LOVE IS NOT A CHECKLIST ✔️
308 Words
In the quiet town of Willowridge, love was something of a tradition—predictable, proper, and usually arranged by families who’d known each other for generations. The kind of love that followed rules. The kind of love Lila Arden couldn’t stand.
She leaned back in the vintage leather chair at her boutique office, one foot perched on the edge of her desk, the other resting on a pile of books labeled Compatibility, Chemistry, and Chaos. She swirled a mug of lukewarm coffee and stared out the window at the polished streets outside. Everyone in this town had a plan: graduate, marry someone familiar, have kids, attend the same brunch spots forever.
Lila had a different plan.
With a business card that read Matches Made to Break the Mold, Lila Arden had made a name for herself by matching people others wouldn’t dare to pair—an introverted poet with a loud-mouthed mechanic, a divorced schoolteacher with a tattooed barista, and most recently, a quiet baker with a conspiracy-theorist podcaster. Somehow, it worked. And in Willowridge, that kind of success didn’t go unnoticed.
The bell above her office door chimed.
“Arden?” a sharp voice called out.
Lila looked up, smirking. “Depends. Who’s asking?”
A woman in her early sixties stood in the doorway, impeccably dressed, pearl necklace shining under the morning sun. Eleanor Caldwell. Matriarch. Old money. And a woman who likely thought “unconventional” was a disease.
“I need your help,” Eleanor said, stepping in like she owned the place. “My grandson needs a wife.”
Lila arched a brow. “Does he know that?”
Eleanor sighed. “He doesn’t need to know just yet. That’s what I’m hiring you for.”
There it was—the challenge. Lila set down her mug and grinned. “Go on…”
- Writer
