Ignite

  Illuminate Matchmaking, Book 1

  Elouise East

  Copyright © 2022 Elouise East

  IGNITE (ILLUMINATE MATCHMAKING SERIES, BOOK 1)

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, Elouise East. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the internet or by any other means, electronic or print, without premising from Elouise East.

  The unauthorised reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Please purchase only authorised electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights and livelihood is appreciated.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All products and/or brand names mentioned are registered trademarks of their respective holders/companies.

  Publisher: Elouise East

  Cover Design: Teased by Antonette

  Editor: Abrianna Denae Proofreading

  Beta Readers: Emma Brown

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  About Elouise East

  Books by Elouise East

  Chapter 1

  Leo

  Leo sat on the blue cushioned seat, watching out of the window at all the people milling around on the busy London platform. When he’d first arrived, the manager, Don, had stepped down from the train and welcomed them all.

  “Welcome to Illuminate. My name is Don, and I will be the manager on board today. Please have your tickets ready.”

  Leo had a moment of panic. What the hell was he doing? It had quickly faded when he reminded himself this was his last-ditch effort to find a partner. He would have thought by his age, a mere thirty-eight, he would have found his forever person and settled down already. Or at least that was what his mother kept telling him.

  He observed the crowds disperse and grow again as trains left and arrived periodically. Leo grinned. What would Noah say about this trip of his? As far as his best friend knew, Leo was on an all-expenses-paid, day-long business trip for the travel agent he worked for. How Noah had fallen for it, considering how stingy the travel agent was with money, was beyond him, but he was grateful to be spared the embarrassment.

  When Leo had first signed up for Illuminate Matchmaking, he planned on telling Noah all about it, but he’d felt ridiculous—like a failure—for needing someone’s help to find a decent date. So he hadn’t and, instead, came up with the business trip excuse. Noah most likely wouldn’t care, but Leo did. They were best friends, but some things were better left unsaid until after the fact. And besides, if this didn’t work, he wouldn’t do it again. A last-ditch effort meant exactly that. He would consider it his duty to stay a single old man who told other people how to find love.

  The positive side of the staying single scenario was that he could travel anywhere he liked without having to explain himself to anyone. Through his job, the cost of his holidays would be reduced, decreasing more the longer he stayed with the company. Although, knowing Noah, Leo would have his sidekick along, unless Noah found his happy ending before Leo’s old man status was cemented.

  He needed to ask Noah how his dating was going. They’d not discussed it for a while. Depending on how the rest of the day panned out, Leo would either have a good story about meeting his soulmate, or an awful one about meeting someone terrible. Either way, when they went camping in the Peak District the following weekend, Leo was spilling the beans about the day’s adventures. He hated keeping secrets from Noah. Leo rarely kept anything from his best friend. In the many years they’d known each other, Leo could count on one hand the secrets they’d had kept—if you excluded birthday surprises, which didn’t count.

  He and Noah had met when they were five years old, on their first day of primary school. The minute they’d seen each other, they’d been inseparable, much to their parents’ delight and consternation. Neither could make a decision without speaking to the other first, which made simple choices more difficult. By the time they were eight, their families were holidaying and socialising together regularly. Leo couldn’t remember a time when he had slept in his room by himself before he went to college. They would either be sleeping top and tail in his bed or on the bunk beds at Noah’s.

  Leo grinned. Oh, the trouble they’d caused throughout their teens. Not the criminal kind of trouble, the mischievous kind. They were known as the “troublesome twosome” to the entire housing estate. They made up for it as they got older, especially when Noah trained as a chef. He often cooked large amounts of food and distributed it around the estate to those who were either less fortunate or to the elderly, who often didn’t get home-cooked meals.

  Running his hand through his hair carefully so he didn’t disturb the styled perfection of his blond hair, Leo exhaled and gazed around the carriage. He counted eight tables, each with four seats, spaced evenly throughout the area and with plenty of walking space between, unlike normal passenger carriages for commuting. Illuminate had gone to a lot of effort to ensure each person was comfortable. Each table sat next to a window, meaning everyone could watch the scenery, but each seat was high-backed enough that it would work as a divider of sorts, making it more private. If Leo had been writing this up as a travel article, the intricate details the company had thought of would extremely impress him. Like the tablecloths that fit the table as a bedsheet would a bed, so it didn’t hang down and tangle around their legs. The charging units and stands for phones or tablets. And the footrests that could come out from under the seats for those who were shorter than others. Those were just a few examples.

  He glanced across the space to the other table when its occupant sat down. The man looked terrified. He debated saying something, not wanting to intrude, but wanting to help him relax.

  “Hey,” Leo said, giving a wave. “How are you doing?”

  The man raised wide eyes to him, licked his lips, and nodded. “Okay, thanks. You?”

  His voice was soft and melodic, a little stilted, but Leo assumed that was because of their circumstances. Who rightly wanted to be known as needing help to find a date?

  “Yeah, I’m good. Looking forward to spending the day in Edinburgh—with or without my date.”

  The man gave a small smile, and his shoulders relaxed a little. “Me, too.”

  “I’m Leo.”

  “Drew.”

  Silence descended, and Drew pulled his phone from his pocket. Leo took that as the end of the conversation. He checked his watch, seeing it was close to leaving time. His heart rate increased at the thought of being stood up. It was the one scenario that hadn’t crossed his mind until then. What if his date didn’t come? He’d have to make the entire trip alone, which was mortifying. He was glad he’d remembered to pack his tablet. At least he could get through a good portion of his current book should he have a five-hour-long journey to waste.

  Wrinkling his nose, he mentally slapped his wrist for thinking about reading as a waste when, in fact, it wasn’t. He had his nose in a book as often as he could. He would’ve done so now, but he waited with bated breath to see if his date showed up.

  Leo glanced around the carriage again, noting how many people were missing. There were two other tables with one occupant, so he wasn’t alone in the missing date scenario for the moment. He glanced at Drew just as his date showed up.

  “Hey, you! You must be my date,” the new guy said.

  Leo averted his gaze, not wanting to intrude on the interaction. Bending his head, ear to shoulder, side to side, several times, he tried to relax the tension in his upper back. He could’ve done with a longer stretch that morning, but he hadn’t had time for his usual yoga programme.

  The waiting was the worst part, and he glanced out of the window again, trying to see if anyone was waiting to board their train. He sighed, closed his eyes, inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth as his yoga taught him, trying not to think about anything other than the rise and fall of his chest. Each exhalation relaxed his shoulders further.

  “Sir? Are you okay?”

  The hushed voice startled him, and he flicked his eyes open and across to the owner, a twenty-something, dark-haired man with glasses.

  “Sorry?”

  “You look a little overwhelmed. I was checking to see if you were okay.”

  Leo smiled as his heartbeat returned to normal once more. “Yes, thank you. I had a mild hill to climb in my thoughts, but I’m doing good now. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome, sir. Please don’t hesitate to call if you need anything.”

  “Thank you.”

  Leo watched the guy exit the carriage into what appeared to be a kitchen or galley or something similar. He caught a brief
glimpse as the door opened and closed, but Leo decided it must be where the staff worked.

  He couldn’t stand sitting quietly anymore, so he pulled out his phone, and regardless of the fact it was not yet nine in the morning, he messaged Noah.

  LEO: Why the hell do I get myself into these situations? I should’ve told work to send someone else. The train’s not even left yet, and I’m wishing I was home already.

  Leo felt bad lying to him again, but it got across his feelings about not wanting to be there. Not expecting a response as Noah had been on a late shift the previous night, he tucked his phone away again, only to pull it back out when it buzzed, surprising him with a quick response from Noah.

  NOAH: Hindsight is twenty-twenty, they say.

  LEO: What are you doing up so early?

  NOAH: Have a business meeting.

  LEO: You never told me.

  NOAH: Last-minute decision.

  LEO: Well, have fun. Make sure you grab some breakfast. Being a chef, you should realise you get hangry when you don’t eat enough.

  NOAH: Fuck off. I do not.

  Leo chuckled to himself. Noah definitely got hangry, especially first thing in the morning.

  LEO: Too many years have passed for me not to have noticed. Get breakfast.

  NOAH: Asshole.

  LEO: Fucktard. See you tomorrow.

  Leo snorted when he received an emoji of a middle finger as a sign-off. He placed his phone on the table and rested his head in one hand, elbow leaning on the arm of the chair. It felt like he’d been waiting for hours, but it had only been around half an hour. Always eager, he had been the first to step forward when Don had invited the people to board the train, but it meant he had to wait the longest, too.

  Leo closed his eyes again, going through his yoga breathing one more time. He’d only had his eyes closed for a few seconds when he felt someone standing close by. Opening his eyes, he stared, eyes widening as he watched the guy sit tentatively opposite Leo.

  They stared at each other before the guy spoke. “You said you were going on a business trip.”

  “You said you had a business meeting.”

  They both slumped back into the seats, gazes locked.

  “What the fuck are you doing here, Noah?”

  “I could say the same thing to you, Leo.”

  They were at an impasse.

  ****

  Chapter 2

  Noah

  As Noah stood next to his designated table on board the Illuminate train, he struggled to breathe. How could Leo be sitting so serenely at the table allocated to Noah and his date? He didn’t know what to do. Having told a white lie in his message to Leo, he knew he was about to be outed, but what was he to do? Noah’s eyes narrowed. He couldn’t forget that Leo lied in his message, too.

  A colleague had mentioned Illuminate after finding success themselves, and Noah had been on the fence about signing up. Being a chef was a wonderful career, and Noah loved every minute of the fast-paced environment despite how hot and sweaty the work was, but it wasn’t conducive to dating. He wasn’t bothered by the attitude of the other people who worked there, no matter how shitty they could be. He kept his head down, did the work he loved to the best of his ability, and left at the end of the night. Noah completely believed it was the reason he had lasted as long as he had at Raffaele’s. Most of the other staff were like revolving doors, in and out over the space of a few weeks or months.

  Thick skin was a must in the cuisine business, and he had it in spades thanks to his childhood. His mother and father were invested in their outward appearance only. Not even Leo knew how difficult his life was when Leo wasn’t around. Nothing Noah did ever made his parents happy, but to the world outside, he was the prodigal son.

  Whenever he stayed over at Leo’s house, it let a breath of fresh air into his life, and in some ways, when Leo stayed over at Noah’s house, it was a similar thing. Although he was always on tenterhooks that his parents would fly off the handle, they never did. Even when they started going on holiday with Leo and his family, they kept up the façade of a perfect family.

  It was only when the doors were closed, and it was just the three of them that the claws came out. It took Noah many, many years to get out from under their thumb. Once he stood on his own two feet and made something of himself, he turned his back on them. In private, of course. Publicly, he was the ever-loving son. If anyone got wind of his situation, no one would believe him anyway, so what was the point of complaining?

  When Noah had finally decided to sign up to Illuminate Matchmaking, he would never have envisioned standing next to Leo. What was he doing there? He focused on Leo’s face the moment he opened his eyes and carefully sat on the well-cushioned seat opposite his best friend.

  After their brief acknowledgement of each other’s secrecy, they sat staring at each other. From Noah’s perspective, he was trying to move Leo from best friend to date, but his brain was having none of it.

  He sighed and broke Leo’s gaze, peering out of the window, although not seeing anything. “I’d heard about Illuminate from a colleague a few months ago. I’d been reluctant to try it because I thought I could find someone myself.” He snorted. “You know how well that turned out, especially with how much I work. I didn’t want you to think I was stupid for giving this a try. I wasn’t sure it would work. I had planned to tell you about the whole thing when I got back.”

  Leo chuckled, causing Noah to turn to him with his eyebrows raised in question. “Same. I thought you’d think I was a failure for not being able to do it myself.” Leo studied his hands as they twisted together on the table.

  “Leo!” Noah was pissed. Not about Illuminate now, but about Leo putting himself down. It was the flaw in his personality he always struggled with—no matter how confident Leo appeared on the surface, insecurities always plagued him. And no matter what Noah tried, he couldn’t help with getting rid of them.

  “You called yourself stupid!” Leo argued.

  “But you—”

  Their argument was interrupted by the manager’s onboard announcement.

  “Good morning. We are ready to leave the station. Once the train gets underway, the stewards will be around to take your drink orders. Lunch will be served at noon, and we estimate arriving in Edinburgh at two o’clock, barring any delays. I will always be available, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask a steward to find me. Enjoy your journey.”

  As the doors banged shut, Noah focused back on Leo. “Well, we’re stuck with each other now. This should be interesting.”

  Leo’s forehead furrowed. “Why interesting?”

  Noah snorted. “Well, you realise we are on this train as a date, don’t you?” He rested his crossed forearms on the table, tilting his head at Leo.

  “Hmm. That was the plan. I’m here for a date, I mean. Not that it was you. Not that I mind it being you. Fuck.” Leo’s voice trailed off after his burst of nervousness.

  Noah’s mouth twitched with his need to laugh, but he fought against it, knowing Leo would not appreciate it. When he had control of his reaction, Noah nudged Leo’s foot with his own. “Hey. We’re both in the same boat here. I wasn’t expecting it to be you, and you weren’t expecting it to be me. It’s fine.” He paused. “But now we have a decision to make.”

  Leo raised one eyebrow, something Noah wished he could do. He marvelled once more at how expressive Leo’s face was and had, on more than one occasion, caught him out because Leo’s answer was written on his highly animated face.

  “What decision?”

  Noah leaned back in his seat, his gaze never leaving Leo’s. “Whether we treat this trip as a best friends’ trip or as a date.”

  The words hung between them. Noah’s stomach rolled and pitched as he waited for Leo’s response. His face showed shock, as if it had never occurred to Leo that it could be more.

  Noah considered, and not for the first time, having Leo as his boyfriend. Yes, they had been best friends for years, but Leo had never shown any sign of having anything except benign feelings for Noah. As for Noah, he had thought about it several times over the years but didn’t want to ruin what they had; they got on so well as friends.