Hayley woke the next morning about an hour before her alarm went off. She’d told Josh they could put off the profile interview with him, and instead they’d scheduled their first faux-date for that afternoon. She could hardly wait for it to begin. But first, she had to squeeze in a morning of work.

She climbed out of bed, took a nice bath, dressed in her usual thick wool leggings and a long black cashmere turtleneck sweater, and walked the four blocks to the Roberts Staffing Agency. Hayley had her own small office there, which doubled in use for both her staffing agency work and her matchmaking business. She paid Claire a small monthly rent supplement to include the use of the agency’s kitchenette, conference rooms, office equipment, and receptionist for the matchmaking side of things.

The first thing she wanted to do that morning was touch base with Cassie Holt, for both personal and professional reasons.

“Hayley, hi!” Cassie said when she picked up the phone.

“Hey, Cassie! Do you have a minute?”

“I sure do. What’s up?”

“Three things,” Hayley said. “First, I want to thank you for sending my video to your friend at Devotion.com. She got in touch with me and—I still can’t believe it—they want to do a partnership for a new personalized subscription level they’re offering. I signed the contract earlier this week.”

“Oh, wow! Hayley, that’s awesome! I had no idea they were doing something like that. I just thought of Allison working there and figured she might be interested in your business model.”

“I’m totally thrilled about it,” Hayley said. “And they’re doing a profile on me as part of the whole thing, which means I need to get in shape pronto, so that’s my second question. I was wondering what you do for exercise?”

“Skiing and yoga, but I recently started taking spin classes to change it up a bit,” Cassie said. “Want to try a spin class with me? They’re hard, but they burn a ton of calories.”

“I’ll try one,” she said. Hard workouts didn’t sound fun, but if it meant burning a ton of calories, Hayley was willing to do it.

“I’m going to a class tonight after the six o’clock newscast,” Cassie said. “Want to go with me and then out for a drink?”

“I’d love to, but I have plans. Which is the other thing I wanted to tell you. I’m seeing Josh this afternoon. Like, as in kind of a date—but not really a date.”

“Oh!” Cassie said, her tone indicating her confusion. “You’ll have to explain that. Last I heard you turned him down because you’re looking for more of a relationship than he is.”

‘He’s going to do a Blind Spot Boogie on me,” Hayley said. “You know, like I did for Michael Driessner the other night? By the way, Michael’s absolutely hopeless. It was so bad that I would have refunded his money, but then he told me I suck as a woman!”

Cassie laughed. “You do not suck as a woman.”

“I know, but I figure a good dating coach really might be able to help me, and Josh is willing, so why not? He’s going to give me a few pointers, and then I’m going to put myself out there and really try to find a guy who’s looking for the same things as me. I have a business mixer tonight, actually, right after my date with Josh. I’m hoping to connect with someone there.”

“So … just between you and me. Are you going to have sex with him?”

Hayley didn’t know Cassie well, but she liked that they were cutting through the formalities. She was more and more certain they were going to grow into good friends.

“Maybe,” she said, but she meant definitely. When she’d gotten home the previous night, she’d opened her copy of the firefighter charity calendar and flipped straight to the last spread. She’d been fantasizing about Josh and his Mr. December hardbody photo ever since.

“Be careful,” Cassie said. “You might have a hard time walking away when it’s over. What if you have the best sex of your life with him, and no guy afterwards can compare? Wouldn’t that set you up for disappointment with your forever guy?”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t sleep with him?” Hayley said. “Because he was Mr. December in the firefighter calendar, and I’ve seen enough of his body to know I want it.”

“They had Cody chop wood bare-chested. He was May.” She sighed happily. “The man has damn fine muscles. Anyway, Josh is one of Cody’s good friends, and he’s a really great guy. But I give no guarantees about you riding off into the sunset with him.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to let myself fall for him.”

But she was going to seduce him, or let him seduce her—one way or another, they were going to have sex. Just talking about the possibility had made up Hayley’s mind. No strings attached, so why not?

“What are you doing for your date?” Cassie asked.

“He’s taking me clothes shopping. Too many people have told me lately I need to spice up my wardrobe.”

“I love a man who’ll take me shopping,” Cassie said. “Listen, I’ve got to run, I have a deadline for the news at noon.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Hayley said. “I promise I’ll take it. It’s going to be just for the sake of education. Nothing emotional.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Cassie said. “Have fun with Mr. December!”

* * *

Josh spent the morning working with two of his dogs, Smudge and Chance, training them to be lead dogs. Training entailed hooking them up to the sled and running them in a circular route he’d made with the snow machine, teaching them their gee and haw commands—right and left directions—complicated only when Smudge, the younger of the two, went after a wild turkey, or Chance stopped inexplicably.

Afterwards, he took a full team for a twenty-miler. A couple hours in the fresh air with a light snowfall, combined with his excitement about seeing Hayley later, made for a good run. As he managed the sled, Josh wondered how he could best give Hayley the advice she felt she needed to find her forever love.

From what he knew of her so far, he thought she was close to perfect already. She did tend to dress too conservatively, like a woman older than she was and with far fewer physical assets than she had, but that was an easy fix with the shopping trip date. Hayley had already proven she wasn’t shy when the subject of sex came up, and that was hot, because it implied she wouldn’t hold back in bed. A woman who knew how to work her body, to give and take carnal pleasure—that would be a must-have if he ever was tempted to settle down.

Plus, she could carry her own in a conversation and didn’t come across as needy. She wasn’t self-absorbed, and when she smiled, she made a guy feel like a million bucks.

As the wind whipped his face and the sled swept across the clean surface of the snow, Josh considered what Hayley might say if he signed up for her blind spot analysis. He’d never yet had any complaints in the bedroom department. But he needed lots of time alone, with his own thoughts, and women said that they never knew what he was thinking. That he didn’t let them in.

Yet he was social, too. He loved hanging out with his friends and fellow firefighters—going to the bars, helping on weekend work crews, having barbecues and poker nights. At the same time, he did tend to be inflexible with his schedule—his job required forty-eight-hour shifts, and the dogs required daily feeding and training at specific times. So while he made time for girlfriends, he couldn’t and didn’t want to be at their beck and call. That’s probably it, he realized. I’ve never put a woman first. Never fully confided in a woman, never made too much of an investment. And I never really missed her when she wasn’t there.

On that cold, clear morning, all these things felt like failings. He liked to tell himself maybe he’d just never found “the one,” but what if he had and he’d never fully seized the potential of a relationship? Plenty of women he’d dated had confided in him and had made themselves vulnerable—and he’d encouraged it. He loved getting to know a woman, but had he ever let one get to truly know him? No, and why hadn’t he? What was he afraid of?

More importantly for the day’s purpose—did Hayley let herself be truly known?

Josh resolved to find out.