…
Matt Ellis had his initial reservations about the pretty redhead with anxiety the size of Texas, but now that she’d loosened up and stopped hyperventilating into that lunch bag of hers, she was actually quick-witted and sweet. Plus, with those funky little glasses, she had a whole sexy librarian thing going that he kind of liked, too.
“So, explain to me again what you do?” he asked, still not sure he’d heard her right the first two times.
Kennedy hiccupped then took a sip of her champagne. “I can’t remember. What did I already tell you?”
“That you own a matchmaking company in Boston, which happens to be where my brother lives.”
“Bingo!” She poked her finger in his chest. “How did you know that?”
“How did I know where my brother lives?”
She laughed. “No. What I do for a living.”
“I’m a mind reader.” He smirked. The woman was definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol. Not that he was complaining. That reserved wall had finally come down, and she appeared to be pleasantly buzzed. She nudged closer to him—so close he caught the sweet smell of her perfume. Sweet like her smile. And soft. Through her purple-framed glasses, he saw that she had soft blue eyes, too.
He cleared his throat and looked away. “Is that all?”
Her back drew upright as if he’d slapped her in the face. “What do you mean, is that all? I have a staff of twenty now, not including the array of male and female escorts I also have on hand for corporate events or weddings. In fact, we need to expand our offices and—”
He held up his hands in surrender and laughed. “Okay, okay. Easy. I didn’t mean is that all your company is. I just thought you would want to tell me a little more about it.”
“Oh.” She looked down, her cheeks coloring. “Sorry. I’m very proud of my business. And it’s just that when you’re a woman CEO, you constantly find yourself on the defensive.”
Smart, pretty, and a feisty entrepreneur. This woman had it all.
Suddenly, muffled classical music started playing. Kennedy grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone. “Oh, thank goodness,” she cried. She glanced at the face on the screen then she smiled at him. “It’s my boyfriend.”
Boyfriend?
Matt swallowed the shot of disappointment he’d just been handed with the grace of a king and politely smiled back. Apparently, she really did have it all, including a friggin’ boyfriend. Any chance of the two of them getting out of here and making it back to his hotel room were null and void.
“Finally!” she breathed into the phone. “Honey, you will never believe— Oh.” She paused, her mouth dangling open like a bass as she listened to the other end of the line. “Yes, fine. Thanks for telling me, Fred. No, no, don’t worry about it. It wasn’t important anyway. Yes, you, too. ’Bye.”
Without another word, she tossed her phone next to her and raised a hand to her forehead. Uh-oh. Whatever news Fred-the-boyfriend just delivered couldn’t have been good.
He sidled closer, immediately wanting to comfort her. But they’d only known each other a few hours. Didn’t even know each other’s full names. The last thing she needed was a stranger touching her.
The silence began to hurt his ears. He finally cleared his throat, keeping his tone light. “Everything all right?”
She didn’t move for a few seconds. When she finally looked up, his stomach dropped when he saw tears glistening in her eyes. “Yes, fine,” she croaked.
Oh, no. Not tears. Please. He was begging God and the mother of all elevator jams that tears would not begin to fall. That was the one thing in life he could not handle well. Emotional women were his Kryptonite. It was hard enough having to take care of his mother and young sister.
“Good, then,” he said with a firm nod. “Good.” He needed another drink. He automatically went for the champagne bottle, but it was empty. Dammit.
She hiccupped. “He really is a great boyfriend,” she explained, wringing her hands.
“Who, Fred?”
“Huh? Oh, no, not Fred. Fred is his personal assistant. He called to tell me that they were up late working on a portfolio for a very important client—a yacht builder—and that’s why my boyfriend hasn’t called me all weekend.”
“Sounds a bit shady to me.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, no, he would never cheat on me. He’s not the type. If he wanted out of the relationship, he would just be upfront.”
“Really? How can you be so sure?”
“It’s part of the information I acquire through my relationship software.”
He stared at her for several long beats. “Relationship software?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding so hard, her glasses slipped down her nose. “That’s the whole reason I’m here in the first place. To present my software to potential investors and colleagues at the Creative Technology Conference. I tested it on myself. It’s quite accurate.”
“I see.”
Her eyes narrowed. “No, you don’t. Men only say ‘I see’ when they clearly do not see.”
He sighed. “Fine. You got me there. But I’ll tell you exactly what I do see. I see a bright, sensitive woman whose feelings are hurt because her boyfriend—even though overworked —still did not make the least bit of effort to show her that he cared or was thinking about her for the three—”
“Four.”
“Four? Four days she’s been away.”
Kennedy grew silent again. She began chewing her bottom lip. His eyes automatically dropped to her mouth, and for the forty-eighth time since being trapped together, he thought about kissing some sense into that anxious brain of hers.
“You’re right.” Her words were so soft, he wasn’t sure she’d spoken them. “He’s wonderful. Really awesome. But honestly…” She gave him a sharp if slightly tipsy look. “I’ve never said this to anyone, so you can’t tell a soul.”
He gave her a droll look. “Who am I going to tell?”
She stared him down for several seconds as if judging his sincerity. “Cross your heart?”
“Cross my heart,” he repeated, making the motion against his chest.
“Okay.” She bit her lip. “It’s just that…sometimes I doubt we’re meant for each other.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I know it’s crazy,” she murmured. “Especially since I can’t afford for my software to be wrong.”
Before he could respond, the lights overhead flickered. Her head whipped up toward the ceiling. “Thank God!” The elated expression on her face reminded him of a child watching fireworks go off. “We’re finally going to get out of here,” she squealed.
“Yeah…awesome.” Matt swallowed hard. He should be happy, too. Why the hell wasn’t he happy? He’d finally be out of this cramped elevator and away from this anxiety-ridden woman with her boyfriend issues. But instead, all he could do was bank down a strange sense of disappointment at the thought of her walking through those elevator doors and him never seeing her again.
He stood first then held out his hand to help her up. Her palm met his, and he tugged just as the elevator began to move again, causing them to lose their balance. His back slammed against the wall, and she fell into his arms.
“Nice catch,” she said with a laugh, obviously still feeling the effects of the champagne.
Matt held on to her, his heart beating wildly. Having her in his arms ignited all kinds of thoughts, all kinds of feelings. Naughty thoughts. Good feelings. His gaze captured hers for a long moment until eventually her smiling face grew serious, too. Then his conscience tapped him on the shoulder.
What the hell do you think you’re doing? it said. You’ve both been drinking. And she has a boyfriend.
He’d always hated his conscience.
“Matt?”
Matt didn’t move. The elevator was going to open soon. They would be free to leave separately or leave together. There was still a choice. Growing up, he had always been the one to toe the line. Do what w
as right for everyone else in his life. But so help him, he didn’t want to do that this time. Maybe it was the alcohol, but he wanted her. True, the woman had a boyfriend—a neglectful boyfriend—but still, there were rules for that sort of thing, weren’t there? Like what if…
Screw it.
He kissed her.
And oh man, she tasted just as good as she smelled. He’d known she would. He pushed his tongue against hers, wanting to taste more, his blood pulsing through his veins making him drunk with need. It wasn’t the alcohol in his system. He couldn’t stop kissing her, her mouth, her smooth neck. She wasn’t protesting. In fact, she grabbed his shirt and yanked, slowly running her shaking hands over his stomach. He wasn’t sure who was going to go up in flames first. Nor did he care.
“Well, well, looks like we got here just in time, Sal.”
Kennedy broke the kiss first and gave him a good shove back. Two amused-looking firefighters and a few hotel staff stood before them.
“Are you okay, miss?” one of them asked.
Matt glanced at Kennedy. She had regained her breath, but her face had gone stark white. Matt reached for her, but she was already backing away from him as if he had a bomb strapped to his chest.
“I’m fine,” she told the paramedic in a shaky voice. “I—I just want to go back to my room. Alone.”
“Kennedy, wait.” Matt stepped forward, about to follow her, but the other firefighter blocked his way, giving him a look that made him doubt he’d even get two yards before being tackled on the grounds of sexual harassment.
She gazed at him, her expression distraught, but didn’t utter another word. Then she turned around and ran off toward the stairs.
Chapter Two
Six months later
Her fiancé was going to kill her.
Kennedy really liked the sound of that—not the killing part, mind you. The fiancé part. But still, things wouldn’t be looking good on that end, either, if she didn’t find the slip of paper he’d given her that had his mother’s home address on it. She’d already asked Justin twice to give it to her. If she had to tell him she lost it again, he was going to think she didn’t care enough about meeting his family. And honestly, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
For some reason the address kept disappearing. Weird. She was usually so much more organized. She dropped down on her hands and knees for good measure and checked under her desk. Maybe it had fallen and gotten wedged under a table leg.
“Kennedy!” Mia shouted, marching into her office.
Kennedy’s head shot up and smacked the top of the desk. “Ow!”
“There you are,” her marketing assistant said, bending down. “Hey, what are you doing on the floor?”
She gently rubbed the small lump already growing on her scalp. “Checking up on the cleaning service, what else?” she grumbled.
“Oh.” Mia wrinkled her nose. “You were?”
Kennedy rolled her eyes as she climbed into her chair. “No, not really. Although, make a note that the cleaners need to vacuum under my desk better. I saw a dust bunny condo nicer than my own down there.”
Mia whipped out a small spiral tablet from her back pocket and jotted it down. “Will do, boss. Anything else?”
“Yeah, why were you shouting? Can’t we at least pretend we’re a professional operation around here?”
“Sorry, Ken,” Mia said, worrying her lip. “I guess I’m nervous to be put in charge while you’re away. I want to make sure there aren’t any problems that could come up.”
Kennedy smiled at her college friend and now second-in-command of her business. She didn’t know how she’d function if she didn’t have someone working for her who she could trust like she would family. Mia joined the operation a little more than a year ago, after a painful divorce left her in need of a job and one that was close to her son’s preschool.
“It’s only going to be two weeks,” Kennedy reassured her, “and most of that time will be over the Christmas holidays. Everything will be fine.”
Fine for now, she wanted to add, but didn’t dare even breathe that thought.
She’d been on pins and needles ever since Match of the Day—a rival company—opened its doors a few months ago. Another escort/matchmaking company. Of all things! She’d figured most of her competition was online sites. But this company—headquartered in Boston as well—seemed to offer every type of service her company did. Even the name sounded similar. It made her blood boil just thinking about that. She’d worked so hard to get where she was, and now she had more people—including poor Mia—dependent on her.
Kennedy turned toward her window, which overlooked Boston Harbor, and rubbed her temples. Her matchmaking software and the marketing plan Mia and the new PR firm had come up with was scheduled to roll out on Valentine’s Day. As her football-loving cousin would say, it was a Hail Mary play for her business. She hoped he was right about that.
“I suppose it won’t be too long a vacation,” Mia said. “But I don’t want you to worry about a thing while you’re gone. Just enjoy the holidays and that yummy fiancé of yours.”
The mention of Justin had her spinning around. “You’re right. Justin is yummy and great…isn’t he?”
Mia nodded with a dreamy, far-off stare. “Totally. I’m ready for you to try that software out on me. I wouldn’t mind being matched with a Justin of my own.”
Kennedy laughed. “Soon enough. My tech guys are still making the final tweaks, and then we send it to the test group.”
When Kennedy first developed her software, she figured the only logical thing to do was try it out on herself. When she had, the results suggested that one Justin Ellis would be perfect for her. So, after looking over his matchmaking application, she decided to call him up. After the initial meeting, something immediately clicked between them, and they began dating. Now, they were engaged, and in only a few days, she was finally going to meet his family. The investors she had spoken to at the Vegas conference seemed to love that aspect of her software presentation, since it showed that she was not only the founder of an up-and-coming company, but also a success story as well.
“Oh, sure,” Mia said, flipping her long, dark hair off her shoulders. “Hog all the good-looking guys for yourself.”
“I love how I show up when someone mentions good-looking men.” Her cousin, Trent, stood in the doorway, one shoulder propped against the doorjamb and a devastating grin on his handsome face.
Kennedy rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a grin. “Come on in, Mr. Modesty.”
Mia’s mouth formed a little O as her gaze followed Trent into the room. Mia had always had a little crush on Trent, even before her marriage. Although maybe crush was too banal a word. Starstruck would be a better term, considering Trent had been quite the football star back then.
Kennedy snapped her fingers in front of her friend’s face to get her attention. “Was there anything else you needed to go over with me?”
Mia let a little sigh escape, never breaking her gaze from Trent’s face. “Uh-uh.”
Trent politely smiled, which was a mistake in Kennedy’s opinion, because it sent Mia from minor crush to full-on infatuation mode in less than a second. Honestly, the poor woman had it bad for her cousin. But Trent was already taken—thanks to Kennedy—by a sweet girl named Maddie he’d met through her own Match Made Easy efforts.
Her then-client Maddie McCarthy desperately needed a date to bring to her sister’s wedding and had come to Kennedy for help. But when her last escort wound up in the hospital, Kennedy had to ask Trent to pose as Maddie’s boyfriend instead. It was a little rough going at first for them, since Trent and Maddie had a tumultuous high school past together, but they were able to put it aside and eventually started to fall for each other for real at the wedding. Maddie moved in with Trent last month, and their own wedding was scheduled for June.
Kennedy walked around her desk and gave Mia a none-too-light shove toward the door. “Down, girl,” she said under he
r breath. “My cousin is already spoken for.”
For the first time since Trent arrived, Mia looked at Kennedy and blinked. “What did you say?”
“I said it’s hard to find a good haberdashery store.” She gave her a few more light shoves until she was outside the door. “You should get on that for our male escorts.”
“Oh, okay.” Goofy grin back in place, Mia lifted her hand and sent her fingers lightly fluttering. “See ya around, Trent.”
Before Trent could respond, Kennedy slammed the door in Mia’s face.
Trent chuckled. “You’re a little hard on your employees, don’t you think?”
Kennedy harrumphed. “She’s not an employee. Mia is practically family. Besides, she needed a good reality check. I can’t have her fawning all over you when you’re clearly an unavailable man.” She started to walk back to her desk then stopped in her tracks. “You’re still an unavailable man, right?”
He stared at her as if she’d declared football a non-sport. “If it was my choice, we would have eloped and been on our honeymoon by now. But Maddie wants a traditional wedding—like her sister had.”
Kennedy smiled. “I don’t blame her. I want the whole nine yards for my wedding to Justin, too.”
“Gee, do you think Justin will free up his schedule long enough to actually make it to his own wedding?”
“Tee hee,” she said, resuming her hunt for Justin’s mom’s address. “Don’t sell your gyms and become a comedian. For your information, Justin is taking a whole two weeks off to spend with me at his family’s place on Cape Fin Island. We’re leaving tomorrow.”
Trent’s brow knit. “You won’t be spending Christmas here with us?”
Kennedy realized this would be the first Christmas in several years that they wouldn’t be spending together and felt a slight weight on her heart as a result. She and Trent were both only children and considered themselves each other’s sibling—especially since neither of them had the kind of parents who could give them a model family life. “No, I’m sorry, Trent. I thought I told you. It was the only time Justin could get off from work. And I’ve never met his mom or family before.”
Wrong Brother, Right Match (Anyone but You #3) Page 2