A Hero To Count On

“Then you’re going to have to write a hell of a better description than that.”

She should have told him no. From the glint in his eye, he was enjoying himself far too much, and for all she knew, he was just pulling her leg. But what if he wasn’t kidding? If she was really going to join a dating service, the last thing she wanted was to attract one of those lonely, nerdy men who’d never had a woman in his life and wouldn’t know what to do with one if he did.

“All right,” she sighed. “If you’re really serious about helping me…but no funny business! Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied obediently, his grin wide. “Whatever you say, ma’am.”

He did, of course, do nothing but tease and torment her for the course of the next hour, and she couldn’t help but laugh. When they were finished, however, she had to admit that her profile sounded far better than something she would have written herself. Still, she wasn’t sure.

“It sounds like I’m tooting my own horn,” she said, frowning. “Maybe we should tone some of this down.”

“Are you kidding? Like what?”

“Well, like…‘adventuresome’…”

“Didn’t you go off to Scotland by yourself when you found out that jerk you were in love with was married? Didn’t you jump on a plane and head for Colorado without even letting your family know you were coming until you were almost here?”

“Well, yes, but—” Frowning, she studied the words on the computer screen that made her sound like a fascinating catch that any man with any brains in his head would love to be matched with. “Maybe we shouldn’t include the bit about me being an award-winning illustrator.”

“But you are, aren’t you?” When she had to agree, he said, “You’re just telling the truth. And don’t think for one minute that I’m going to let you take out the part about pretty. This isn’t the time for hiding your light under a bushel. You are pretty, and if it was left up to me, I’d say you were downright gorgeous—”

“You’re flirting again,” she scolded. “You’ve got to stop that.”

“No, I’m not,” he retorted, and there was no question that he was dead serious. “You’re gorgeous, but I know you won’t go for that, so we have to go with pretty. That’s okay. Because when you finally let your matches see your picture, they’re going to know the truth, anyway.”

She didn’t consider herself gorgeous by any stretch of the imagination—that word was reserved for movie stars and beauty pageant queens—but she couldn’t deny that she was flattered. If he hadn’t been such a flirt, she might have believed he was sincere.

“Okay, so it’s settled. We leave it as it is.” And without giving her a chance to argue further, he reached over and hit the enter button on the keyboard. And there, for all her prospective matches to read, was a description of her that sounded amazing.

If you’re looking for a fascinating, fun-loving, adventuresome woman to spend the rest of your life with, you’ve found her. I’m a pretty brunette with expressive blue eyes, enticing smile and great figure, who loves pillow talk, dancing, intimate dinners for two, spontaneous, romantic trips to the mountains and holding hands. I’m a fantastic cook, award-winning illustrator, honest, sincere and looking for Mr. Right. If you think you could be him, I’d love to hear from you.