The Matchmaker Bride

by Ginny Baird

  “I missed my chance at the wedding,” he said, “but I don’t want to miss it now.” He held her closer and her heart pounded. “Mer?” he asked. “May I kiss you?”

  He dove into her eyes and her lips trembled, aching, yearning for his kiss.

  “Please,” she breathed.

  He grinned sexily and nibbled at her bottom lip until she thought she’d go insane wanting him so badly. “Derrick…”

  He cradled her face in his palms and gave her a longing look. “If only I’d done this then.”

  She nodded because she’d shared that fantasy.

  Then his mouth claimed hers, gently at first until he increased his pressure, his growing hunger clear. His muscles flexed, rock solid, as he deepened his kisses again and again—and everything else fluttered away.

  Her thoughts were like dandelion petals scattering before a storm and dancing above the waves of a choppy blue ocean.

  Thunder boomed and he broke away.

  “Oh, Mer. Man, I’m—”

  “It’s…all…right,” she said, her breath ragged. “It was me, too.”

  He checked the sky with a worried glance. “We need to head back.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  As they paddled back to his cabin, Derrick kept up the chitchat to distract himself from what had just happened. That kiss with Meredith had been…wow. Nothing he’d experienced before. She’d been warm and passionate and giving, sending electrical currents from his head all the way down to his toes. Then zipping right back up again. But, beneath all that heat, there’d been something more. Something tender and filled to the brim with emotion.

  What had he been thinking, risking things with that kiss? Meredith wasn’t interested in him in that way. Or was she? She’d said she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about last summer, either. Maybe they hadn’t missed their chance at Brent’s wedding. Maybe there was still a way?

  He peered over at her as they propelled their kayaks forward. She was doing better than before, but showed signs of tiring. He intentionally slowed his pace so she wouldn’t lag behind. Yet he didn’t want to slow down too much. A light rain began falling, pelting them from the sky, even though no rain had been predicted before nightfall. He blamed those fierce north winds that sometimes ushered in unpredictable weather.

  “Bet this is an adventure you don’t get in Boston.”

  “You’re right about that. I spend most of my time indoors.”

  “What about exercise?”

  She looked at him like he’d accused her of something.

  “I mean, not that you look like you need it…” He stumbled over his words, not aiming to insult her. “Just for, you know, stress relief and staying fit?”

  “I have a gym membership,” she said.

  “Oh yeah? That’s great.”

  “Can’t remember the last time I used it.” She scrunched up her face. “Might be expired.”

  He chuckled. “I don’t have much of a set routine, either.”

  “Yeah, but you work on your feet.”

  “You think on yours.”

  She blushed, and he wished he hadn’t said that. Because, obviously, neither of them had had their wits about them on that island. Should he apologize? But he’d already done that and so had she. Would she ever bring it up again? Or would they both pretend it never happened? He didn’t want that. He hoped she didn’t want that, either. He also didn’t want to overanalyze it now. This wasn’t the time.

  “Tell me about your family,” he said, searching for another topic of conversation.

  “What? Why?”

  He shrugged. “I’m curious.”

  She set her chin, still powering ahead with her paddle. “Well, my parents like to stick their noses in my business.” She giggled. “Obviously. But they both love me very much and I love them.”

  “I love your Titi Clarita. She’s great and seems to have your best interests at heart.”

  “She does, and has always been there for me. She’s ten years younger than my mom, so sort of between Mom’s generation and mine. It’s been helpful having her advocacy.”

  “Oh yeah, like when?”

  “Like, when my parents didn’t want me to go to after-parties from the prom, because they feared it would lead to my downfall.”

  He chuckled. “Did it?”

  “No.” She smiled her pretty smile. “I got to stay out all night, but totally behaved myself. If my parents had had their way, I would have been home by eleven.”

  “Eleven’s pretty early for prom night.”

  “That was my regular curfew.” The rain picked up and they both leaned forward quickening their strokes. “What was yours?”

  He laughed at the idea. “A curfew? Didn’t have one.”

  She gaped at him. “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. My brothers didn’t, either. But Sally had to be home by midnight.”

  “How unfair!”

  “That’s what she tells my folks. To this day.”

  “I can see why she’d be upset,” Meredith said. “I didn’t have brothers and sisters, so there was no one else to compare myself to. Although, it’s often that way in our culture. The boys get more latitude than the girls.”

  “What do you think about that?”

  “That it’s sexist.”

  “I agree that the rules should be evenly enforced among boys and girls.”

  She smiled at him. “Yeah. Although I don’t really blame my parents for being strict. When they married, they were older, and it was on account of me.”

  He took a moment to process this. “Ahh.”

  “Not that any of us regrets it.”

  “Let’s hope not! If you hadn’t been born, you wouldn’t be here.”

  “I know.”

  “And that would be a shame,” he said and her cheeks colored.

  They paddled into the cove where his cabin was located, and she motioned ahead with her chin. “Look! Over there! Someone’s on your deck.”

  He strained to see through the rain that was streaking down harder. His heart seized up. It was impossible to miss the frilly sun hat and her long red hair. She sat on a deck chair, fully exposed to the rain and on her lap she held a picnic basket. Olivia.

  …

  Meredith couldn’t believe her eyes. Olivia was sitting outside of Derrick’s cabin getting drenched. They paddled up to the dock and Derrick got out of his kayak first, extending his hand to help her out of hers. The dock was slippery, but she and Derrick managed. He handed her the paddles to hold and hoisted the kayaks out of the water.

  “I’ll take these back to the shed,” he told her. “Why don’t you go on and get out of the rain?” He shot a glance at the cabin and Olivia, who waved. “Take Olivia inside with you.” He shook his head. “I can’t imagine what she’s doing here.”

  Meredith had a pretty good idea. She was here to patch things up with Derrick from their earlier squabble. Disappointingly, she had mixed feelings about that, especially after that amazing kiss. Then she told herself not to jump to conclusions based on an isolated event.

  “Right,” she said, holding the paddles upright, so each one rested with one end on the dock. “Want me to carry these for you?”

  “No. Leave them here.” He lifted the kayak over his head in one swift movement, using it to partially shield himself from the pouring rain. “I’ll come back for them.” Before she turned away, he said, “Wait! Leave the life vest.”

  Meredith shrugged out of hers and hurried up to the deck where Olivia sat outside the sliding glass doors.

  “Olivia, it’s pouring!”

  “I know.” Olivia looked at her with sad eyes. “I didn’t want to go in uninvited.”

  “Well, you’re invited now.” Meredith tugged at her arm, urging her to her feet. “Come on, let’s get ou
t of the rain.”

  They shook themselves off before stepping inside and Meredith went to grab some towels from the laundry room. “Here, you’re soaking wet.” She scrubbed a towel against her clothing as Olivia dabbed at her drenched sundress.

  Olivia scanned Meredith’s outfit. “You are, too.”

  “Olivia,” Meredith asked, even though she suspected she knew. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to apologize.” Olivia glanced at the picnic basket she’d left by the glass doors. “And bring a picnic. Before the rain came, I was going to suggest to Derrick that we go out on his rowboat. I thought that might be…you know.” She lifted a shoulder. “Romantic.”

  Just like she had that morning. “Oh.”

  “I never dreamed it would start raining so hard. The weather app on my phone said the storm wasn’t coming till later.”

  “I guess those things can be wrong.”

  “Yeah.”

  Meredith’s cell buzzed on the kitchen counter and she went to check. “I’d better take a peek and see who that is. Might be my aunt about something.” Yet it wasn’t Clarita at all. It was a text from Beth.

  Bummer news. So, so sorry but the streaming deal didn’t go through. No syndication deal, either. It was a numbers thing. Nothing more. Cut-throat competitive business. Sadly, all about that bottom line. Better days ahead. Big hugs.

  Meredith set down her cell, suddenly lightheaded.

  “Is everything all right?” Olivia asked.

  “Um, yeah.” Meredith rubbed the side of her neck, realizing how damp her skin was and that her hair was a dripping mess. “That was just my assistant in Boston.”

  Olivia frowned. “Bad news?”

  Meredith pulled herself up by her bootstraps. She’d been knocked down before and had picked herself back up. She’d come back from this.

  She pressed her lips together to keep them from quaking when her eyes burned hot.

  This is ridiculous. I am not going to cry in front of Olivia.

  Olivia approached her. “I know you don’t know me very well, but if there’s anything I can do to help…?”

  Meredith hated that Olivia was being nice to her, and then a small light turned on in her soul. When she looked at Olivia’s sweet face, it beamed brighter, filling her whole insides with a warm glow. Meredith knew what she needed to do. Her time here in Blue Hill wouldn’t be a total loss if she came away from it by accomplishing at least one of her goals.

  She could still help Derrick and Olivia. And, because she’d begun caring for him so much, that’s what she wanted for him. To make him happy. Yeah, they’d had their steamy kisses on that island. But that had been in the heat of the moment.

  Derrick had loved Olivia for ten long years.

  All Meredith had done with that kiss was confuse him. Now she owed it to him to help him see straight and finally have the future he wanted. It was so close now. Achievable.

  Olivia’s presence here proved that.

  It was a rare feeling for Meredith, this sense of altruism. She took a moment to bask in it, deciding that it made her think differently about herself and the world in general. Derrick was always doing thoughtful things for other people, but that wasn’t her typical MO.

  While she’d clung to lofty ideals about bringing fated couples together through her work, she’d mostly done it because the publicity had helped cement her career. She did things for others when there was an endgame in sight that would benefit her. Not this time, though.

  It was time to think of Derrick and what his life might have been like if she hadn’t interfered: lonely and full of regret over his divorce. The only way to make her interference palatable was to right that wrong by delivering Derrick the greatest gift of all: his long lost bride.

  “Maybe we should get you out of those wet clothes,” she said to Olivia. She sized her up, figuring she could find some of her own things that might fit, even with Olivia being taller and slimmer. The outfit she came up with might be baggy, but at least it would be nicely coordinated—and dry. “You’ll catch your death. How long were you out there?”

  “I’m not sure. Twenty minutes?”

  “Oh no. Well, here…” Meredith ducked into the laundry room and then handed Olivia a fresh towel. “Maybe you should take a hot shower and change. I’ll grab some of my clothes for you to wear.”

  “I’d hate to put you out,” she said, but then her teeth chattered.

  “See there?” Meredith said. “You’re freezing. Go shower and I’ll make us some coffee.”

  Olivia nodded and Meredith said, “I’ll leave the clothes outside the bathroom door.”

  …

  Meredith showered after Olivia, expecting Derrick back shortly. But, by the time she was done in the bathroom, he still hadn’t returned.

  “I saw him outside on the dock, tying up the rowboat with extra lines,” Olivia offered. “And he was carrying deck furniture to the shed. We must be expecting really bad weather.”

  If she weren’t so pretty, Olivia might look silly wearing Meredith’s baggy yellow Capris, cinched tightly with a belt and her long-sleeved cotton top with daisies on it. But the fact was Olivia was still stunning, even with her makeup washed off and with un-styled wet hair.

  Meredith poured them both coffee, worrying about Clarita and the others back at Derrick’s grandparents’ place. “I should probably check on my aunt in a bit.”

  “Good idea,” Olivia said, likely thinking Meredith meant by phone or text.

  They both sat at the table for a moment and said nothing. Winds howled outdoors and rain pounded the tin roof. The front door cracked open and Derrick entered the cabin, drenched.

  “Hey, ladies. Glad to see that you got dry.” He removed his shoes and headed for the bathroom. “Think I’ll go next.”

  Meredith understood this was her chance to talk with Olivia. She also knew she should head out soon, if she was going to leave before more of the storm set in. She’d decided to go and stay with Clarita in order to provide Olivia and Derrick with some valuable couple time.

  After the shower started up, Meredith addressed Olivia. “I heard you and Derrick had a small spat back at the guesthouse.”

  “Yeah.” She sniffed and wiped at the corner of one eye. “It was kind of like old times.”

  “Olivia?”

  “Hmm.”

  “Do you care for Derrick?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “No. I mean care care. As in, are you interested in being with him? Because you know…he’s a really great guy.”

  “I know. That’s why I felt so bad about all the shouting.”

  “I think he felt pretty bad about that, too.”

  “I did love Derrick once. A whole lot.”

  “I’m sure you did. I mean, you got married! Right?” Meredith forced herself to smile. Boy this was harder than she thought. “I’m sure he loved you, too.”

  “It’s hard to know what time has changed, and what it hasn’t,” Olivia said. “You know?”

  Meredith considered the picnic basket. “What did you bring for supper?”

  “Just a couple of sandwiches. I also brought brownies. Grandmother Margaret made those. I’m not much of a cook,” Olivia admitted shyly.

  “I doubt the fact that you’re not a gourmet matters to Derrick,” Meredith told her. “That didn’t seem to bother him the first time.”

  “No.”

  “Besides, there are bound to be lots of other things you’re good at.”

  “Oh yeah? Like what?”

  Meredith swallowed hard. “Uh. You tell me.”

  Olivia rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, thinking. “I’ve always been really great with animals.”

  “Yes! There you go.”

  “But it’s not exactly a talent.”

  “Sure it
is. Not everyone is like that. Some people consider it a gift.”

  Olivia appeared distant a moment. “A gift. Hmm. I like that.”

  “A lot of people use their gifts in their careers. Have you considered that?”

  “You mean using my love of animals in a job? I thought of vet school once, but wasn’t any good at biology.” She frowned and Meredith felt sorry for her. “Turns out I wasn’t so great at pursuing law, either.”

  “You’ll find your way. What led you to Bar Harbor?”

  “Harry. The guy I dated after Paul—”

  “The park ranger?”

  “Yeah, but I honestly liked Paul better. He had lots of animals at his place. Harry was allergic. That’s why things only lasted two weeks.”

  “See,” Meredith said, growing animated. “I sense a theme!”

  “Yeah, that I move from man to man. I get that.”

  That wasn’t exactly what Meredith meant. But she also wanted to make sure Olivia wasn’t using Derrick as just another stepping stone. “What about doing something for yourself?”

  “I do! I work at a salon. And it’s…all right.” She giggled. “But I’d much rather be a client than a manager to tell you the truth. Which is why, when Sofia called, I—” She bit her bottom lip, clamming up.

  Meredith leaned toward her. “You what?”

  “I thought it would be good for me and Derrick to reconnect. I mean, the Albrights have so much going for them.”

  “Their money, you mean?” Meredith was aghast. Olivia’s a gold-digger?

  “Not only that. They’re fun people, even if they get sort of carried away at times.”

  Meredith massaged her forehead, hoping she wasn’t reading this right. If Olivia was only after Derrick’s family’s money, that would be terrible. She couldn’t endorse that.

  “You know Derrick’s an instructor at the boat school,” Meredith said. “And a very proud guy. I’m sure he supports himself and doesn’t rely on his family’s wealth.”