Pushed (Moonlit Lake Matchmaker ~ Book 3)

All is not fair in love and war... especially when it involves a sneaky match between enemies/lovers and fake fiancés/business partners...I smell a prank war. The lines are blurring already!
It all started when I met a handsome stranger at a fundraising gala, and had fun pretending we were engaged to get an obsessed woman off his back. It was just for one evening, and nobody would ever hear about it.
When he shows up at my restaurant and says he plans to buy it, but will let me continue working for HIM—I lose it, along with scoops of mashed potatoes flying at his face. How dare this arrogant jerk come in here and try to yank my dream out from under me? This is WAR! 
But then the restaurant owners hear the rumors of our engagement and force us to partner together to make the restaurant successful, or they'll sell to a franchise and we'll lose the whole thing. 
This is surely a recipe for disaster and heartbreak. There's no way this can work. Is there? 
Pushed is a sweet, enemies to lovers, fake relationship romantic comedy with witty banter & snark, laugh-out-loud moments, small-town charm, a meddling matchmaker, and swoony kisses. All the fun and feels, without the spice or swears.

I tapped my fingers against my fist like it was a fake microphone, trying to get my dad’s attention. “Hello, hello. Is this thing on?” Apparently not. He didn’t even look up from his computer screen.
I wondered where I could get a hold of a ventriloquist dummy. If I were ventriloquizing my argument (I’m sure that’s a word), maybe Dad would think my ideas were coming from someone else and would take them seriously. Or would at least listen and pay attention to what I was saying.
Gritting my teeth, I took a deep breath and counted to five. Then ten. Flying off the handle was not the way to gain my dad’s support. 
“Will you at least take a peek at my business plan, Dad? Please.”
“I’m sure your plan is fine, Jasper. You have a solid head for business, even though I’m not convinced a farm-to-table restaurant would be a good fit for this town. I just can’t deal with this right now.” He waved me off and turned his attention back to his computer screen. 
My dad’s body was muscular from years of working the farm. Only a few specks of gray dotted his dark hair. But his tanned face had lines carved from both worry and laughter—our family history etched into his face.
“Harvest is over now. There’ll never be a better time to talk about it. Besides, I’m not asking you to take anything else on. I’ve told you a thousand times, this would help the farm, not hurt it.” Seriously, I’d begun to feel like a hamster trapped in a wheel, trying to move forward but always sprinting in the same place. I took another deep breath and tried to keep a leash on my frustration. “This is my project, Dad. My baby. I just want you to look over my ideas and give me your insights.” And hopefully your blessing.
“I don’t know if you realize what a huge commitment something like this would be, Jasper. You won’t be able to just move on to something else when you get bored.” The phone rang, and Dad reached to pick it up. “I bet that’s Pablo calling to confirm his order for this week. I need to take this. We’ll talk later.”
And just like that, my hamster wheel fell off its axle. 
I stumbled out of his office, dejected.
Will he ever see me as anything more than a comedic kid? Will he ever take me and my ideas seriously?
I’ve already made myself and my clients loads of money. But I wanted more than that. Time for a new adventure—something worthwhile. Something to not only help my family but make a difference in the world. This farm-to-table restaurant could do all that.
Mom intercepted me as I trudged through the house on my way out and wrapped me in a hug. “He’ll come around, Jasper. Just be patient.” 
After releasing me from her embrace, her face softened in a familiar loving smile with the corners of her eyes crinkling. Her once golden curls were marbled with silver and tied up in a messy bun. A few rogue strands twirled beside her face and a swash of flour streaked her cheek.
“That’s the problem. If I wait much longer, my perfect opportunity will be gone.”
“You’re an adult and a professional. You need to follow your own heart.” She patted me on my chest. “I believe in you.”
“Thanks, Mom. That means a lot.” I stepped toward the door and looked back at her. “I’m on my way to Tillie’s. Do you want to walk with me?”
She blew a lock of hair from her eyes and brushed the flour from her face with the back of her hand. “I have bread rising and almost ready for the oven, so I’ll have to pass. But tell her I said hello.”
“I will. And maybe I’ll stop back for a slice of fresh bread when I’m done. Make that a loaf—I can never stop at one slice of your bread. There’s nothing better.”
“You do that. It should be ready in about an hour. I’ll see you then.”
I gave her a salute as I walked out the door.
Tillie Devine had a small organic farm next door to my parents’, but she focused on growing flowers, herbs and medicinal plants. She used what she grew to create homemade products such as soaps, lotions, oils, tinctures, etc. which she sold in her shop, D’Vine Blessings. The shop was on the same property, but close to the road and got quite a bit of traffic from passersby.
In the dictionary under unpredictable, there should be a picture of Tillie. No matter what crazy shenanigans she was up to, I could always count on Tillie to make me laugh, but also to see the world, and life, in a whole new way. 
The well-worn path between our farm and hers was littered with newly fallen leaves, and each of my steps crunched. The sun peeking through the clouds made me shield my eyes, but the air held a biting chill, especially when the sun disappeared. A breeze blew more yellow and red leaves to the ground around me like confetti.
I found Tillie on her knees in one of her gardens. Her white hair glowed in the sunlight, contrasting her dirty tie-dyed overalls and flowered galoshes. Much of her crops had already been harvested, leaving the land looking forlorn. In the summer, her land brimmed with colorful plants and flowers from one end to the other—truly a sight to behold. But this particular garden looked like a weed bed to me, though I knew it was her medicinal herb plot. 
“I could bring the tractor and till this up for you, Tillie. Would make it much easier on you.” I leaned against a tree behind her, crossed my arms, and smirked, knowing any threat to her beloved medicine garden would get her going.
She shook a finger at me. “Don’t even think about it, Jasper Rhodes. You stay away from my herbs, or I’ll put you to work. These weeds, as you like to call them, could save your life someday.”
“I know, Tillie. I’m just giving you a hard time.” 
“Here, make yourself useful and grab that basket for me.” She pointed to the basket on the other side of the garden. Her arms were full of plants she had picked. “I need to harvest these before they freeze. Then I’ll hang them to dry.”
“I’d offer to help you cut them, but I wouldn’t recognize what was useful and what wasn’t. It’s all just weeds to me.”
“That’s sweet of you to offer. But you’re right, these precious plants need to be handled with great care to preserve their potency. And with each stem and leaf that I clip, I thank the plant and the earth for the gift. It is a sacred process.”
“You mentioned you wanted to talk to me about your business analytics and projections, and also to take a look at your investments. But I can come back later if you’re busy right now.”
“Ooo, yes. And I also wanted to pick your brain about creating a strategy for crypto and bitcoin. It seems to be all the rage.” She stood up, stretched her back, and surveyed the bed before her. “I think now would be a good time to take a break. Let’s go inside and have a cup of tea and a chat. Shall we?”
Tillie held the basket in one hand and looped her other arm through mine. 
“Sounds good to me.” I followed her into the back of her shop.
The back of the building housed Tillie’s workshop, where she made all her magical creations. And the front was the store where she sold her goods. She set the basket onto the table and filled her tea kettle with water. While the kettle was heating, she retrieved two pottery mugs from the cupboard. She studied me for a moment. Then lifted her finger in the air. “I have the perfect blend for what you need today.”
“And what is it you sense that I need?”
“First of all, you need something to calm your frustrations. You’re practically drowning in them. But you also need an open heart for your next steps.”
“You’re right-on about the frustration. Dad still won’t give me two minutes to talk about my ideas and plans for opening a farm-to-table restaurant in town. But I don’t know what an open heart has to do with that.”
“Let’s see if my cards can clarify that a little bit more.” I didn’t miss the glimmer of mischief in her eyes. 
I raised a hand to stop her. “That’s okay, Tillie. I’ll figure it out.” 
I recalled what happened when Tillie drew cards for two of my siblings. She might seem like an innocent old lady on the outside, but I knew better. While she managed to match Rowan and Raven with their soulmates, and they were all disgustingly happy, I was nowhere near ready for that. 
“Oh, come now, Jasper. You’re not afraid of a few little cards. Are you? Just humor an old lady.”
What could I say to that? 
I sighed and followed her to a small table cluttered with candles and crystals. She lit a candle, picked up a deck of cards, then began shuffling the cards. 
As she was shuffling them, a card popped out of the deck. She turned it face up in front of the candle.
“Sleight of hand.”
“Hmm… Isn’t that an interesting card? I wonder what that means.” She paused for a moment. “Something isn’t what it seems. Or there is some kind of trickery going on.” She clapped her hands in front of her chest. “Oh, isn’t this exciting?”
“A thrill a minute.”
She elbowed me.
“Alright. Show me the next one. Maybe that one will make sense.” Not that I believed in any of this, but Tillie sure did.
She shuffled the deck again and this time a card flew up and almost hit me in the face. I caught it and placed it on the table next to the other one. 
“Unexpected partnership,” Tillie said.
I rubbed the scruff on my jaw with my finger and thumb. “Could this mean I need to find someone else to work with me on this restaurant project?” My chest tightened at the prospect of circumventing my dad and finding someone else.
She shrugged, but her eyes still twinkled, and her lips formed a sly smile. “Be open to all possibilities.” She shuffled again. “Okay, Jasper. Your last card is ‘Love’s Sacrifice.’” 
“Sorry, Tillie. These were not helpful at all. There’s no way I’m sacrificing anything for love. Besides, I have absolutely no interest in love right now, anyway. My focus lies solely on making this restaurant a reality.”
“Not everything goes according to plan, especially not love. It’s likely to knock you upside the head when you least expect it. Just don’t resist it, because when you’re open to love and all that comes with it, that’s when the magic really happens. Along with love comes opportunities you never dreamed of that will manifest right in front of your eyes.”
“Alright. I’m open to whatever magical opportunities are coming my way. As long as they’ll help me get what I want and won’t get in my way.”
“I have to say, I’m so excited for what is coming your way.” She slipped her arm around my waist and hugged me from the side. When the teakettle whistled, she rushed over to turn it off and fill our cups. “Oh, that reminds me, an old friend of mine sent me a free ticket to a charity gala to fight world hunger. A wonderful cause. I believe there’ll be lots of bigwigs from the restaurant industry there.” She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, her brow lifted. “Would you like to go?”
“Are you asking me on a date, Tillie? I’m flattered.”
She slapped me on the arm and laughed. “Certainly not, you scoundrel. It’s just one ticket. I believe the event sold out, and the tickets are highly sought after.”
She rummaged through a pile of papers on her desk. “Here it is. I can’t think of a better person to gift this to than you, my boy. Please say you’ll go.”
I took the ticket from her hand. “Wow. I can’t believe someone gave this to you. These tickets were at least five hundred dollars a piece. I actually wanted to go, but it sold out before I got around to it. Thanks, Tillie. I’d be happy to go in your place.”
“See the magical opportunities are opening up for you already.”
A chill ran down my spine and goosebumps rose on my skin, but I didn’t want to think about what that might mean. “Ha. Maybe you’re right. Now let’s see if I can bring some of that magic to your portfolio.”