# Chapter 17: The Alpha, the Mini Pizzas, and the Matchmaker’s Rules
Hello, lovely readers, and welcome back! I’m so glad you’re here with me today, because this chapter is an absolute treat—sharp, funny, tense, and full of that electric push-and-pull we’ve been waiting for. Today we’re diving into Chapter 17 of *Searching For Someday*, where Kate Seymour meets her match in more ways than one, and the man of the hour arrives late, hungry, and completely uninterested in following her carefully laid plans.
The scene opens with Kate already on edge. She’s been waiting for him, and when he finally walks in, the entire room seems to shift. He has that presence—broad shoulders, sharp glance, sage-green eyes that sweep the room like he’s assessing a battlefield. Kate feels a tiny shiver bump through her body, and she’s not the only one. The other women light up like hungry she-wolves, their gazes roving over him with pure anticipation. The man has alpha stamped all over him, and he knows it.
Kate pulls her professional demeanor around her like armor and walks straight up to him. “You’re late,” she whispers, then tells him to come with her before she introduces him to the four women she picked. He immediately teases her: “You’re not gonna announce ‘Meet my millionaire,’ are you?” Kate shudders with distaste. This isn’t reality TV, she tells him. They don’t lead with money here. Then she can’t resist asking, “Why, are you a millionaire?” And he deflects with a sly, “Why? Do you want to know?”
She leads him to the far corner, where the cocktail table is already set with finger foods. Kate explains that as long as he has a steady job he enjoys, they don’t care about his profit margin—and neither will his dates. He snorts, but his eyes are already on the food. And honestly? He looks at that table with more interest than he regarded the women. “Obviously, you haven’t been in the real world. I’m starving—are those mini pizzas?” He ignores her clucking and dives in, piling his plate with a massive amount of food. Then he asks for a beer or wine, whatever everyone else is drinking.
Kate crosses her arms and tries not to huff. She reminds him this isn’t the quick service dining plan. He’s here to meet his potential mate. “Right,” he says, chewing heartily. He then praises the portobello—smoky, full of flavor, perfect with the bite of gorgonzola. He even offers her a bite. Kate refuses and tries to go over the rules again. He beats her to the punch: “No sleeping with them on the first date.” She glares and says, “Of course not!” Then she begins to explain that she and Kennedy will be there to help him mingle, and if he feels awkward, he just needs to give them a glance and they’ll be by his side. They can also help guide him—and that’s where the scene leaves us, with Kate desperately trying to regain control and Slade happily demolishing the appetizers.
What makes this chapter so delicious is the clash of wills. Kate is all rules, professionalism, and carefully curated matchmaking. Slade is late, blunt, starving, and utterly immune to her script. He refuses to be impressed by the setup, and yet his raw confidence and humor make him impossible to ignore. The other women may be ready to feast, but Slade is more interested in mini pizzas—at least on the surface. Underneath, there’s a current of attraction that Kate keeps trying to bury. That tiny shiver, the way he deflects about being a millionaire, the way he tests her patience—it all builds a sparkling tension that feels like a rom-com with teeth.
## Reader’s Impressions & Star Rating
I absolutely adored this chapter. The banter crackles, the comedy lands, and Slade is both infuriating and magnetic. Kate’s internal struggle between professionalism and undeniable chemistry is written so well—she’s trying to stay in control, but he keeps slipping past her defenses. The mini pizza moment is hilarious and revealing: he’s not playing the game her way, and that’s exactly what makes him interesting. The pacing is sharp, the dialogue is witty, and the romantic tension is already simmering. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8 / 5 Stars
## Next Chapter Prediction
Next, Kate will attempt to steer Slade through meeting the four women, but I predict it will go completely off-script. He’ll either charm them with his blunt honesty or accidentally alienate them by being more focused on food and freedom than romance. Kate will feel a pang of jealousy she refuses to name, and Kennedy will definitely tease her about it. By the end, Slade will likely zero in on Kate rather than any of the candidates, forcing her to confront the fact that the man she’s trying to match may already be matched—with her. The rules are about to be broken, and I cannot wait.
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