Meet Lily Baker from Coleen Kwan’s Dating For Keeps

With: Coleen Kwan

I’m Lily Baker, and I’ve just had one of the worst dates ever. I’ve never had much luck with men, which is why I decided to use a dating site in the hopes of meeting a decent man. But tonight my date dumped me on the dance floor in front of everyone. To make things worse, Caleb Willmett witnessed everything. The first time I met Caleb I could barely put two words together. He’s hot and impossibly good-looking without even trying, and now, would you believe it, he’s sitting with me in my car! I know he’s just doing it because he feels sorry for me, but it’s nice of him. And I’m finding it surprisingly easy to talk to him; maybe because I know there’s no danger of us ever getting involved…

DATING FOR KEEPS

Unlucky in love Lily Baker is ready to get back in the dating game. But her first night out ends with the guy ditching her—in the middle of a dance floor. Wonderful. Public humiliation on top of rejection. And worse, Caleb Willmett, the sexy local contractor with an unfortunate desire to remain single, witnessed the whole thing. But where Lily sees disaster, Caleb finds opportunity.

The only long-term relationship Caleb wants is a business partnership with Lily’s father, but the man won’t give him the time of day. If Lily can arrange a meeting for him, Caleb promises to help her find a guy worth dating. Perfect trade. And this should be easy—just look for someone completely opposite of himself, someone who’s willing to settle down.

But when Lily unexpectedly captures his heart, playing matchmaker for her becomes the most difficult job he’s ever done.

Each title in the Pine Falls series is STANDALONE:
* Unexpectedly Yours
* Kissing Her Enemy
* Dating for Keeps

AMAZON

Excerpt from Dating For Keeps

“Well,” Lily said, hoping she sounded nonchalant, “according to my dating index, on a scale from one to ten, that date scored maybe a one-point-five, possibly one.”

Caleb’s eyebrows rose. “You mean he actually gets a positive score?”

“He did show up.”

“That’s really a minus in my book.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. He’s a minus five.”

Caleb twisted in his seat to face her, his large, blunt hand spread on his knee. “So, mind if I ask why he was such a jerk on the dance floor?”

Lowering her gaze, she fidgeted with her scarf. “Well, it seems the only reason he agreed to the date was an attempt to make his ex-girlfriend jealous. She was one of the vendors at the festival. In the middle of the dance, he realized I wasn’t right for the job, so to speak, and was so disappointed, he left.”

Caleb swore under his breath. “That is seriously screwed up. Whoever set you up with that guy needs to be told off.”

Lily nibbled on her lower lip before deciding to tell him the truth. “Actually, I met him on a dating site, eCherish. It was my first date through them.” She sighed. “I suppose I should’ve known better.”

“Hey, don’t blame yourself. A dating site is only as good as the people who sign up.”

“I bet you’ve never used a dating site before,” she said.

“Can’t say I have.” His full lips tilted into a lazy grin. “But that’s not to say I haven’t had a few dud dates in my time.”

“Oh yeah?” Somehow she was starting to feel better already. “I think you and I might have different ideas of what constitutes a dud date.”

“Well, one time I took a woman out for dinner to a steakhouse, and she complained about me wearing a plaid shirt. I mean, come on. It wasn’t the country club; it was Ribs n’ Roast.”

“Is that all you’ve got? I once went out with a guy who shoplifted a box of candy for me right in front of my very eyes. He thought it was romantic!”

Amusement sparkled in Caleb’s face. “All right, I gotta admit that’s pretty rough.” He leaned forward. “How about this? It was a first date with a woman I’d known for about a month. We had a couple of drinks and a pleasant chat. I thought she was nice, but a little intense. A few hours later, a friend of mine showed me her Facebook profile. She’d changed her status to ‘in a relationship’ and already uploaded a photo of me, calling me her new boyfriend. I don’t appreciate that kind of manipulation.”

“See, I knew we were talking apples and oranges when it came to dud dates,” Lily said. “Nothing embarrassing actually happened to you on those dates. Not like the time I accidentally set myself on fire.”

His eyes widened. “How the hell did that happen?”

“It was a noisy restaurant, and the guy was a low talker. I couldn’t hear what he was saying. So I leaned in, got too close to the candle, and the brim of my hat started burning.”

“Holy crap. Were you okay?”

“Luckily a waiter threw a jug of water over my head and put the fire out.” She paused, remembering the incident. “It was an orange raffia hat. I made it myself.”

While the waiters and other diners had rushed to her aid, her date had just sat there gibbering uselessly. The next day he’d texted to tell her he couldn’t see her anymore because he was so traumatized by what had happened.

Sighing, Lily leaned against the headrest. “That happened two years ago, and that was the last date I went on until today. Guess my luck hasn’t changed much since then.”