The Matchmaker's Happy Ending: Boardroom Bride and Groom

by Shirley Jump

  “Marnie.”

  When he said her name in that soft, surprised way, she was back in the car, the rain pounding on the roof, kissing Jack and thinking of nothing more than how much she wanted him, how he seemed to know every inch of her body so well. “I, uh, heard you talking and came in to listen. You gave a great speech.”

  “Thanks. I hope it touched a few people.”

  “It touched Luanne,” she said, nodding in the direction the other woman had gone. Luanne had left the room with a lightness in her steps, a hopeful smile on her face, a changed woman. “That was really nice, what you did for her.”

  Jack shrugged. “It was a small thing.”

  “Not to Luanne. She’s been through a lot, with her ex, and losing her job. I can tell that really touched her, to have someone believe in her.” Marnie had to admit, that for all the bad Jack had done in the past, this moment would make a difference. She could already see a renewed enthusiasm and optimism in Luanne’s features as she talked to other people in the room, showing off the pen, and spreading the words of encouragement.

  “And yet, you run away every time I get close. You give me a laundry list of reasons why we shouldn’t date.” He took a step closer. “Why?”

  She shook her head. “Jack, there’s too much between us to make this work. Please stop trying to pretend there isn’t.”

  He took another step closer, and the fronds of the plant brushed against his shoulder. “I’m not trying to pretend there isn’t. But I’m willing to take the risk that we have something amazing here, something that is stronger than the past. The question is why you don’t think so, too. Why you won’t take a risk.”

  “I’m not interested in you. Or a relationship.” But even as she said the words, Marnie knew, deep down inside, that they were a lie. She wanted all of that, and she wanted him—

  But her wants couldn’t overpower the tight hold she had on her life. If she let him in, if she took a chance—

  No. She didn’t do that. She didn’t go off on haphazard paths, with no clear sense of direction. And that’s what being with Jack was like. Insane and delicious, all at the same time. The whole thing made her want to hyperventilate.

  “You make me want to take the day off, head for the Common with a bottle of wine and a picnic lunch,” Jack said, his blue eyes capturing hers. “Or get in the car and drive up the coastline until we get to the tip of Maine, the edge of the country. Or just sit in a car while the rain falls and watch the way your eyes light up when I move closer and—”

  She jerked away. How did he keep doing that? Every time she turned around, Jack wrapped her in his spell. Was that what he had done with her father, too? Spoken pretty words that masked Jack’s true intentions? One Franklin had already fallen for Jack’s words, had believed him when he’d offered a risky proposition. She refused to be the second one. “I have to go. I’m supposed to be helping my sister in the kitchen.”

  Then she spun on her heel and got out of the room, before temptation got the better of her. Although a part of Marnie suspected it already had.

  CHAPTER TEN

  JACK SAT AT his father’s desk, in the office his father had spent most of his life in, and wished he could have a second chance, the very thing he’d promoted in his speech the other day. He’d told others they were possible, and had yet to find one in his own life, no matter how many hours he spent here. There were still things from the past catching up with him, nipping at his heels, and reminding him every day that he was his father’s son—

  And not at all proud of that fact.

  The guilt of what he had done, the companies he had destroyed, the people whose hearts he had broken, gnawed at him still. The work he’d done over the last two years hadn’t filled that aching hole in his heart the way he’d thought it would. It was as if he was sitting in the wrong chair, making the wrong choices. Impossible. He knew this was the right thing to do. But as he reached the end of the pile of folders, he had to wonder if that was true.

  He’d told the people in that room to take a risk, to go after what they wanted. Had he taken his own advice?

  He’d pursued Marnie, yes, but he’d also let her go. If he truly wanted her, what the hell was he doing here?

  His assistant dropped off a stack of checks for Jack to sign. He thanked her, then began to scrawl his name across the bottom line. Each one he signed represented a new start for someone, a new chance. And another chance for Jack to make amends.

  He paused on the last one. Doug Hendrickson’s seed money. Jack held the check for a long time, then reached in his drawer, pulled out one of the dozens of keys stored in a box, and headed out of the office. As he left, he paused by his assistant’s desk. “Cancel the rest of my appointments for today. And can you make sure this—” he grabbed a piece of paper and an envelope, then jotted a quick note on the white linen stock “—gets delivered immediately?”

  “Sure,” she said, then looked up at him. “If you don’t mind my saying so, you look a little worried today. Everything okay?”

  Jack glanced down at the note, then at the key in his hand. “Not yet. But I hope it will be.”

  * * *

  Marnie returned from lunch, expecting the office to be empty. Erica had a doctor’s appointment, and Marnie’s schedule was clear for the rest of the day. But as she got out of her car, she saw a familiar car parked in Erica’s spot, and her mother standing on the stoop. “Ma, what a nice surprise!”

  Her mother held up a bag of cookies from a local bakery. “And I brought dessert.”

  “My favorite. And such a decadent treat after I just had a salad.” Marnie unlocked the office door and waved her mother inside. “Let me put on some coffee.”

  Marnie started the pot brewing, then got them two cups and a plate for the cookies, and set it all up in the reception area. “Thanks for bringing these. This is definitely a chocolate kind of day.”

  Her mother laughed. “I think that goes for every day.”

  “True, very true.” Marnie grinned, then took a bite of a chocolate peanut butter cup cookie. Heaven melted against her palate. “These are...amazing.”

  Marnie and her mother ate, drank and chatted for a few minutes, catching up on family gossip. The cookies eased the tension lingering in Marnie’s shoulders, a tension brought about by too many late-night thoughts about Jack, and their conversation at Second Chance yesterday.

  I’m willing to take the risk that we have something amazing here, something that is stronger than the past. The question is why you don’t think so, too. Why you won’t take a risk.

  Trust and fall. Just the thought caused Marnie’s chest to tighten. She reached for another cookie and pushed the thoughts of Jack to the back of her mind. Stubborn, they refused to stay there, and lingered at the edge of her every word.

  “Aren’t you leaving tonight?” Marnie asked her mother. “For your big weekend in Maine?”

  “About that...” Helen toyed with her coffee mug. “I’m not sure I should go.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because you’re not okay with us being together, and the last thing I want to do is make you unhappy. You and your sisters are my world, Marnie.” Ma’s hand covered hers. Her pale green eyes met Marnie’s. “I don’t want to see you hurting.”

  “Ma, you were happy with Dan. He was happy with you. You deserve that.”

  A small, sad smile crossed Ma’s face. “Not at the expense of your happiness.”

  In that instant, Marnie saw what her actions had cost. Not just herself, but those she loved. Her mother had given up the man she cared about—her second chance at love—to avoid hurting her daughter. Because Marnie had yet to be able to get over the past. She kept wanting to make Jack, and anyone associated with Jack, pay for something that had happened three years ago. Her mother had gotten past it, had moved on
and started her life over. Marnie needed to do the same. “Here you are, protecting me, when I was trying to protect you.” Marnie shook her head.

  “Protect me? From what?”

  “From being hurt. I thought if I didn’t date Jack and you avoided Dan, that you wouldn’t see Jack and think about what happened to Dad. But it’s clear Dan makes you happy and that this isn’t about the past anymore. It’s about your future.”

  “Oh, honey—”

  Marnie gave her mother’s hand a squeeze. “You took a risk, and fell in love again—”

  “Well, it’s probably too soon to say fell in love.” But the blush in Ma’s cheeks belied that statement.

  “And I think that’s pretty incredible. Because...” Marnie drew back her hand and dropped her gaze to the cookies. Cookies that hadn’t erased the issues, just muted them for a few bites. “Because I’ve been too terrified to do that myself.”

  There was the truth. Marnie didn’t date because she was terrified of falling in love. It was the one emotion that meant giving up control, letting go. Trusting the other person would catch you.

  Ma’s face softened. “Marnie, don’t let fear keep you from love. Or from Jack.”

  “I’m not talking about Jack.” Or thinking about him. Or dwelling on him. Except she was, all the time. And wondering if she took a risk on love with him, if she’d find the same happiness her mother had.

  I’m willing to take the risk that we have something amazing here, something that is stronger than the past.

  She realized she’d become the same thing she saw in her clients all the time, a gun-shy single who wanted love, but did everything she could to avoid a relationship. The matchmaker was terrified of matching herself.

  How ironic.

  “Jack’s a good man, Marnie,” Ma said as if reading her daughter’s mind, “despite what he did in the past. He’s changed, Dan said. Doing business in an entirely new way.” Her mother’s cell phone lit with an incoming call from Dan. A smile stole across Helen’s face. The kind of smile of a woman in love, a woman who had found a man who loved her, too. A gift, Marnie realized, that not everyone found.

  “Dan’s a good man, too,” Marnie said. She picked up the phone and placed it in her mother’s palm, closing Ma’s fingers over the slim silver body. “Tell him you’ll go to Maine with him.”

  Ma hesitated. “Really?”

  Marnie nodded. “He makes you smile, Ma, and that’s all that’s ever mattered to me.”

  The smile widened on Ma’s face, and her eyes lit with joy. She pressed the button on her phone, and answered the call. Within seconds, Ma was giggling like a schoolgirl, and making plans with Dan. “Okay, sounds good,” she said. “I’m looking forward to it, too. See you soon, Dan.” Then she said goodbye and tucked the phone back into her purse.

  Ma got to her feet and leaned over to give her daughter a warm hug. “You’re a good daughter,” she whispered, then she drew back and met her daughter’s gaze with older, wiser, loving eyes. “Now take your own advice and take a chance on the man who makes you smile, too. A man like Jack, perhaps?”

  “I don’t know.” Marnie hesitated. Jack distracted her, set her off her keel. That couldn’t be a good thing, could it?

  “If I were you,” Ma said, “I’d make a list, just like you make your clients do. Figure out what’s most important to you in the man you meet. And then use that instinct of yours to point you in the direction of Mr. Right.”

  Marnie shook her head. “I don’t think it works on me. Too close to the work and all that.”

  “That’s because you haven’t tried.” Ma wagged a finger at her. “And you never know what awaits around the next bend unless you travel down the road.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  AFTER THE COOKIE and coffee and chat with her mother, Marnie got back to work, instead of acting on her promised resolve to let Jack into her life. Erica returned from her appointment, and paused to hang up her coat, then stow her purse in the closet. When she got to her desk, she glanced across the room at her older sister. “Hey! Are those cookies on your desk?”

  Marnie chuckled, and slid the plate in Erica’s direction. “Ma stopped by with gifts.”

  “I thought she’d be halfway to Maine by now.”

  “She is now. She and I talked about Dan, and I’m cool with them dating. Ma is so happy, and it’s nice to see. She deserves it.”

  Erica nodded. “It sure is. And if her being happy means we get cookies for lunch, then by all means, keep Dan around. Oh, I almost forgot!” Erica jumped up and dashed over to her desk, returning a second later with an envelope. “This came for you today when I was coming in the door. Delivered by messenger, so it must be important.” She glanced at her watch. “Okay, I really gotta scoot. I’m supposed to meet with the caterer for our next event. Then I’ve got a date. You gonna be okay here without my astounding help?”

  “Of course.” Marnie tapped the envelope on her desk. Plain, nondescript, nothing more than Marnie’s name and address on the front. Probably a thank you from a satisfied client. “Thanks, Erica. Have fun on your date.”

  Erica’s smile winged across her face. “You know me, I always do. And don’t forget to have some fun yourself.”

  Marnie just nodded, then got back to work when Erica left. After a while, she stretched, and noticed the envelope again on the corner of her desk. She undid the flap, then pulled out the card inside.

  I found something of your dad’s at his shop that I think you’re going to want to have. Your key should still work.

  Jack

  Marnie held on to the card for a long, long time. She turned it over, weighing her options. In the end, curiosity won, driven by the urge to see Jack again. Ever since the conversation with her mother, her thoughts had drifted toward the what-ifs. What if she fell for Jack? What if she kissed him again? What if they took things to the next level? Would she be going around with that same goofy, blissful smile on her face?

  The card had been the impetus she needed, like a sign from above that she needed to stop dithering and start acting. Wasn’t it about time she found out, instead of sitting on the sidelines, giving everyone else the happy ending she wanted, too? She grabbed her keys and headed across town, her heart in her throat.

  In her mind, she kept seeing the four letters of Jack. Not Love, Jack, or Thinking of you, Jack or even Best Wishes, Jack. Just Jack. She should have been glad he’d left the closing impersonal, business-like. But she wasn’t. She wanted more. She wanted him to come right out and say what he was feeling, and then let them take it from there. Even that thought made her heart beat a little faster with anxiety.

  God, she really was a mess. But as she got closer to the building, and to seeing Jack, a smile spread across her face and anticipation warmed her veins. She thought of that kiss in the car, the one at the coffee shop, and decided...

  Yes, she wanted him. Yes, she’d take this risk. Yes, she would put the past behind her and open her heart.

  She wove her way through the city streets until the congestion eased and the roads opened up to an area filled with small office buildings and light industrial complexes. Her father’s old building came into view, a squat one-story concrete building with a nondescript storefront and a long, rectangular shape. She sat there for a long moment, staring at the building, memorizing the sign. The Top Notch Printing sign had faded, and the white exterior paint that had once been so pristine had faded to a dingy gray. Weeds had sprung up between the cracks in the parking lot. The tidy building now looked sad, defeated.

  It hit her then, hard and fast. She would never again drive up here and see Top Notch Printing on the front façade. Never again see the mailbox her father had painted himself one weekend. Never again walk through the door and hear her father call her name.

  In the years since her father passed
, no one had rented or bought the building, and it seemed to echo now with emptiness, disuse. Marnie parked, got out of the car, and flipped through the keys on her ring until she got to a brass one. The key had been on her father’s ring for decades, and had a worn spot where his thumb had sat, morning after morning, when he opened the building for the day.

  She slipped the key into the lock. The lock stuck a bit, then gave way, and the door opened with a creak. Once inside, her hand found the light switch, and the overhead fluorescents sputtered to life, providing a surreal white glow in the foyer. She stepped past the glass partition that divided the receptionist’s desk from the main office. A smile curved across her face. Her father had never had a receptionist, but when the girls came in after school or on the weekends, they’d fought over sitting at that desk and answering the phones, as if it was the best job in the world.

  Marnie ran a hand over the old corded desk phone, then let her gaze skip over the desk. Nothing there, or on the counter where her father would leave things for customers to pick up. She took a right, and headed down the hall, toward the big oak door that hadn’t been opened in three years.

  Her steps stuttered and she looked up at the engraved plaque attached to the oak.

  TOM FRANKLIN

  That was all, no title, nothing fancy. The guys in the shop had made the sign for him one day, and he’d mounted it with the caveat that they all called him Tom, just like always. He’d been a good boss, almost one of the guys, which had made his employees love him, but had often given them license to slack on production. Still, every person who had ever worked for her father came to his funeral, a testament to his memory, his lasting relationships with people. Tom had been a good guy, a good boss, and an even better father. Oh, how she missed him.

  Marnie reached up, her fingers dancing over the engraved lettering. Then she tugged off the plaque and tucked it in her purse. Doing so left a scar on the door, which Marnie liked. It said Tom had been here, and shouldn’t be forgotten.