The Matchmaker’s Match

by Nicole Flockton

  Bracing his arms on either side of her, Luke brushed his lips quickly against hers before thrusting inside of her.

  “Oh, yes,” she hissed as he seated himself deep inside of her.

  They stayed like that for endless moments. Just when she believed he wasn’t going to move, Luke pulled out and thrust in again. His motions were slow and measured, designed to build up the heat between them.

  Her nerves, still on edge from her first orgasm, tingled after the first couple of strokes. Meredith wrapped her legs around his waist, encouraging Luke to go deeper and harder. Her moans filled the air and, when she least expected it, another orgasm crashed through her. Seconds later, Luke cried out her name and joined her, their bodies shuddering together.

  A sighed flowed through as he collapsed on her. She welcomed his weight and tightened her hold on him.

  This was a night she was never going to forget.

  Chapter Two

  One Month Later

  Meredith Turner looked at the pamphlets spread out on her coffee table. Holy shit, she was really going to do this. She was about to take on Mother Nature and hope she came out on top. After the way her relationship with Mark had panned out, marriage was off the agenda. If she wanted a child, and she badly did, she’d do it on her own terms and in her own way.

  The delay in putting her plan in motion was disappointing, but one she understood. To make a healthy baby, she had to have a clean bill of health. The doctor recommended she have some tests before moving forward.

  She pushed up from the couch and headed to the bathroom, ignoring the twinge of pain in her stomach. She should’ve mentioned it the doctor during her visit this morning, but it was probably just a dormant virus she’d picked up in Guatemala. Hygiene in the central highlands was a little hit or miss. She could put up with a little discomfort. It was more annoying than alarming.

  Tonight, she would put all thoughts of her future child out of her mind and concentrate on having a great time at her best friend’s wedding rehearsal dinner.

  No way could she be sick tonight. She was maid of honor and in charge of keeping the bride calm. Not to mention Isabella was counting on her to keep an eye on their baby, Marnie, while they went through the motions of the ceremony.

  Damn, a few weeks ago, before she’d left Guatemala, Meredith had been thinking she could whisper to Isabella that she, too, would be getting married and starting a family of her own very soon. Deep down, it hurt that she couldn’t, but Ethan and Isabella had climbed many barriers to get to tonight, and she would celebrate hard with them.

  Her phone trilled beside her. Speaking of the bride. She scooped it up.

  “Hey, Iz, how’s it going?”

  “I think we should’ve just eloped.” Isabella sounded frazzled and Meredith bit back a laugh.

  “What’s happened? And how can I help?”

  “Nothing’s happened. I’m just worried that everything is going to go wrong tonight and it will be an omen for my marriage to Ethan.”

  Isabella’s first marriage had ended when her husband died in a freak military accident, so Meredith could understand her worry. But this time was going to be different for her best friend. “Iz, it’s going to be fine. You and Ethan have been together for almost two years now. You’ve got a gorgeous daughter and your whole lives ahead of you.”

  “I know, it’s just I love him so much, Mere, it scares me sometimes. He put up with me being such a bitch to him when we first met. I’m surprised he persisted.”

  “He persisted because he saw past the wall you put up and saw the beautiful person you are underneath. Don’t ever doubt that.” Jealousy crept over her, but she hadn’t lied to her friend.

  Ethan adored Iz. Meredith had never had anyone who valued her unconditionally after her parents died. Well, she thought Mark had, but look how that turned out. Even living with her aunt after the accident, she’d always been a burden, an extra mouth to feed. At least if she had her own child, he or she would love her with their whole heart. And she would love them even more. Being a single mom didn’t scare her at all. Her parents had not been great role models, but she was going to be ten times better as a parent than they ever were. And by doing it by herself, there wasn’t any risk of her attention being divided between a spouse and her child.

  Meredith smiled when she heard Isabella sniffling over the phone. “Stop crying. You can’t go to your rehearsal dinner with red eyes,” she admonished.

  “Well you shouldn’t say things like that.” Isabella sniffled again. “I’m so glad you’re back. I missed you while you were away. I’m sorry Mark turned out to be a jerk.”

  Yeah, she’d received a lecture from Isabella when she’d returned and had relayed the sorry tale of her failed relationship with Mark. But she had kept what she’d done that night in San Diego from her bestie. That was her little secret.

  “You know I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. And I missed you too.” She grimaced as her stomach twisted again. Shit, she definitely should’ve talked to her doctor about it. She’d call tomorrow and see if she could change her appointment to sooner rather than later.

  “I’m excited for you to meet Lincoln tonight. I still wish he hadn’t moved to California before you came back. It’s so awkward to meet the best man just two days before the wedding, and I’m really sorry about that. I should’ve found a way to have you guys over for dinner at some point.”

  Meredith knew all about Lincoln and his role in the upcoming nuptials. What she didn’t like was the tone entering her friend’s voice. Hell, she’d just come out of a relationship. She didn’t need a rebound fling. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop right now, Isabella Knowles soon-to-be Isabella Masters.”

  “What? What am I doing?” She could just picture Isabella’s eyes widening.

  “Just because Lincoln matched you and Ethan up doesn’t mean I want to be set up now. Remember, I just came out of a long-term relationship. Heck, maybe Lincoln doesn’t even want to be set up.”

  Isabella scoffed and the sound brought a smile to Meredith’s face. At least she’d taken Iz’s mind off the upcoming dinner, even if she was now the target of her friend’s focus. “Well, you never know. Maybe you’ll like him and everything will work out. Stranger things have happened. I liked Mark, but I never thought he was the one, you know. It sounded like you two didn’t communicate much while you were away, even though he begged you to take him back the second you left.”

  “I was busy teaching children from the ages of six to sixteen how to read. Not to mention I only got into town once a month to visit the Internet café.” But looking back with eyes wide open, she should’ve picked up something was wrong with Mark by his lack of communication. She’d just put it down to him being busy, her being focused on her task, and bad cell phone reception.

  “And busy growing further apart from Mark. You’re single now. Why not live it up a little? Isn’t that what you told me?”

  Of course, Iz would throw Meredith’s words back in her face. She had lived it up a little when she had the overnight layover in San Diego. She’d had a one-night stand. Totally out of character for her, but her emotions had been raw and Luke had been cute and funny and appeared uncomplicated—just what she’d needed. A balm to her badly dented confidence. They’d shared a drink, a little conversation, and then a kiss.

  Even now she wasn’t sure what possessed her to end up in his room, but she had and she had no regrets. After what she’d seen while she had been away, not to mention Mark’s betrayal, she’d wanted to experience something wonderful. Boy, had she ever. That night, she’d had some of the best sex she’d ever experienced. Could’ve been because she’d been celibate for nearly a year or because she was living in the moment and trying to forget her hurts. It didn’t matter. The night had been what she’d needed.

  Maybe her experience with Luke was her rebound fling. As it stood, they hadn’t exchanged numbers, emails, or last names and she was never going to see him again. Just a nice m
emory to keep close and relive in the privacy of her bedroom every once in a while.

  “Well, now that you’re back here in San Antonio, you can think about the next phase in your life.”

  “That next phase doesn’t have to mean marriage, Iz.” No, her next phase was going to be motherhood, but she had no plans to tell her friend just yet. She planned to wait until everything was in motion. Sure, it would be nice to have her bestie by her side, but Meredith wanted to do this by herself. Needed it to be private.

  “No, of course not, but you can date now that you’re single. Dad insists on babysitting Marnie once a week so Ethan and I can go out. We can arrange a double date with Kerry and Caleb and you and a nice guy we’ll introduce you to.”

  What was it about engaged women encouraging all single ladies to find their happy ever after too?

  Happily ever after for her parents had been endless trips to hell. The last words she remembered Mom saying was that she hated Dad and he responded that the feeling was mutual. And then she’d heard her mom scream before the sickening crunch of metal, glass shattering, and blackness enveloping her.

  Meredith shuddered. Thoughts of her past weren’t going to help her future. Time to jam them so far down her psyche that it would take serious digging by an excavator to get them out again. “Isabella, I love you, but please don’t set me up. I don’t want or need a man in my life right now. I’ve just got back from being away. I’ve got other things to think about, and I’ve got this, you know, wedding I’ve been dragged into.”

  “Hey, that’s my wedding you’re talking about and it’s going to be fabulous,” Isabella retorted and Meredith was glad to see her friend hadn’t taken offense to her teasing.

  “It sure is, but it’s not going to happen if we don’t get off the phone now. I’ll see you at the church in two hours.”

  “Fine. Fine. Bye, Mere.”

  Meredith tossed the phone down and walked into her bedroom. She flopped on her bed, pressing her hand against her stomach in attempt to massage away the discomfort. Perhaps she’d pulled a muscle while moving her bookshelf the other day. Maybe she should take some ibuprofen just to get through the night. No way was she going to let a little pain spoil Isabella and Ethan’s rehearsal.

  *

  Lincoln Forrest pulled into the car park of the church and turned off the ignition. The last place he wanted to be was around all his friends. They’d ask questions, and he had no answers to give. Well, none that he wanted to admit to. Like how he’d made a huge miscalculation by not reenlisting in the army three months ago. Yeah, no way was he going to admit to that clusterfuck of a mistake.

  How he’d been lured away from a steady, albeit dangerous, job for a position with a company that existed only on paper and not in reality?

  He’d gone to San Diego full of confidence and excited to start working with a private security company, heading their K-9 division. When he’d arrived at the address he’d been given, he’d found an empty shop with a “For Lease” sign hanging in the window. After countless unanswered calls, the guy who recruited him finally answered. He probably realized Linc wasn’t going to go away quietly. The conversation hadn’t turned out the way Linc hoped. He’d sat there mute as the other man relayed that circumstances had changed and the new venture was no longer viable. He was sorry, but there was nothing he could do and wished Linc luck for the future.

  How stupid could Linc be?

  He’d been on four tours during his time in the army. Had faced down countless insurgents and gone headlong into precarious situations. And what happened in the end? He’d been taken in by a smooth-talking asshole and thrown away everything he’d worked for on a pipe dream.

  A knock on his car window startled him, his heart jumped into a staccato rhythm before sliding back to normal. He spied Ethan’s face staring at him through the glass.

  “Linc, why are you sitting in your car? We’re about to get started.”

  The last thing he wanted to do was spoil the evening for his friend and the bride-to-be, so he summoned his life’s great smile and opened the door. Immediately, Ethan grabbed him in a bro-man hug.

  “It’s good to see you, Linc. How’s San Diego?”

  Linc slapped Ethan on the back before pulling away to close his door. Might as well rip the Band-Aid off now. “San Diego sucked. The job didn’t work out, so I’m back.”

  “Oh.” Ethan’s eyebrows rose. Yep, he’d shocked his best friend. Give it five minutes after Ethan walked into the church and everyone would know he’d crashed and burned in a spectacular fashion. While it wasn’t the whole truth, it should be enough to appease inquisitive minds.

  “But, you’re about to get married, Ethan. My problems aren’t going to fuck this up for you. Now come on. Let’s get you married.”

  Ethan shook his head as they walked to the door. “You do know this is the rehearsal, don’t you, Linc? The big day is in two days.”

  “Remind me again why the rehearsal dinner isn’t the day before the wedding?”

  “Well, look at you and all your wedding knowledge. Izzy wanted to make sure Marnie wasn’t overtired for the big day.”

  “Sure, and as your best man, it’s my job to make sure you don’t back out at the last minute and do know everything there is to know about wedding etiquette. I take it very seriously. I’ve got a reputation to uphold here. Don’t forget, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be here.” Linc was bullshitting, but if it took the attention off his job failure, then he’d bullshit until the wedding was over and he could go home and figure out what he was going to do next.

  “How could I forget that you set me up with Izzy? Every opportunity you and my future father-in-law have, you remind the both of us how we got together. You need to find a new hobby,” Ethan grumbled.

  Linc laughed. It did feel good to be back among his friends.

  “Well, I suppose I could start a matchmaking business, seeing as my military career is over.”

  “You’d better watch out, you might have some competition.”

  “What do you mean?” Linc asked as they reached the entrance to the church.

  “Izzy’s got the idea that because she’s happy, everyone else in the world needs to be happy. She would’ve started on Caleb if he hadn’t met Kerry, and now they’re getting hitched. So her sights are set on you.”

  Linc held up his hands. “I’m the master of matchmaking. I don’t need any help.” Besides, while his life was up in the air, getting into a relationship was the last thing on his mind. Even once his life was sorted out, he had no plans to settle down and start the whole family thing. If he could make a stupid decision about his career, how reliable would he be when he had to take a wife and child into consideration?

  Not to mention, when it came to kids, he wasn’t that great with them. A fact proven when he’d almost dropped his best friend’s newborn daughter. Since then, he’d avoided holding Marnie.

  Ethan laughed as he pulled open the door. “I’ll let you battle that out with Izzy. And, as for your career being over, you know you have other options.”

  “I know. I’ve just got to get my head around it all.” Truly, he had no idea whether he wanted to stay working with dogs or branch off into something entirely new. How fucked up had his life become? All because the lure of making some big bucks quickly sucked him in. He’d never let money rule his decision-making before, so why had he let it now? If he’d stayed in the army another five years, he’d have done his twenty and then he could’ve moved on to new things and had his retirement benefits.

  Could he reenlist and still get all his benefits?

  He supposed it was something he could look into—later.

  At present, he had a wedding rehearsal to get through. As he walked through the door, Linc’s gaze zeroed in on the woman talking to the bride. She was holding Ethan and Isabella’s baby daughter, Marnie.

  “What the fuck?” he muttered, stumbling to a stop.

  It couldn’t be her, could it? No wa
y was it the woman he’d met in San Diego. It had been his first night in town and the last thing he’d been looking for was a hookup. One-night stands were a thing of his past, when he was young and brash and thought he was cool as shit because he was in the military.

  This woman had sat next to him and he figured he’d finish his drink and move on—until she ordered a drink and he’d made a smart-ass comment about it. He hadn’t been looking for a distraction, but perhaps he’d needed it at the time. It looked like she needed one too. Hell, it had been one of the best nights he’d had in a long time, and when he’d woken up to find her gone, he had a moment’s twinge of regret that they’d only shared each other’s first names—well, sort of—and nothing more.

  “What’s wrong?” Ethan asked when it became clear Lincoln wasn’t moving farther into the church than the entrance.

  “Who’s that woman holding Marnie?”

  “That’s Meredith, Isabella’s best friend and the maid of honor. Come on, let me introduce you to her.”

  He cursed under her breath. It was her.

  As if his life couldn’t get any more messed up. What the hell had he done to karma to make her put on her bitchy pants and march right into his life?

  “Out with it, Linc. What the hell’s going on?” Ethan said loudly enough to draw everyone’s attention to them.

  The second Meredith’s eyes landed on him, the color drained out of her face and she swayed before righting herself, maintaining her grip on the baby.

  Well, now this was going to be fun.

  Chapter Three

  Oh. My. God. What was Luke doing standing next to Ethan? He lived in San Diego, didn’t he?

  “Are you okay, Mere? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Isabella asked as she plucked her daughter from Meredith’s arms.

  Meredith fixed her gaze on the two men who’d just walked in. Luke looked as shocked at seeing her as she was seeing him. It was like when she was having a nightmare and she tried to wake herself but couldn’t.