shorts and a torn-up shirt, was standing next to an alligator. Neither of them looked too pleased with the situation.

Never in the history of creation.

She sighs and swipes left, Too bad, he liked you, Lilly says with a hint of displeasure in her voice as she points to the bubble that pops up as the picture disappears.

Lilly, alligators are lizards.

She giggles, What’s your deal with lizards? They’re mostly harmless.

Alligators are not harmless. And the idea of scales makes my skin crawl.

I turn my attention back to the screen and reach over her head to swipe left. She twists her face up and pouts.

I roll my eyes, He looked 15.

She laughs, Yeah, that’s considered cradle robbing.

I frown, Isn’t it cradle snatching?

Lilly shakes her head, US versus UK.

Ah, okay. I nod in understanding. She turns back to the phone and resumes her scrolling.

I don’t get it. I’m a 27-year-old woman. I’m not horrendous in the physical department, and I have no baggage. Why is it so hard to find a man in this city?

She snorts, Because half of them are in long term relationships with their jobs, and the other half are weirdos.

I brush my dark brown curls out of my face and down the rest of my wine. Twelve swipes later, my hope meter drops below zero. The profiles become more and more ridiculous with every passing minute.

There are some strange people in this world. I sigh, wiggling myself out from underneath her.

Lilly is petite, but her weight resting on my leg, cut off the circulation, and the limb refuses to obey my brain’s commands. I bounce around the living room, desperate to restore life to my sleeping leg and wince when the dead feeling morphs into pins and needles. Carefully hopping towards the kitchen, I grab the empty wine bottle from the coffee table and shake my head when it clinks loudly against the other discarded bottles in the bin.

You’re just too picky, Steph. You need to loosen up a little more.

Flattening my palms on the kitchen island, I scowl across the room, How am I picky? I don’t want a man who spends more time in the bathroom than I do.

Oh, then this one is a definite no, she answers blandly.

Bending down, I open the cupboard beneath the island and reach inside for a new bottle of wine.

Lilly squints over the phone and holds up a hand. Ah, no. Rosé, please.

We’ve already gone through two bottles. We won’t have any rosé left after tonight. I bite back, slamming the bottle on the counter.

You know merlot gives me heartburn.

Then why the hell did we stockpile it?

She shrugs, Jake gives us a discount.

I narrow my eyes at her and slowly nod in amusement. Right. Jake. The guy who introduced you to his mother after you screwed his brains out in the communal bathroom of your college dorm. I repeat the words of a story she’s told a million times.

She grins, Best sex of his life. I frown and return the bottle to its spot in the cupboard, I didn’t know you two are still in touch.

Lilly places the phone on her chest and folds her hands over her stomach, We aren’t. It’s a standing arrangement.

Not the least bit curious to know the details of her peculiar arrangement, I spin on my heel and pull the fridge open. The desolate sight makes my heart drop to the depths of my soul.

We are in serious need of a trip to the grocery store, I say over my shoulder.

The bare shelves mock me, and I pull a face at the fridge, before grabbing the last bottle of rosé. I kick the door shut, and the appliance rattles loudly, making me wince in despair.

Payday is around the corner. We’ll restock over the weekend, she answers.

Our impending financial crisis hangs over my head like a sword, and I glower at her, Lil, the weekend is five days away. Whatever we have, won’t make it until then.

It’s not that bad.

There’s enough space in there to hide a body.

Then I suppose we should leave it empty. We might need it. She wiggles her eyebrows, and I laugh at the ridiculousness of her suggestion. She picks up the phone and flicks her thumb across the screen.

Wait for me, I shriek, wrestling the cork from the bottle as I rush back to the couch.

She chuckles, What happened to not wanting to do this?

I shrug and loop my legs around her waist, settling into my previous position, against my better judgment. I was curious. Dating apps are a bucket list thing for me.

You might have fun with one of them, she says, her voice dripping with suggestion.

Honey, prince charming is not on this app. I reach for the empty glass in her hand and refill it, before grabbing my own.

We’re not looking for Mr Right. We’re looking for Mr Right Now, available for coffee and a movie.

I thought the point of online dating was to hook-up.

She shakes her head, Different apps. This one has no STDs in the premium package.

I roll my eyes at her comment but wave my hand towards the phone. We scroll through a few more questionable profiles, judging the pictures as they fly across the screen.

My heart lurches in my chest, and I squeeze my thighs together, signalling for Lilly to stop as my eyes settle on the picture. My gaze gravitates towards his grey-green eyes, drifting down to the black stubble that decorates his visibly sharp jaw, and lower, resting on the black jacket draped over his shoulders.

Suddenly, all the wine is sloshing around in my nether regions. The force of the unexpected contraction in my core sends a shiver through my body. The groan that slips from my mouth sounds positively sexual, and I grit my teeth. I grab the phone from her hands and study the photo.

Hm. Logan. Oh, yes. I whisper.

One picture rule, she whines, and I shoo her away.

His profile is quite serious.

So, he’s not worth it.

I like his face.

"Stephanie, he’s not