She was already looking back down at her papers. Dismissed, without a thought what that husky voice could do to a man. “Let’s talk about your hobbies outside of work. I see you golf.”

She uttered that word with pure disdain. He itched to show her the excitement of the subtlety and mental challenge of the sport, but obviously, she was more of a baseball or football fan. “Yes. I golf.”

Her gaze probed under the cotton fabric of his lab coat to get an idea of his biceps. He may not have a killer body, but he wasn’t soft. He ate healthy, golfed, and did regular crunches to keep his abdomen tight. Irritation bristled. What would it feel like to be a man she lusted after? Those gorgeous eyes reminded him of a sleek, strong lioness, pure gold shot with a touch of amber. Fogged with desire, he bet they’d get soft and sleepy. Maybe she bit and sucked her lower lip, which had a natural pout. She was probably trained to know exactly how to elicit a man’s response, down to the last detail. She was so out of his league, it was like Butch Harmon versus Happy Gilmore. Ned shifted in his chair and tried to refocus. Golf.

“Golf is good. Anything else?”

He pulled back his shoulders. “Books.”

She scribbled something. “Reading is a definite plus. What were the last three books you read?”

“The Kama Sutra. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty. Fifty Shades of Grey.”

The pen stilled. Her mouth opened, and her tongue slid over her lower lip. Ah yes, he’d finally elicited a feminine reaction. He tamped the flood of satisfaction. She was his matchmaker, intent on finding him his soul-mate. No reason to muddy the waters by crushing on her like a schoolboy. Still, he enjoyed the dilation of her pupils as she processed his statement. “Interesting. More research?”

“Yes. Research.” Once he got a woman into bed, he intended to keep her there. Part of his study to understand women included a range of erotic novels and how-to manuals to guarantee perfect sexual stamina and performance.

She regained her composure and clasped her hands together, index fingers touching. Her nails were dark purple today. An intricate silver ring flashed in the light. He wondered if she had a lover. He wondered if she had many.

“I’d like to change your name to Nate.”

He waited a beat. “My name is Nathaniel. My nickname is Ned.”

She seemed to choose her words carefully. “Ned evokes a certain image. Think of this as a reinvention. Since your birth name is so beautiful, I think we should go back to Nate as a nickname.”

Ned analyzed her statement. He’d always preferred his real name, but the kids in school hadn’t let him use it. They loved to torture him, calling him “Ned the Nerd.” He never thought of taking back his birth name after high school and claiming it for his own. He nodded. “A good idea. Nate it is.”

She smiled. Her front tooth was slightly crooked, which only made her even more appealing and emphasized her hot pink lips. She was so very . . . colorful. “Wonderful. I think that wraps up most of my questions, so I can begin working on some initial matches. I’d like to start tomorrow evening at six. Meet me at the following address.” She handed over a business card. It held an address, phone number, and the word MING.

“Who’s Ming?”

“A miracle worker. I know you have a demanding work schedule, but I’ll need you to have open availability after work for the next two weeks.”

Could he do this? Put himself in the hands of a stranger and trust her to find him happiness?

Yes. He hadn’t come this far to quit now. If he kept his focus, it would all be worth it.

“Okay.”

Her smile grew, and he admitted he’d do just about anything to see it again. She was a definite witch, with her apparent power to spellbind him with a single gesture or facial expression. “Great. Trust me, and I’ll take you all the way.”

The innuendo almost made him groan. But he refused to go down on the first round. He dropped his voice and pretended to be in control.

“I’m looking forward to it, Kennedy.”

He caught a flare of unease in her eyes, before smoothing back to her polished social director demeanor. But Nate suspected there was a lot more to her beneath her surface. And he wanted to find out just what those layers held. Maybe he’d even show this beautiful woman a lot more than she ever suspected.

Maybe.

He stood. “I’ll see you tomorrow at six.” He left without looking back, wondering how it would all turn out.

four

NATE EYED THE bright red door with suspicion, but his eager guide for the evening gave him no time to think. Just pushed him through until he popped into an empty waiting room. The lights were dim, and there was only one large counter set up. No magazines, no water, no snacks. When he’d first heard he was going to a spa, he figured a little pampering couldn’t be so bad. Images of hot towels, long fragrant massages, and a beautiful woman rubbing his feet flickered in his head. But this was a dump.

Located on the edge of Verily, hidden up a steep hill, there seemed to be neither foot traffic nor pedestrians. Just a broken-down building with a bright red door. Elizabeth Arden it was not. How did this place get clients?

Kennedy motioned for him to take a seat as she walked up to the desk. The woman frowned at her instead of giving her a welcoming smile and launched into a tirade in heavily accented Chinese. Kennedy listened, nodded a lot, and basically seemed to try to suck up to her. What type of establishment was this? If this was the type of business Kinnections patronized, he may have made a terrible mistake.

Kennedy did a slight bow and returned. Sweat beaded her brow. “Thank God. Ming will see us.”

“Who is this person? There’s no customer service. No nice amenities. And they seem rude. We should leave.”

She dropped her voice to a fierce hiss. “You do not make any negative comments. One complaint and we’ll get thrown out. Ming is the best, and she’ll return you back to normal. Above normal, actually. You’ll never be the same.”

His unease grew. He pulled at his lab coat and noticed the new stain of mustard on his lapel from eating lunch at his desk. Again. It had been hell getting out on time, but he was looking forward to beginning his journey toward his future wife. Who would’ve thought it would begin in a crappy underground dungeon with a woman named Ming?

“What is she going to do to me?”

Kennedy pointed a finger at him. “Whatever she wants. You need to follow all her instructions exactly. This is very important.”

“I’m not stupid.”

“No, but you like to argue, and that will get us thrown out.”

He had no time to respond. The door behind the desk swung open without a sound. He caught an impression of an elfin figure dressed in a Japanese robe, shrouded in shadow. One long, bony finger drifted out and beckoned him forward.

“Go,” Kennedy whispered.

Crap, why was he scared? A little old lady couldn’t hurt him, and if he didn’t like anything, he’d just walk out, no matter what Kennedy said. He straightened his shoulders and stepped through the door.

She led him down a dim hallway. The small woman moved lightning fast, practically floating over the ground as they turned right and made their way deeper into a maze of unending hallways. He itched to throw bread crumbs or mark a wall to find his way back, but there was no time. He stumbled twice just keeping up. Finally, she stopped and entered an unmarked door.

A long, flat limestone table took up the center of the room. Towels were placed around the site, and a luxurious open glass shower was set up in the corner. The walls were a pristine white and bare of decoration except for a few shelves that displayed an array of glass bottles. Music drifted softly from the speakers. He caught a flute, birdcalls, and the sound of rushing water. The air was moist and smelled of clean soap and the faintness of lavender. Ming headed toward a small bamboo-type desk with a large white basin and began prepping. Nate watched as she busied herself like a doctor preparing shots, lining up jumbo-size containers and pouring liquid in. Finally, she turned and faced him.

“You get naked.”

“What?”

The top of her head didn’t even hit his chest. Her bare feet peeked out from underneath the white robe that seemed to swallow her whole. Black hair was cropped close to her head, and her dark eyes snapped impatience and command. “I say get naked. Then lie on table.”

Nate held on to his lab coat and shoved down the panic. Naked? In front of her? Hell, no. “Um, can I leave my T-shirt and boxers on? I’m not very comfortable removing all my clothes.”

She spit in his direction. Sheer disgust marked her face. “You big baby? You no get naked for old woman? What you so afraid of?”

He jerked back. “I’m not scared! I just don’t think I need to.”

Ming took a step forward and wagged her finger in the air. “You orange. You look like carrot. I fix you, but you listen to me. Now get naked and lie on table on stomach.”

Kennedy’s words flashed in his mind. This was his first test. How could he fail already? And he was orange. Even Wayne agreed today that he should do something because it was distracting his concentration. He had hoped it would go away, but after four days, it still hadn’t faded. Was he really nervous about a professional seeing him without clothes? No, he refused to let her win this round by acting like a child. Women did this stuff all the time, right?

“Fine.” He took off all his clothes, folded them neatly, and placed them on an unoccupied shelf. The table was smooth and cool as he stretched out on his stomach, and his head was cushioned by a soft mat. He turned his head to the right, closed his eyes, and tried not to think of his naked ass up in the air for Ming to view.

He waited a while, breathing and listening to the flute, and began to relax. Steam began to rise up in the room and opened his pores. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad. A massage was something he really needed for his neck and back. Long hours spent stationary had tied him in knots. Maybe he’d even get in a bit of a nap. He figured—

“Aghgh!”

A mass of cold liquid was dumped on his back, trickling down his rear. Before he could process, a thousand stiff bristles worked its way over his skin, the rough back-and-forth motions scraping him and causing a mixture of tickling and pain, until he twisted around and batted it out of the way. “That hurts!”

“Be quiet.”

He gasped. She scrubbed harder, completely disregarding his tiny yelps as she worked every inch of his skin, from the soles of his feet, ass, back, shoulders, and even his armpits. His skin tingled and burned, and the tiny beads of gel caused an abrasion that he swore would mark him for life. Dear God, he was going to have scars! She had no idea what she was doing, and seemed to even chuckle menacingly the few times he jumped and tried to wriggle away from the brush of doom.

The torture went on forever, until she muttered something and finally stopped. He dropped his head to the table and panted. Okay, he’d done it. The orange must be off. Maybe he’d get to recover and use that fabulous shower. The worst had to be behind him. He heard a few clicks, the drag of metal, and was just about to lift his head to see what was going on when the spray hit him.

The icy cold, bone-chilling spray, that is.

“Shit!” He jerked up, but she pushed him back down on the table with hard hands. The spray wasn’t a gentle rain shower; it was more like a fire extinguisher filled with ice cubes hitting him at full power. He shivered under the stinging nettles and moaned softly under his breath. That’s when he knew it was going to be a long night. She hosed him down thoroughly, not missing an inch, the intense pressure of the spray not allowing him any relief.

He slumped over when it finally stopped. He should get out of here. Walk away, call the Better Business Bureau, and bring her up on charges of assault. He thought of all the ways he’d get even with Ming while she clattered around behind him with something else, and he held his breath.

Ah. Warm, fragrant oil dribbled on his back and leaked over his spine. Heaven. His muscles finally relaxed. Maybe it was worth it to get to the good stuff? Nate imagined strong, nimble fingers working out the kinks in his lower back and neck and—

With a wild war cry, a hundred pounds of flesh slammed onto his back. In horror, he realized she’d jumped on top of him, and was stomping on his back with her bare feet.