Page 2 of Forty, Flirty & Fall Inn

Connor goes quiet.Grayson clears his throat.

“I didn’t realize you were driving past there tonight,” Connor says, voice gentler now.

“Yeah.Didn’t realize I still avoid it.”

A moment of silence passes before Grayson exhales.

“Okay, back to the part where someone’s digitally stalking you.Who’s the woman?”

“Sage Winters.Forty-one.Owns a B&B.Claims she’s into cybersecurity, family values, and pumpkin spice capitalism.”

“And she keeps showing up on SecureMatch?”Connor asks.

“Every time I swipe left, she shows back up.Like a glitch.Or a ghost with a Wi-Fi signal.”

“Sounds romantic,” Connor mutters.

“Sounds like malware,” Grayson counters.“So let me get this straight—you’re driving into a fog-drenched town to confront a woman you think is… what?Stalking you via profile manipulation?”

“That’s about the size of it.”

“And you bailed on Dr.Amanda Chen for this?”

“She wanted to meet each other’s families,” I say.“I wasn’t ready for that.”

A pause.

“YoulikedAmanda,” Connor says, like I’ve just admitted to abandoning a puppy on the freeway.

“I did.She was great.Smart.Articulate.Good listener.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“She was… compatible.”

Grayson groans.“Jesus.You talk about dating like it’s a software integration.”

“Takes one to know one.And anyway, compatibility matters.It’s measurable.Predictable.Low emotional volatility.”

“So is a toaster,” Connor mutters.“You bringingthatto Callum’s wedding too?”

My phone pings with another SecureMatch notification.I glance at the screen.

“It’s her.Again.”

“Sage?”Connor asks.

“Yup.”I send them a screenshot.

The profile fills the screen: Auburn hair.Green eyes.A smile like sunshine in a tea commercial.

“She’s cute,” Grayson says.

“Super cute,” Connor echoes.“No wonder you think she’s a Russian bot.”

“Her profile reads like a perfectly calibrated pitch.It’stoocurated.Some nose-picking basement-dweller reverse-engineered my preferences.I know it.”

“Or maybe you just found a woman who’s just into anxious nerds who wear emotionally repressed knitwear,” Connor says.