Matched to the Mountain Man (Mountain Man Mail Order Bride)

Ella

M y dreams were full of cotton candy pink clouds chasing me through pools of balloons that popped all around me into puffs of glitter.

It was horrific. I don't even care that it's barely past five in the morning when I open my eyes to the safety of my non-pink bedroom. As a reflex, I reach for my phone. It takes my groggy mind a few seconds to realize what the new notification across my screen is for.

The words, "You have a match." In a bold blue banner.

A match?

A match!

No way. I never expected a match so quickly.

Or at all, if I'm being honest.

I stare at the notification banner for a few minutes before my brain finally wakes up enough to click on it.

I'm directed to the Mountain Mates app and my profile. A little heart flashes in the upper corner, indicating I have a match. Next to it, a little envelope is lit up, telling me I also have a message.

When Ava explained the site to me, she told me there were two sections. The 'listing' side where users can place ads and answer them. And the 'match' side where the system makes matches based on a checklist of compatibility and personality traits. I splurged and signed up for the matching side because the idea of scrolling through wife-wanted ads scares the hell out of me.

I don't really know exactly how it works, but I know it's not like a regular dating website, where you can just swipe left or right. Which means...

Something about my profile actually matches with this guy.

My heart is racing as I click on the envelope icon first.

Hi, . It looks like we're a match.

Like a twelve-year-old, I let out a squeal and kick my heels against the mattress before I keep reading.

My name is Jamie. I'd love to get to know you better.

Okay, so there's nothing particularly interesting about his message but it's a start. I suck in a breath and click over to the heart icon to learn more about Jamie and I almost drop my phone when the page loads.

"Oh. My. Greek. God." He's gorgeous. Beyond gorgeous. This man looks as if he's been chiseled out of the very mountain he's standing in front of.

In the main picture, he has what looks to be climbing gear strapped on over his jeans and bare chest that's streaked with dirt. A helmet is tucked under his arm, a head full of dark hair and a beard that makes my stomach flip. I didn't even know I was into beards, but Jamie's is thick and dark, and I can't help but imagine what it will feel like against my skin when he kisses me.

The beard does nothing to hide the grin he gives the camera and the sparkle in his blue eyes.

He's the most attractive man I've ever seen.

And he matched with me.

It's not that I think I'm unattractive, but I'm really quite plain. And the extra forty pounds I can't seem to shed don't help. I am completely out of Jamie's league.

But the system matched us.

It's exactly what my best friend would say if she were sitting here right now. And I definitely need more best friend cheerleader energy right now, so with that in mind, I click on the compatibility questionnaire and start scanning through the areas we match on.

After five minutes, I have to admit, the system seems to know what it's doing. Jamie and I both score very closely in important areas like family values, children, finances, spirituality and personal goals. We have obvious differences in hobbies and leisure activities, but that was to be expected. I am surprised to see that he lists reading and music as some of his top interests.

It's only once I've gone through the report twice over that I click back to the messages and type a response:

Hi, Jamie. I'm . It's really nice to 'meet' you. I don't really know what I'm doing. But I guess, now we should try to get to know each other a little better. How was your day? Anything interesting?

Now all I have to do is wait.