Swipe Left for Love Read online

  Swipe Left

  For

  Love

  Lynn Stevens

  Swipe Left for Love Copyright © 2019 Lynn Stevens

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Copyright 2019 by Lynn Stevens

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Lynn Stevens

  www.lstevensbooks.com

  Cover design by Designs with Love

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Swipe Left for Love

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  EPILOGUE

  For Dave

  CHAPTER ONE

  Beads, so many beads. Too much white silk and satin. And sequins. Ugh.

  Macie Regan wanted to be anywhere but Morgan Bridal. Even Hawt Yoga next door sounded like more fun. And that wasn’t much of an option. The last time Macie tried a pose, she let out enough gas to evacuate the room. Not a moment she wanted to relive. She swiped across her tablet and hacked into the shop’s Wi-Fi. It took her less than two minutes to figure out the password—weddings. Obviously not designed for security.

  She stared at the Blind Friends app with a white background and a B and F in blue. It wouldn’t hurt to check. Yeah, she’d just heard from him this morning, but it was possible he’d already responded to the last message she sent a few hours ago. Every message came in fast, like he couldn’t wait to talk to her. Macie smiled. She couldn’t wait to talk to him either.

  “Mace?”

  Macie’s head jolted up, and she remembered the real reason she was in sateen hell. Lauren Tamm would be Lauren Coleman in a month. Her best friend since freshman year was getting married. And damned if Macie wasn’t going to do everything she could to make sure Lauren’s wedding went off without a hitch. Even if she thought the whole thing was a terrible idea. When Macie hadn’t reacted with excitement after Lauren told her about the engagement, they had a fight, then a long talk with plenty of wine. Lauren understood Macie’s hesitation about marriage, but she had also pointed out that those feelings were Macie’s and not hers.

  “Wow,” Macie said, with just the right amount of envy and awe. She’d practiced before Lauren had picked her up. Macie should’ve known that was unnecessary. “You look amazing.”

  “You really think so?” Lauren spun around on the small platform in front of a trio of mirrors. The dress shimmered in a blush so light most people would mistake it for white. The satin clung to her slim body in all the right places. The halter elongated her neck. Lauren was already beautiful, but she was a goddess in the simple dress. The first time Macie met her in their dorm, she thought she’d hate the girl. Lauren was the opposite of her in so many ways. Blonde to Macie’s cinnamon brown. Blue eyed to Macie’s dark chocolate. Model thin to Macie’s curves. Lauren had hugged Macie immediately and had told her new roomie that she was jealous of Macie’s then purple streaked hair. They’d been inseparable ever since. Lauren stepped off the platform and stopped beside Macie, spinning again for the full effect.

  “It’s perfect.” And no beads. A ding sounded from her tablet, and Macie’s gaze dropped to see the app had loaded. A red number one appeared over the blue M icon, and her pulse kicked it up a notch. Macie tried to hide her grin and glanced at the salesperson who hovered ten feet away, ready to tackle Lauren. She’d been trying to upsell accessories Lauren didn’t want. Macie smirked and said, “You’re going to give that woman a heart attack if you don’t let her do her job.”

  “She’ll get over it.” Lauren leaned over the screen and shook her blonde head. “When did you get unlimited data?”

  Macie snorted, and that was enough of an answer.

  “You didn’t?” Lauren giggled as she made her way back onto the platform.

  “They need to upgrade their security. Besides, you’re the one who taught me how to figure out passwords. It’s not a true hack. You never taught me that.” Macie stared at the Blind Friends app. Lauren created it with her fiancé for their final projects. Hers for programming and his for student counseling. It was only open to people enrolled at Lafayette University who had the password, and most of the campus had signed up. With a population near four thousand, that was a lot of pen-pal possibilities. Macie went to press her finger over the icon and stopped at the sound of Lauren’s voice.

  “Talking to your pen-pal?” Lauren straightened herself and smoothed her hands down the dress. “You should just meet him. The app’s probably going to come down after graduation,sales anyway. Tell him you want to hook up before you lose your chance.”

  “Hook up? With a complete stranger?” Macie set the tablet on the table beside her.

  “It wouldn’t be the first time,” Lauren said, spinning back around to admire her angles in the mirror.

  “That happened exactly once, and it won’t happen again,” Macie said, grabbing the tablet and closing the app. She opened the camera and took a few pics.

  “Hey,” Lauren snapped. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her nose wrinkled.

  “Bring it up again and I’ll show these to Ford.” Macie raised her eyebrows in challenge. In reality, she’d taken the photos to send to Lauren’s mom who was in Atlanta on yet another business trip. “You know that’s bad luck.”

  “He’s out golfing with Zac.”

  Macie scowled at that name. Zac was a prick.

  “You know how he is with his phone. He probably wouldn’t even see the text for three days. More than enough time for me to delete them.” Lauren shook her head and slipped off the too-high heels. “What do you think of the shoes?”

  “Hate ‘em.” Macie shrugged when Lauren glared at her. “The dress is you. Shoes of any variety are not. Go barefoot.”

  “I’m not walking down the aisle barefoot.” Lauren held up the offending stilettos. “But I’m not going to kill myself, either.”

  Lauren stepped down from the platform and headed toward the salesperson behind the counter. Macie smiled. Lauren came across as timid and innocent; but when she was on a mission, get out of her way. Macie attached the photos and emailed Lauren’s mother, wondering for the millionth time why Sylvia couldn’t have stayed in town one weekend. Then Macie went back onto Blind Friends.

  Lauren didn’t want to make a new dating app. There were enough of those out there. It was Ford’s opinion that making friends was harder than finding true love. Of course, Lauren met Bradford Coleman at a freshman orientation party their second day on campus. Love at first sight and all that bullshit. Ford wanted a way to keep the users’ profiles private, no way to upload photos. That way people could ‘meet’ and get to know each other before they met in person, if they chose to do so. Macie had not
. Keeping with the spirit of the app, they had agreed not to exchange names or any personal information like her major. She only knew that her pen-pal was male. Other than that, he could be anybody on campus.

  Macie opened the message and began reading

  You mentioned not understanding football. I have a better question. Why do people golf? I don’t get it. My father is a big golfer, but he’s terrible at it. Whenever I go with him, and I have to go more than I wish, he spends most of his time in the sand traps rather than the green. Maybe that’s the point. Golf itself is one big sand trap. You have to play to make deals in the business world. I wonder if you stepped onto a course and asked every golfer to take a lie detector test, how many would you catch lying about their love for the game?

  Obviously, I’m not a fan.

  But I digress. You also mentioned pets in your last message. I’ve never had one. I always thought I would be a dog person, but reading about your love for your cat makes me wonder. Am I a cat person? I honestly don’t know. Maybe one day I’ll find out. But if I ever get a dog, I’m not taking him golfing.

  Macie smiled. She’d told him about the cat her mother adopted when Macie was still a baby. Tabby died a little over a year ago, and her mom sunk into a deep depression. Over winter break, Macie adopted a kitten that looked nothing like Tabby and gave it to her mom for Christmas. Reba was her mother’s constant companion, and the light that had dimmed in her mother’s eyes started to return. Reba would never replace Tabby, but she could help heal her mom’s heart.

  She tapped on the screen to bring up the keyboard.

  Macie glanced over to where Lauren stood with the salesperson. The shoe collection in front of them was vast, and Macie had no doubt Lauren would want to try on every pair. She should just go barefoot. It would be more natural, more Lauren than any shoe on the planet. Shaking her head, she began to type.

  ZAC SPARKS LEANED ON a golf club, waiting patiently for his father to putt. Of course, he had to be more patient than usual considering the circumstances. His dad was recovering from surgery, but he refused to miss their monthly outing. Gall bladder removal wasn’t life threatening by any means. Zac would’ve happily skipped the game and taken his father out to eat, instead.

  “He’s moving pretty good,” Ford Coleman said beside him.

  “Yeah, not too bad.” Zac watched as his father bent over the putter and took aim. Again. “His doc wouldn’t be happy if he knew.”

  “Like father like son.” Ford laughed and slapped Zac on the shoulder.

  Zac shook his head and smiled. He’d broken his wrist during a drunken skateboarding flip sophomore year. They’d inserted a plate in his arm to make sure it healed. “That wasn’t major surgery.”

  “No, but you were on enough pain meds to kill a horse. Didn’t stop you from hitting the beer bong.”

  “Which I regretted.” Zac tilted his head and stared at Ford. His friend was in an unusually good mood. Not that Ford wasn’t in a good mood most days, but today more so than normal. “What’s up with you, anyway? Win the lotto?”

  Ford’s grin widened. His perfect white teeth gleamed in the Louisiana sunlight. How many times had Zac wondered if Ford would’ve been better making it as an actor in California instead of studying music education and student counseling at Lafayette? Ford’s dark hair and dark eyes were the current standard in LA. His demeanor reflected something calmer, more serene. As much as Zac knew Ford could trade off on his good looks, he also knew his friend’s desire to teach music ran much deeper. Cuts in music departments across the country led Ford to tack on student counseling as a major. If he couldn’t get a job teaching, he’d take care of the kids another way.

  “Spill, buddy.” Zac’s father finally tapped the ball, sending it toward the hole but not in. A few swear words flew from the elder’s mouth. Zac was the younger version of his father, except for the eyes. Both had dark blond hair and a square chin, but Zac had been blessed with his mother’s light blue eyes. He saw his future whenever he stared at his father. It wasn’t bad. “Dad might make this putt before noon.”

  “Lauren’s trying on the dress she picked out.” Ford’s eyes lit up at the mere mention of his fiancée. “I’ve just been thinking about it. What she picked out. What she might look like.”

  It took everything in Zac’s power not to roll his eyes. Ford was like a puppy who’d found his furever home when it came to Lauren Tamm. Since the day they met, she was all he ever talked about. Zac didn’t want to admit that he was envious, but he was. Four years of dating and he hadn’t even come close to looking at a girl the way Ford looked at Lauren.

  “Macie went with her.” Ford flipped his putter on top of his shoulder as he kept his eyes on Zac’s dad. “She promised to send me pics if Lauren got out of line.”

  This time Zac didn’t bother to hide his reaction. He scowled openly at the mention of Lauren’s best friend. “That sounds like Macie, ruining everything. It’s her M.O.”

  “Man, you guys are going to have to get along until the wedding. After that, you can hate each other all you want. At least until we have a kid.” Ford turned toward him, all joviality gone. “You know you’ll be my first kid’s Godfather. And there’s a good chance you’ll share those duties with Mace.”

  Zac didn’t know what to say to that. Best man at Ford’s wedding, sure, no problem. Godfather to an unborn child? That was not something he’d ever planned. Or even thought of to be honest. The last time Zac stepped into a church was for his grandfather’s funeral four years ago. “Wait. Lauren’s not —”

  “No, she’s not. But we’re going to have a family.” Ford beamed again. A low rumble of jealousy filled Zac’s gut. “Maybe in a few years if all goes well.”

  Zac swallowed hard. It wasn’t like being a Godfather was being a parent. All he’d have to do was stand there when the kid got baptized. Right? Zac pulled out his phone to Google it. He hated being unprepared for anything. His gaze caught the Blind Friends app Ford and Lauren had created together. Another thing he hated to admit was that he was still talking to someone on there. And that he anticipated getting her messages the minute he sent his. Zac opened the app. A red number one appeared over the blue M of the mailbox. All thoughts of Godfatherhood disappeared. She’d replied.

  “I thought you quit that last month,” Ford said, peering over Zac’s shoulder.

  “Yeah, well...” Zac didn’t bother to come up with any other excuse. He’d tried to quit, but when he went longer than a day without talking to her, he missed her. He didn’t even know her name. It was stupid. He’d never even met this girl, if it even was a girl. What if he’d been talking to a guy for the last five months? The thought made him shudder. He shoved the phone back into his pocket and watched his dad pull the golf ball out of the hole.

  “Meet her, Z. Just send a message to meet her.” Ford shoved his putter back into Zac’s golf bag, a gift from his father at Christmas. “There’s obviously something there.”

  “Maybe,” Zac reluctantly admitted. In the four years they’d known each other, Ford had become the brother Zac never had. He loved his two younger half-sisters and would do anything for them, but Ford was what Zac imagined a brother would’ve been like. And Ford was the only person who knew Zac’s dreams and fears. So, he had no problem sharing them now. “What if she’s a he? What if she’s ... a complete bitch in person? What if she’s —”

  “Perfect for you?” Ford shook his head. “Then wait. Don’t meet her. Don’t put yourself out there. Don’t even try.” Ford raised his eyebrows. “Quit before you get hurt. That’s your norm.”

  Harsh words, but Zac knew brutal honesty was what he’d get. Ford didn’t hold back his psychological mumbo jumbo. “Maybe after graduation.”

  Ford harrumphed, but he didn’t say anything else as Zac’s father strolled up to them. They moved onto safer conversations about investing and money. The two things both Zac and his father were good at. Ford had already let Zac start investing what little he could. When t
hey entered the clubhouse for lunch, Zac sat at the table alone while Ford hit the restroom and his dad talked to some friends at another table. Since he was finally alone, he pulled out his phone and opened the app.

  Dogs are great, too. I never had one, though, so I can’t say if I’m a dog person for sure. But I’d be more than willing to try. Maybe I should get one this summer to run with. Or not to run with but to hang out with or something. What do people do with dogs? I see them walking all the time and running, but do dogs plop across your lap like cats? Wouldn’t it be like having a kid in animal form? Maybe I won’t get a dog. Sounds like a lot of responsibility and life is crazy busy with everything.

  I’m graduating this spring. I know we agreed not to give details about our lives too much, but since we both go to Lafayette and around a thousand people are getting their diplomas, this little bit of information shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Wow, that was a ramble. I’m not deleting it, though.

  The truth is, and I haven’t even shared this with anybody, not even my best friend. The truth is, I am terrified. What if I made a huge mistake in my major? What if I take the wrong job? What if I move into the wrong apartment? What if I fail?

  That last one, that’s the kicker. What if I fail?

  I don’t want to fail. But does anybody?

  Zac reread the message. Ford was right; he needed to meet this person. Even if she ended up being only a friend, he needed to have this girl in his life. But he didn’t want to rush into it blind. He wanted to wait until the right moment. With less than a month to go in the semester, he had too much going on. He wanted to meet her, just not yet.

  Just not yet. That was his new mantra. He wasn’t too crazy about it either.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Macie stepped out of the arts building into the heat. She’d spent all weekend talking to Lauren about the wedding, and she’d never been happier to go back to class on Monday. It was wedding-overload.