Mary waited in her car for a few minutes before going inside. The girls were already home and were going to jump on her the minute she walked in the door. After her weird day of work, she needed a moment to collect her thoughts and wind down.
Connor was off his rocker, most likely. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that someone was using his family’s app for nefarious purposes, but she wasn’t going to bet on it. He was looking for a reason to complain.
There had been stories in the paper that he and his older brother didn’t like his father’s newest project. Supposedly, Mr. Hansen had created the app hoping to find mates for his sons. It sounded like a good plan: he could get his sons matched up and make a truckload of money in the process. Except that his sons were stubborn and didn’t want love.
Or at least, that was what the papers had said. Mary didn’t put much stock in gossip, but after meeting Connor, she thought maybe the papers were on to something. He had a good thing going with the app. The security company was going to be viable forever, but it was always good to diversify your portfolio. It wasn’t going to hurt the company to put out MateMe. It was a great idea, and they had a great marketing campaign. They’d had an actual matchmaker help them set the whole thing up.
It would be awesome to be matched by a professional. The app was coming out of beta soon, and her sisters were excited about the whole thing. Maybe she’d try it out herself and make sure it was safe. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to be matched with a shifter. At least she’d have someone around to help her out and have her back.
Jeez, she sounded like a gold digger, but that wasn’t how she meant it. It would just be nice to have some help. She wouldn’t be stuck outside trying to calm herself. She wouldn’t have to worry about what was coming her way next—although a relationship and dating had their own challenges.
She frowned. Maybe it was more work than it was worth. It could all blow up in her face and add to her endless list of things to do. The more she thought about it, the worse it sounded. She didn’t have time for dating at all, not until she’d sorted all this business and life stuff out.
How many men wanted to date a jobless, homeless woman? Because that was basically what she was.
She got out of her car and opened the front door. That was more than enough “relaxing” time for the day.
“I’m here.”
There was a rush of feet as her sisters tumbled down the stairs and ran at her.
“How was your first day?” Hilary asked.
“Okay.”
“Just okay?” Melody asked. “What did his apartment look like?”
“I already told you.” Mary took off her shoes and went to the kitchen. “Did you start dinner?”
“Already in the oven.” Melody bounced on the balls of her feet. “What did his bedroom look like, though?”
“I bet it was super fancy,” Hilary said. “Did he have satin sheets?”
“Silk.” Mary checked the casserole in the oven. “Did you set the timer?”
Melody held up her phone, showing off the ticking clock. “Did he really have silk sheets?”
“No.” But he did have handcuffs. Mary smirked to herself. Apparently, some billionaires were right out of some fantasy novel. She couldn’t see him ever using the handcuffs, but it was an intriguing thought. He’d been so uncomfortable when she mentioned them and had been quick to point out that they weren’t his. Yeah, right. He’d probably used them with some one-night stand and didn’t want the maid to know.
Normally, she would never comment on that kind of thing, but he was being so weird, like she was going to tell all his secrets. As if she wanted to ruin her family’s business just to make a quick buck.
“Did he flirt with you?” Melody asked. “He’s so dreamy. You’re so lucky you get to go to his house and see him every week.”
“Yeah, I get to go in and clean his toilets a few times a week. So lucky.” Mary rolled her eyes. “I’m the maid. I’m not there to flirt, and this isn’t a movie. I clean, and that’s it.”
“But you do talk to him a little, right?” Melody asked.
“Drop it, Mel.” Hilary smacked her sister’s arm. “Mary is way too busy for a workplace romance. Even with someone as foxy as Connor Hansen.”
“Hey, are you girls still using that MateMe app?” Mary asked.
“We sure are. Do you want us to sign you up?” Hilary already had her phone out. “What do you want to use as your handle? Do you want it to be something sexy, or something sweet?”
“I use sexy,” Mel said.
“And I use sweet,” Hilary said.
“And then we switch when we want to mix it up,” Hilary laughed.
“That doesn’t sound very nice.” Mary crossed her arms. “You two are going to have to stop that. What if you met a boy you like, and he thinks you’re the wrong twin?”
Mel giggled behind her hand. “Oh my gosh, do you think we use this for dating?”
Hilary nudged her sister. “She totally does. Look at her face. Like this is OkCupid or something. Come on, Mary, this isn’t 2007. We just want to hook up with hot shifter boys. Nobody wants to get serious.”
Mary sighed. “I don’t care what you’re doing on the app. I just want to make sure you’re only meeting these people in public places and you’re not giving out any identifying information.”
“It connects to your social media,” Hilary said. “And it only works for people in the local area.”
Mary frowned. “That isn’t great. I want you guys to cool it on the app for a while.”
“No way,” Hilary said. “Mom already said it was fine. You know she’s on it, too.”
That made Mary think twice about joining. The entire family looking for love on the same app. What was the world coming to?
“Maybe try meeting people in real life for a while,” she told them. “Just until I can check the thing out some more. If you do, I’ll take you guys to that club in Mill Town.”
Mel’s eyes lit up. “Deal.”
“When are you going to take us?” Hilary asked. “Because we’re going to have to go shopping for something new, first. We don’t have any clothes nice enough for the club.”
“In three weeks, and no shopping. You have more than enough clothes.” And we don’t have the money for that right now.
Mary hated having to tell them no, but it was going to be a few weeks before they could buy new things again. Hopefully, that would buy her enough time to check out the app before the girls got bored with her offer. With any luck, they would get tired of the whole thing, and she could forget about it. She didn’t have time to set up dates, even fake dates, to make sure the app was safe.
This was Connor’s fault. He was adding drama to her life without even trying.
She knew she should have been more careful. It was always the handsome ones that caused the most trouble. She should never have listened to his rant about the family business.
“I’m going to get showered before dinner.”
“Wait.” Hil looked at Mel. “We have a surprise for you.”
“Okay.” Mary rubbed the back of her neck. She had no idea why she was so tired and achy. She’d barely done any work today, but she felt like she’d been hit by a two-ton truck. “Out with it.”
Mel reached under the coffee table and pulled out a shoebox. She handed it to Mary with a big smile. “For you. The world’s hardest-working big sister.”
“We love you,” Hil said. “We wanted to get you something to make your workday a little easier.”
Mary opened the box and gasped. “How did you afford these?”
“We have our ways,” Hil said. “Do you like them?”
“I love them, but I can’t accept these.” Mary gazed at the high-end sneakers lovingly and stroked the brightly colored laces. These were the most comfortable sneakers on the market. She’d been lusting for a pair ever since they first came out. One of the girls on the crew had a pair, and her feet never hurt anymore. Mary was doing easy work now, but standing all day at the factory on the cheap stress mats had been killer on her back.
The shoes cost two hundred dollars, which was more than she would ever dream of spending on footwear. She’d worn New Balance when she was a maid and had gotten a steep discount on already cheap work boots at the factory. If a pair of shoes was more than fifty dollars, she didn’t want them.
“We can’t take them back,” Mel said. “They were on sale.”
“So, you have to keep them,” Hil said.
Both girls were smiling from ear to ear. They had her. There was no point in wasting a good present.
Mary took the shoes out of the box and put them on. Then she flexed her feet and took a few steps. “These are so comfortable. Thank you so much. You girls are the nicest.”
Hil hugged Mary, resting her head on Mary’s shoulder. “You’re the best and the nicest and the prettiest and the smartest. You really are the absolute best big sister we could ask for.”
Tears filled Mary’s eyes. Even if she had to work hard and put some of her dreams on hold, it would be worth it. She would clean every toilet in the whole Hansen house if it meant giving the girls a good life.
But she was going to have to work harder to keep from getting tangled up with Connor. He could be trouble, and she didn’t need that right now. She needed to do her job and get out of there with her fat paycheck every week. After she’d put out all the fires in her life, she could work on her own dreams again.