The Matchmaker's Happy Ending

Now she had a lot of years of reality beneath her and the stars had faded from her vision. She knew her business had suffered as a consequence. Somehow she needed to restore her belief in the very thing she touted to her clients—the existence of true love.

Jack shut her door and came around to the driver’s side. The car started with a soft purr. “Where to?”

She gave him her address, and he put the car in gear. She settled into the luxury seat. The dark leather hugged her body, warm and easy. Damn. She needed to step outside the basic car model box because sitting in this sedan made it pretty easy to fall for the whole Cinderella fantasy. It wasn’t a white horse, but it was a giant step closer to a royal ride. Having a good looking prince beside her helped feed that fantasy, too.

“I’m sorry for being grumpy earlier. That accident was the icing on a tough day. Thanks again for staying and talking to the cops for me,” he said. “I can’t believe you remembered all those details about the driver.”

She shrugged. “My father used to make me do that. Whenever we went someplace, he made sure I noticed the waiter’s name or the cab driver’s ID. He’d have me recite the address or license plate or some other detail. He said you never knew when doing that would come in handy, and he was right.” She could almost hear her father’s voice in her ear. Watch the details, Daisy-doo, be-cause you never know when they’ll matter. He’d rarely called her Marnie, almost always Daisy-doo, because of her love for the flowers. Kat had been Kitty, Erica had been Chatterbug. Marnie missed hearing her father’s wisdom, the way he lovingly teased his daughters. “Besides, the cab driver had his hands on the GPS more than the steering wheel, and that made me doubly nervous. If I could have, I would have jumped in the driver’s seat and taken the wheel myself.”

He chuckled. “Nice to meet a fellow control freak.”

“Me? I’m not a control freak.” She wrinkled her nose. “Okay, maybe I am. A little. But in my house, things were a little…crazy when I was a kid and someone had to take the reins.”

“Let me guess. You’re the oldest? An only?”

“The middle kid, but only younger than the oldest by nine months.”

“Oh, so not just the driver, but the peacemaker, too?” He tossed her a grin.

He’d nailed her, in a few words. “Do you read personality trait books in your spare time or something?”

“Nah. I’m just in a business where it’s essential to be able to read people, quickly, and well.”

“Me, too. Though sometimes you don’t like what you read.”

“True.” Jack glanced over at her, his blue eyes holding her features for a long moment before he returned his attention to the road. “So, Cinderella, what has made you so jaded?”

The conversational detour jolted her. She shifted in her seat. “Not jaded…realistic.”

“Well, that makes two of us. I find, in my line of work, that realism is a must.”

The amber glow of the street lights and the soft white light coming from the dash outlined his lean, defined profile with a soft edge. Despite the easy tone of his words, something in them hinted at a past that hadn’t been easy. Maybe a bad breakup, or a bitter divorce? Either way, despite the zing, she wasn’t interested in cleaning up someone else’s baggage. Stick to impersonal topics, Marnie.

His cell phone started to ring, and the touchscreen in the center of his dash lit up with the word Dad. “Do you mind if I answer this?” Jack asked. “If I don’t, he’ll just keep calling.”

She chuckled and waved toward the screen. “Go right ahead. I totally understand.”

Jack leaned forward, pressed a button on the screen, then sat back again. “Hey, Dad, what’s up? And before you say a word, you’re on speaker, so don’t blurt out any family secrets or embarrassing stories.”

“You got someone in the car with you?” said a deep, amused voice on the other end. “Someone pretty, I hope.”

Jack glanced at Marnie. A slow smile stole across his face and a quiver ran through her. “Yes, someone very pretty. So be on your best behavior.”

His father chuckled. “That’s no fun. The only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is the potential for bad behavior.”

Beside her, Jack rolled his eyes and grinned. Parents, he mouthed.

Seemed she wasn’t the only one with a troublesome parent. Jack handled his father with a nice degree of love and humor. That tender touch raised her esteem for him, and had her looking past the suit and tie. Intriguing man. Almost…intoxicating.

She didn’t have time, or room, in her life for being intrigued by a man, though, especially since her business took nearly every spare moment. Even one as handsome as him.

She could almost hear her mother screaming in disagreement, but Marnie knew her business and herself. If she got involved with someone right now, it would be a distraction. Maybe down the road, when her business and life were more settled…

Someday when?

She’d been saying “someday” for years. And had to find the right moment—or the right man—to make her open her heart to love.

“I called because I was wondering when you’d be home,” Jack’s father was saying. “You work more hours than the President, for God’s sake.”

Marnie bit back a laugh. It could have been her conversation with her mother a little while ago. She half expected his father to schedule a blind date brunch, too.

“I’m on my way.” Jack flicked a glance at the dashboard clock. “Give me twenty minutes. Did you eat?”

“Yeah. Sandwiches. Again. Lord knows you don’t have anything in that refrigerator of yours besides beer and moldy takeout.”

“Because I’m never there to eat.”

“Exactly.” Jack’s father cleared his throat. “I have an idea. Maybe…you should bring your pretty companion home for a—”

“Hey, no embarrassing statements, remember?”

His father chuckled. “Okay, okay. Drive safe.”

Jack told his father he’d be home soon, then said goodbye and disconnected the call. “Sorry about that,” Jack said to Marnie. “My dad is…needy sometimes. Even though it’s been a few years since he got divorced, it’s like he’s been lost.”

“My mother is the same way. She calls me every five minutes to make sure I’m eating my vegetables, wearing sunscreen and not working too much.”

He chuckled. “Sounds like we have the same parent. Ever since my dad sold his house, he’s been living with me, while he tries to figure out if he wants to stay in Boston or high-tail it for sunny Florida. He thinks that means he should comment on everything I do and every piece of furniture in my apartment.”

“And what is or isn’t in your fridge.” Marnie’s mom stopped by Marnie’s condo almost every Sunday after church, but less to visit than to do a responsible child check. You need more vegetables, her mother would say. Or you should cook for yourself more often. And the best, if you had a man in your life, you wouldn’t have to do that. Marnie loved her mother, but had realized a long time ago that a mother’s love could be…invasive. “I get the whole you should make more time for homecooked meals and a personal life lecture on a weekly basis. I think my mother forgets how many hours I work. The last thing I want to do when I get home is whip up a platter of lasagna.”

“I think they go to school for that,” Jack said. “How to Bug Your Adult Kids 101.”

She laughed. It did sound like they had the same parent. “Maybe you should get your dad involved in something else, something that keeps him too busy to focus on you. There are all kinds of singles events for people his age. Some of them are dates in disguise, get-togethers centered around hobbies, like cooking or pets,” Marnie said, unable to stop work talk from invading every second of her day. My lord, she was a compulsive matchmaker. And one who needed to take her own advice. First thing tomorrow, she was going to look into dates for Ma and someday soon, she’d nicely tell her mother to butt out.

Yeah, right. Marnie had yet to do that to anyone, especially her mother. But she could tell others what to do. That she excelled at, according to her sisters.

Jack nodded. “I tried that before, years ago, but it didn’t go so well. But you’re right—maybe if I try again, now that some time has passed since all that upheaval, my dad will be more open to doing some activities, especially ones that get him dating again.”

“And if he meets someone else—”

“He won’t have time to worry about my fridge or my hours.” Jack laughed. “Ah, such a devious plan we’ve concocted.”

“As long as it works.” She grinned.

Jack turned onto Marnie’s street. A flicker of disappointment ran through her as the ride came to an end. “It’s the fourth one on the right,” she said. “With the flowers out front.”

Invite him in? Or call it a night?