# Chapter 25: A Toast to Dangerous Pretenses
Hello, lovely readers, welcome back! It’s your storyteller again, and today we’re slipping into a plush restaurant booth where every smile hides a calculation and every drink might be a test. Chapter 25 of *Searching For Someday* free digital audiobook is a deliciously tense scene of masks, mind games, and one very quick-witted woman refusing to be managed. So, pour something fizzy, settle in, and let’s dive into the dinner that could unravel everything.
Kate begins the evening already on edge. Introductions blur past her, and she has no time to process why she hasn’t sensed any real connection in the room. For a matchmaker, that absence prickles at her instincts, but there’s no pause for introspection now. She slides onto the cushioned seat, crosses her legs, and braces herself for a lengthy evening among women who already know one another well. Kate is the outsider here, and she knows it. She thinks about how much she hates this kind of socializing—the almost political, ruthless cliques of business life, where grown adults turn into scrambling teenagers desperate to belong to the popular group. Kinnections socializing is different, but this dinner? This is a battlefield in silk and perfume.
She forces a welcoming smile and focuses on the three women. They smile back, but their eyes are busy. They take in her appearance, cataloguing every detail for future reference. Kate wonders what they would do if she confessed the truth—that she is a matchmaker, not the accountant she’s pretending to be. Slade seems to catch that dangerous thought and throws her a warning look just as the waiter arrives for drink orders.
Linda speaks up first, recommending a wonderful signature drink: crushed basil with a bit of mint, almost like a mojito but better. Kate says it sounds wonderful. Then Slade’s voice cuts across the table like a blade. “Kate doesn’t drink.” The words are flung out with such command that everyone nods as if it is settled law. Melody assumes it must be about calories. Kate stares at Slade’s implacable face and realizes this is her punishment—his punishment for believing she is higher than a kite. A giggle threatens to escape, but she smothers it just in time. Does he really think he’s dealing with an amateur?
Slade instructs the waiter: “I’ll have a gin and tonic. The lady will have sparkling water.” Kate lifts her face, smiles sweetly, and calmly takes the round for herself. “It’s a special occasion, right? I’ll have one of those signature drinks, please. I’m off my diet for tonight.” Slade opens his mouth to contradict her, then quickly closes it. Point to Kate. God knows she’ll need some alcohol to get through this. He jerks his head but manages to play off his irritation. Maybe this evening will be more fun than she thought.
The conversation shifts to her supposed career. Linda asks Kate about being an accountant during tax season, imagining it must be brutal. Kate agrees smoothly—yes, she’s practically chained to her desk. She and Slade have been looking forward to this evening because they rarely get out this time of year. Bob gives Slade a proud look and calls them a real power couple, then reminisces about starting Myers, Inc. with his brother, two offices, a few clients, and plenty of hunger. Eventually, they made a name for themselves as the prestige firm in New York.
Linda places a hand on her husband’s shoulder and shakes her head fondly, adding that he always had great ambition to be the best. Fortunately, so did she. Kate asks Linda what she does. The answer comes with sparkling eyes: Linda is a lawyer too—in fact, Bob’s biggest competition. Kate grins and says that must have been interesting after hours. Linda admits it was, but they made it work because they respected each other’s ambition. She believes couples who own their own businesses face bigger challenges, but they understand one another. Sometimes, she says, they are a better fit.
Interesting, Kate thinks. She wonders if that is another reason Slade is so keen on being involved only with a career woman who owns her business. She sips her drink, enjoying the sweetness of basil, the chill of ice, and the sting of alcohol blending together.
Then Travis asks the question that could ruin everything: “What’s your accounting firm called, Kate?”
“Kinnections,” she says—and freezes. The name slips out too fast for her to backtrack. Travis cocks his head. “Odd name for an accounting company, isn’t it?” Slade tightens his fingers around his glass. He opens his mouth to rescue her, but Kate has always hated the formulaic princes on horseback. She prefers the princesses who slay the damn dragons themselves.
So she looks Travis in the eye and improvises. “Kind of like connect the dots to your refund. A play on words.”
The table hangs on that answer, suspended between a laugh and a suspicion. Kate has survived the first strike, but the dragon is still circling.
## Reader’s Impressions & Star Rating
I absolutely adored this chapter. Kate is at her sharpest here—quick, defiant, and wonderfully unwilling to be handled by Slade, even when he thinks he’s protecting her. The chemistry between them crackles in every small power struggle, especially when she orders the signature drink right after he tries to speak for her. Linda and Bob add a fascinating layer too, showing a marriage built on mutual ambition and competition, which mirrors what Kate is starting to question about Slade’s own desires. The tension is elegant rather than explosive, and the “Kinnections” slip is the perfect cliff-edge moment. It’s fun, flirty, and full of quiet danger.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars
## Next Chapter Prediction
Next, the dinner will likely continue with Travis poking at the strange name “Kinnections,” forcing Kate to build an even more elaborate lie—or perhaps to distract him with charm. Slade will be caught between irritation and admiration, and after the table clears, the two of them will almost certainly have a charged confrontation about control, trust, and why he keeps trying to manage her. I also suspect Bob and Linda may become important business allies or unexpected mirrors for Kate and Slade’s future, while the romantic tension between Kate and Slade tips closer to a breaking point. One thing is sure: the matchmaker is playing a dangerous game, and the next chapter may force her to decide whether the truth is worth the risk.
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