Page 111 of No Match Found
I mentally shook myself and refocused on my purpose. “I just came from a meeting with Stratus Capital.”
A flash of disappointment crossed his expression but was quickly replaced with interest. “Yeah? How did that go?”
“Really poorly. Initially, at least.”
He looked tentatively intrigued.
“Given all the press, she had some serious reservations about the company. But I had a realization during our meeting.”
He waited for me to continue.
“So, I pitched an idea to her on the spot.”
His brows went up. “A brand new idea?”
I took a step toward him.
He tracked it but didn’t move a muscle. “Without any analysis or running any statistical models?”
I smiled and took another step so we were a couple of feet from each other. “Totally and completely spontaneous.”
I had his full attention now. “Whatwasthis idea?”
“Chancify.”
“Chancify,” he repeated.
“A feature for users who want to forget the algorithm, forget the statistics, and take a chance.” I took a final step toward him.
His eyes scrunched, and an almost imperceptible shift in his stance let me know he was responding to my proximity. “That sounds…reckless.”
“Statistically speaking, it is.” I took the front of his unbuttoned shirt in either hand, my thumb brushing the skin of his chest in the process. “But you said it yourself—I’m an anomaly.”
“Uh, hold on.Yousaid that.”
“And you agreed. The point is,” I rushed on before he could say anything else, “I think I’m okay with being an outlier.”
His mouth shut, and his eyes searched mine.
“I’ve been so focused on protecting myself with numbers and data—so focused on all the boxes I didn’t fit into—that I never stopped to consider how good life could be as an outlier. So, statistically speaking? You and I are a 12% match. But I’m in love with you anyway, Grant. And I want to take that chance…with you.”
His hands covered mine, then his lips.
Grant had been right in that parking garage. With him touching me, I wasn’t thinking about numbers or graphs. He was the only thing that existed. His hands on my waist, mine on his bare chest, my lips and thoughts completely his and his completely mine.
We pulled apart, and I nestled into his neck, closing my eyes and reveling in the feeling of his arms around me and everything feeling right with the world. Things were still a mess at Matchify, but somehow, even without any data to support it, I knew that they’d be fine.
“Would you like to hear some statsI’verun?” he whispered in my ear.
“Always.”
“I’m 100% in love with you, Vivian. No margin of error. Statisticallysignificant.”
My mouth spread into a smile against the warmth of his neck. “Stop talking dirty to me.”
He chuckled, then ran his hands up and down my back. “Twelve percent or not, I happen to like our odds.”
I shut my eyes and let out a contented sigh. “Me too.”
