1.

 

“Remember, ladies, make sure to hone your intent!”

Mia smiled at the instructor and glanced at her friend. Yes. Hone her intent. She had to think long and hard about what it was she truly wanted in a man. Were good looks more important than charisma? Or a good heart? Maybe she valued physical strength and prowess more than kindness?

Mia shook her head. No. She could have all of those things. She would put them each on the list.

Without a second thought, she grabbed her pen and pulled the notebook closer to her body to guard it from the prying eyes of anybody else at the ‘Manifesting Your Perfect Match’ workshop.

I want a considerate, caring beast of a man.

Mia looked down at the words, a small smile playing on her lips as she thought about everything she had always desired in a mate.

With beautiful eyes. Mysterious. Open-minded to the mystical and paranormal. Someone who will be entirely devoted to me. Successful at anything he takes on. Who likes to travel and explore new and mysterious places. Must like dragons.

Mia read the words over and over again, her mind wandering. She was tired of the run of the mill man. She was sick of wasting time with people who didn’t share her passions, even down to her quirk of always being drawn to dragons. She was going to be as specific as possible to manifest the mate of her dreams.

Yes. She was tired of straight-laced guys who only wanted her for sex and arm candy. She wasn’t exactly a knockout, but she got her fair share of male attention. But nobody had ever been a good fit.

“Are you done?” Cindy asked, glancing over at Mia. “Can I read your list?”

“No, you can’t read my list!” Mia exclaimed. “It will weaken the vibrations, remember?”

Cindy scoffed. “Just because the instructor said it doesn’t mean it’s true.”

“Well, just in case it is, I don’t want you reading it,” Mia said, covering her words protectively. Maybe some part of her was slightly embarrassed. She had always been into dragons and it seemed like such a funny and weird thing to desire in the opposite sex. But she stood firm on it.

“Fine,” Cindy grumbled. “Then you can’t read mine either.”

“I don’t want to ruin your chance of finding the guy you’re writing about,” Mia said pointedly. “So, don’t ruin mine either. You know we have both been single for way too long.”

“It’s a small pond around here,” Cindy agreed, looking back down at her paper. “It’s hard to be romantically compatible with people who already know everything about you.”

“You mean people who think they know everything about you,” Mia pointed out. Her crystal blue eyes flashed in agitation. Nobody had ever actually known everything about her. They rarely even had the basics down right. Just speculations.

“Right,” Cindy said. “I really hope there’s something to this.”

“You saw the testimonials,” Mia said, holding on to the small but fierce hope that she had stumbled upon something that would change the course of her romantic future forever. She had really been wishing for companionship over the past few years. Especially after having her daughter grow up without a father. She wanted this just as much for her child as she did for herself. “It works. And it works well.”

“Just like every other crazy new age thing you drag me along to,” Cindy said with a snort. “Remember that time you took us to the ‘Healing Henna’ workshop and we both had an allergic reaction to the stuff?”

“Look, just because the person giving the workshop was incompetent and bought cheap product from a third-rate seller doesn’t mean there isn’t something behind the idea. It could work perfectly well, for all we know.”

“Spending six hours in the emergency room with you was the opposite of ‘healing,’ Mia,” Cindy said, shaking her head. Still, she smiled. She never turned down a chance for adventure, and Mia was full of those types of opportunities. “You’re probably the weirdest person I’ve ever known.”

Mia sighed.

And a little weird.

With the amendment made to her list, she beamed up at the instructor and closed her notebook. “Done!”

“Great! We’ll take another five minutes to think about what we’ve written and set our intentions. Is everybody ready for a chance to change their lives?”

Mia nodded eagerly, smiling at Cindy broadly. Her friend couldn’t help but smile back. If nothing else, this was one of the more harmless schemes that Mia had gotten her in on.

“Ready,” Cindy and Mia said together.

In fact, Mia was more than ready. She had been so consumed by the pressures of being a single mother and having to deal with the world’s worst boss. She had worked for terrible people before, but none of them compared to Tyler-no-soul. He seemed to see her only as a body to get things done and resented her deeply because she was a single mother who had a young daughter. Even though Mia had always done everything possible not to allow her parenting to interfere with work, the man still didn’t seem to care. He was a pain in the ass and gave her hell any time he was in a bad mood.

Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if Mia was really in the career path of her choosing, but unfortunately, she had gotten roped into this job in high school and had kept it because it gave her security and benefits when nothing else could.

Now, though, she wished she had gone to school and followed her dream of becoming a wellness coach. Mia had always been drawn to the possibility of being able to help others and get them back on track when everything around them seemed hopeless. In fact, she had always had kind of a natural gift for helping to lift the spirits of others and remember their own potential. It was something she had always been secretly proud of.

Instead, she was stuck in the marketing department of a small but successful firm, run by one of the biggest douche bags of the century. She had worked her way up into a decent position with a high enough wage that she was able to support her daughter on her own, but it kept her away from home longer than she liked to be. She wouldn’t have been able to do a damn thing if it weren’t for her mother. Her mom was always there to watch Jewel and keep her safe when Mia had to work.

“All right, everyone. Close your eyes. It’s time to begin.”

Mia grinned and did as she was told. Life was what you made of it, and she was going to make it the best she possibly could. Not only for herself but for her daughter as well. It was time to set her intention.