Her past dates had been bitterly disappointing. Always lacking in certain qualities, exhibiting characteristics she refused to bend on. Too lazy, or arrogant, or needy. Not father material. Not husband material. Lacking character or humor or intelligence.
She yearned for a companion to share her life with. Raise a family. Grow old together. Riley knew the exact type of man who’d complement her lifestyle. A man who was serious, hardworking, family oriented. Perhaps a bit conservative, with an ability to be calm and even tempered. She despised fighting or disagreements. She pictured living in harmony with a man who was also her friend.
He needed to fit.
Kinnections was the right choice for her. The detailed questionnaire she filled out confirmed the match would be based entirely on her checklist and requirements. Science, not the fickle dream of fate where lust was mistaken for love and sex for commitment.
She reached the foot of the mountain. The car fishtailed, then straightened. Riley clenched and unclenched her fingers around the wheel. Call and cancel? Was he running late, too, from the weather? She peered through the whipping windshield wipers and judged how much farther up the rink was. Probably not far. Her car was topnotch in bad weather, and maybe it was going to stop soon.
This date could be the one. Kinnections was successful, and boasted an extremely high percentage of marriages. Her husband could be waiting on top of that mountain and a bit of snow was not going to stop her from finally meeting him.
She inched her way up and came to a fork in the road. Where was the sign? Why was her iPhone suddenly silent? With a disgusted mutter, Riley grabbed her phone.
No signal.
Crap. Okay, the rink couldn’t be far. She mentally recited eeney meeney miney moe and took the right. The road emptied and twisted before her, flanked by thick woods. Huge, gnarled trees bent over and shook in the wind. Icicles dripped from branches and pelted ice drops at her windshield. Why did she suddenly feel like she’d dropped into Narnia? Riley downshifted, curving around another bend, and almost hit the brake at the sight before her.
Massive wrought-iron gates rivaling those in King Kong towered before her. Wicked spikes lined the top and blocked a row of ice-encrusted privacy bushes. She caught a glimpse of a towering, multitiered brick fortress as she reached the top of the road, and gently pumped the brake.
The tires caught, spun, and slid to the right. She pulled the wheel in the opposite direction but it was too late.
The rear end fishtailed and dropped her backward over the side incline.
The last thought Riley had was how pissed off she was that she’d miss meeting her future husband.
Then everything went black.
chapter 3
Dylan McCray stared at the unconscious woman on his couch and wondered if someone was playing a joke on him. After all, he’d just been hand delivered the woman he hadn’t been able to get off his mind or his dick for the past decade.
He swore softly and lay a damp washcloth over her forehead. He had no idea if it was the right thing to do, but he’d seen the move in enough films to figure it worked. Thank God she’d been lucky. Other than the bruise on her cheek, she didn’t have any bumps or breaks. The car was banged up, but her seat belt and the open ditch filled with snow had softened the blow. He shuddered to think of the circumstances if she’d hit the trees.
Her breathing was deep and even. Her heart rate steady. What the hell was she doing here? He’d decided to close the park once the snow began, so he hadn’t expected anyone. He assumed his blind date was canceled. The cell lines were down so he couldn’t call Kate, and in some weird type of power move Kate refused to give him a last name, so it wasn’t like he could even try and track down the mysterious woman.
He was getting ready to close up the gates when he caught the crash on his security camera. Thank God he’d seen it or Riley could’ve been trapped overnight. He hoped she didn’t have a concussion. He figured worst-case scenario he’d get the snowplow and drive her to the hospital. First, he’d try to wake her up and work from there.
What was the woman doing out in a blizzard? Anger twisted with fear and burned through his system, though he kept his touch gentle. For God’s sake, no one was out in this weather. The radio blasted the quick movement of the storm heading their way, and warned everyone to stay home. Of course, if Riley Fox was the same stubborn, frustrating woman she’d always been, no wonder she hadn’t listened. She had a God complex. It both fascinated and irritated him.