A Match for Meghan (Heartsong Presents)

by Kimberly Rose Johnson

  He ran a hand through his marvelously thick hair. “You know, I’ve always had my doubts about this whole matchmaking thing. I really appreciate the effort you’ve put in so far, but I think it’d be best to let me find my own dates.”

  She set down her mug. “And how’s that going for you so far?”

  He blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “I don’t mean to be rude, but sometimes it’s best to be blunt. I was trying to say that you haven’t been successful on making a love connection on your own, and that a little nudge in the right direction is a good idea.” Meghan hustled to the door. “When you regain your senses, you know where to find me.”

  Sure, she’d taken on the task of finding Ben a love connection on a dare, but now all she wanted to do was help. The man was clearly incapable of finding a wife on his own, or he’d have settled down a long time ago. Granted, he had plenty of excuses, but when it came to love, some guys needed help. Why couldn’t he accept the assistance she offered?

  Of course, she had also failed miserably in the love department. Men didn’t seem to care for her outspoken personality. Even Ben was put off by it. With a sigh, she refilled her mug and walked to the front counter.

  Soon the clinic would be buzzing, and she needed to calm down or the animals would sense her frustration and respond accordingly.

  The door swung open and Emma strolled in. “Morning. I’m so glad it’s Friday!”

  “You and me both. I saw your schedule. It looks like you’ll be busy.”

  “Yeah. We have several surgeries.” Emma dumped her bag under the counter and slipped a smock over her street clothes. A moment later, a man walked in with his Great Dane, and Emma was off and running.

  Dr. Harding’s schedule was lighter, so Meghan flipped on the computer and waited for it to boot up. Before long, she was scrolling through the dating site replies for Ben. No one was quite right, and she deleted each message. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for matchmaking because she seemed to be doing a horrible job. She never should’ve taken that dare or accepted him as a client. Maybe deleting his online profile would be best. Another patient walked into the clinic. She’d take care of his account later.

  The day flew by, and before Meghan knew it, five o’clock glowed on the digital clock on the counter. At lunch, she’d received an email requesting her matchmaking services. So far, she had six female clients and a dozen males. The numbers surprised her, but once word had spread she was setting people up for free, her client list had jumped. Good thing she had decided against giving up. These people were counting on her. A couple of the guys even looked like good prospects—too bad she couldn’t set herself up with one of them. Then again, the only thing stopping her was the silly rule she had made about not dating clients. But they had only contacted her via email and would never know they’d hired her to find them a match. She winced—this was making her brain hurt.

  She grabbed her purse and strolled to the back of the building where Dr. Harding’s office was located. She tapped on the door. “I’m heading out. Have a nice weekend.”

  He looked up. “You, too.” He tapped his chin. “How’s your new business venture going?”

  “Fine.” She lingered in the doorway. Dr. Harding was a man, and as such, he might have something to offer to help her figure out her dilemma. She cleared her throat. “Actually, since you asked, I could use a little advice.”

  “Shoot.”

  “I was wondering if you think it’s unethical of me to date one of the guys using my matchmaking service.”

  His eyes widened. “Oh. I don’t know. Don’t you have a girlfriend you could ask? That’s not really my area of expertise.”

  Her face warmed. “Sure I do. I only thought since you’re a happily married man you might have an opinion.”

  “I don’t understand what my marital status has to do with anything, but I suppose...” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess there’s no harm in it. So you’re definitely thinking of setting yourself up with one of your clients?”

  She nodded. One of the men wanted a professional woman who was fun and in her age bracket. He had also specified she be a brunette. Plus, the man seemed interesting.

  “If you’re prepared for it to backfire, then go for it. Otherwise you may want to stay away from dating your clients.”

  “How could it backfire?”

  He sighed. “What if you don’t hit it off? He may decide you don’t know what you’re doing and unhire you. Then word spreads, and you’re suddenly out of business.”

  Yikes! That would be a nightmare—failure was not an option. Forget the fact she was playing matchmaker for free. She eventually wanted to make money setting people up and that wouldn’t happen if she had unhappy clients. Ben had said he didn’t want her help, but that didn’t count—not really, since he technically wasn’t an official client. “Oh. Well, I guess we’ll see then. Thanks.”

  “Did you ever decide on The Sound of Music?”

  “Yes. I’m passing, although I did get the music and I’m learning it in my free time. I offered to stand in if the director’s niece can’t make a performance.” Good thing she had a full-size keyboard. Otherwise she’d never be able to practice. She couldn’t very well practice at the Enzian. Speaking of which... “I’d better get going.”

  Dr. Harding nodded. “Have a nice weekend.”

  “Thanks.” She needed to get a move on if she was going to run home and change before heading to play at the Enzian Inn. In her excitement to get to the office early this morning to hear Dr. Young’s take on his date with Allison, she’d neglected to bring a dress to change into after work.

  She raced past Ben’s office and slid to a stop when he called out her name. She reversed course. “Yes?”

  His shoulders sagged.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Just tired. I may regret this, but I’d like you to keep me on your client list. Don’t feel like you have to set me up with anyone right away.” He rubbed his shoulder and grimaced. “I don’t expect you to find a good fit for me overnight.”

  All the air seemed to rush from the building. She’d been rehired! Not that she’d been fired. “Good. I’ll be in touch. Have a nice weekend.” She forced herself to walk to the door even though she wanted to skip. Why helping Dr. Young was so important, she couldn’t say, but one thing was certain: of all her clients, he mattered the most to her. This was personal, and she refused to fail. Good thing she hadn’t deleted his online account yet.

  Chapter 9

  A week had passed since Ben had agreed to continue Meghan’s matchmaking, but she had yet to set him up with anyone—not that he minded. Life had settled back into a nice easy rhythm, and he half hoped she’d given up on his dating life. They had barely spoken over the past week except to say hello, which bothered him more than he cared to admit.

  He glided his hand over the tiny Maltese dog that had come in for an exam and shots. “Tiger looks to be in excellent health.”

  Rich, the dog’s owner, grinned. “That’s what I wanted to hear. She sure is active.”

  A knock sounded on the exam room door. “Come in.” Ben raised a brow as Meghan poked her head in. “Yes?”

  “There’s an adorable single lady in the waiting area you must meet.” She wiggled her fingers for him to follow.

  He apologized to Rich and stepped into the hall. “I’m with a patient.” A new one, too, who he didn’t care to lose because of unprofessional behavior.

  “Sorry.” Her face paled. “I didn’t realize there was someone in there. The door flag didn’t indicate you had a patient. I thought you were...never mind.” She had the grace to look embarrassed and fled down the hall. He’d deal with Meghan later.

  Five o’clock came and went and with it, the last patient of the day. Finally, he could talk with Meghan about earlier. He knocked
on the doorjamb to Pete’s office.

  Two sets of eyes turned toward him.

  “Mind if I borrow Meghan?”

  She jumped up. “Sorry, but I have to run.” She mimed playing the piano. “I have someplace to be soon. No time to talk.” She rushed past him.

  “Oh no you don’t,” he said under his breath, ignoring Pete’s questioning look. He followed Meghan and easily caught up to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder before she hopped into her Jeep.

  She whirled around, knocking his hand away with the motion. “I’m in a hurry.”

  “This will only take a minute. First, I know what happened this morning is partially my fault since I forgot to flip the door flag, but you can’t come to me during work hours about my dating life.”

  “I understand.” Her voice was dejected. “I’m really sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

  He stepped back. “I can tell you’re sorry, and I’m willing to let it go, but I can’t have you acting unprofessionally in my clinic, no matter how good you are at your job. Let’s keep the matchmaking outside of work.” He raised a brow. “Perhaps you should be spending more time working on your own love life and less time with matchmaking others.”

  “I would, but men don’t like me.” She stared at the pavement and blinked rapidly.

  He softened his tone. “What do you mean?”

  “Exactly what I said. I’ve had a lot of first dates, but no one ever asks me out twice. In fact, just last week I went out with one of my clients and...” She shrugged. “I don’t know what I do wrong. I try to be charming and agreeable, but it’s always the same. They never call.” She peered at him with doelike eyes. “My roommate says I have a bad habit of speaking before thinking and scaring them all away.” A sad smile touched her lips. “She’s probably right. So rather than focus on me, I focus on helping others find true love.”

  “You shouldn’t give up on finding someone for yourself, Meghan. You’re attractive, smart, energetic and quite talented on the piano.”

  “Thanks, you’re sweet for saying all that, but I’m hopeless. My own mother didn’t love me enough to stick around. Why would a man?”

  “Your mom abandoned you?”

  She nodded. Her eyes glistened. “She took me to school one day and never came back. It tore my dad up to the point he basically withdrew from life. If it wasn’t for my aunt and uncle...” She shivered. “Anyway, that’s why it’s so important to me that people find the right person. Because if they don’t, their kids may end up like me.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  She shrugged. “It is what it is.”

  His heart stuttered. Suddenly, her desire to find the perfect match for the people in her life made sense. But, if someone like Meghan, who was all about finding true love, gave up on it, what did that mean for indifferent people like him? “I won’t let you give up. Go out with me. I’ll coach you and help you figure out what chases men away.”

  “That’s crazy. You haven’t been on a date since...George W. Bush was president.”

  “Ouch. That wasn’t kind or accurate. See, I can help you. I’ll point out when you should think before speaking. And for the record, I date—what about my date with Allison?”

  “Right.” She nodded. “I forgot about that. Maybe you could help me, but it’s a bad idea. We work together.”

  “You don’t work for me, and we rarely have contact unless you’re interrupting me when I’m with my patients.” He winked. “Come on, admit it. Until you got on your matchmaking kick, we barely spoke.”

  “How about if I promise to keep my matchmaking away from the clinic and we leave it at that?”

  Ben narrowed his eyes as an idea struck. “I dare you to go out with me—just once. I’ll give you pointers on how to snag a man. And don’t tell me I’m not qualified. I am a man, in case you forgot, and I know what men like and how we think.”

  “I’ve never been one to turn down a dare. You’re on.”

  “I am?” He hadn’t expected her to agree, but he was up for the challenge. “Okay, then. Tomorrow night we’ll go to dinner.”

  “Fine. What time?” She climbed into her Jeep.

  “Six.” He took a step away from the door so she could close it.

  “I’ll be ready.” She backed up and peeled out of the parking lot.

  Ben swallowed. What had he done? He’d better make sure Pete was okay with all of this. Then again, who his partner’s assistant dated or did not date wasn’t Pete’s business. However, out of courtesy, Ben would let him know. He headed to Pete’s office.

  Pete stopped working and glanced up. “Care to share what that scene with Meghan was about?”

  Ben shrugged. “She got carried away with her matchmaking earlier and pulled me away from a patient.”

  Pete cringed. “Sorry. I’ll have a word with her.”

  “Not necessary. I took care of it. But that’s not why I’m here. I wanted to let you know she and I are going out for dinner tomorrow.”

  His partner sat back in his chair, eyes wide. “You’re the client she’s interested in? I didn’t see that coming. She asked my advice a week or so ago. Guess she decided to go for it.”

  “Uh, no. I asked her out.”

  “Oh.” Pete stood and slung his bag over his shoulder. “Good for you. Bring flowers. Women love them.” He sauntered past Ben. “See you Monday.”

  Openmouthed, Ben watched his business partner walk away as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but in less than twenty-four hours he and Meghan would be on a date. Well, a sort-of date since he had only asked her out to give her pointers. But a date was a date regardless of the motivation.

  * * *

  Meghan tried to keep her focus on the road, but her mind was speeding a hundred miles a minute. She was going out with Ben. Ever since the third grade when Troy had dared her to run into the boy’s bathroom and she’d refused, she’d never been able to turn down a dare. But oh, how she wished for a do-over. Not only for that day so many years ago when all the kids had laughed at her, but especially for today—when she had said yes to Ben.

  Meghan sighed. What’s done was done, though. Backing out now would only make her look like a wimp.

  Hmm. What would she wear? This date called for an emergency shopping trip. Then again, Ben was only taking her out to analyze and diagnose her failings—yep, she definitely needed a new outfit.

  She could call the Enzian and tell them she couldn’t make it tonight, then go shopping instead. She pressed her lips together. No. She’d never blown off a commitment and couldn’t start now. The sundress and cardigan sweater she’d picked up on her last shopping trip grazed the back of her mind. It was perfect and would be appropriate to wear to any restaurant in Leavenworth—problem solved.

  Wait until Cassie heard about this. Since her roommate had declared a moratorium on dating, she claimed to be living vicariously through Meghan. Ugh, the pressure.

  Would Ben find a lot of things wrong with her and give more feedback than she wanted? She never should have accepted his dare. But she vowed he’d be hard-pressed to find anything to correct. In fact, she would dazzle him so much he might want to actually take her on a real date. Ack—she didn’t want a real date with him. Talk about feeling out of sorts. Why did Ben have this effect on her?

  * * *

  Ben straightened his tie for the umpteenth time since putting it on. “Here goes nothing.” He knocked on Meghan’s apartment door. He let his breath out in a whoosh as the door swung wide.

  “Hi, Dr. Young.”

  He ought to tell her to call him Ben, but maybe that would blur their relationship too much. Surely, she’d call him by his given name if she felt comfortable. He thrust the bouquet of mixed flowers he’d picked up into her hands. “You look lovely.” He meant it, too. She wore a purple dress
that set off her green eyes, and her ebony hair cascaded in soft curls to just past her shoulders.

  “Thanks. I’d better put these in water. I’ll just be a sec.” She turned and went back inside, but reappeared in under two minutes.

  She locked up and joined him on the sidewalk. “You never said where we’re going, so I wasn’t quite sure what to wear. You look nice.”

  “Thank you.” He’d never taken such care in his appearance as he had tonight, though he wasn’t sure why he’d gone to so much trouble. Khakis and a black dress shirt and red tie had been his final choice. “My truck is in visitor parking.”

  She grinned. “I see that. It looks like you washed it, too.”

  He’d spent the better part of the afternoon washing, waxing and cleaning the interior of his F-150. He couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at his mouth. He pulled the passenger door open and helped her up. Good thing her dress wasn’t one of those short tight numbers, or she’d never have gotten into the cab.

  He hustled around to the driver’s side and hopped in. “I made reservations at Visconti’s.” He pulled out of the parking lot and onto Highway 2.

  “Oh, I love Italian. What a great choice.” She clicked her seatbelt into place. “The last time I was there I had the seafood fettuccine. It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious.”

  “That’s one of my favorites, but I’m in the mood for lasagna tonight.”

  “Another good choice.”

  Ben snuck glances at Meghan as he drove. Pete’s assistant appeared calm and cool, but the white-knuckled grip she kept on her purse revealed that she was probably feeling the same nerves he felt. Taking Meghan out to teach her how to get a second date was probably not one of his better ideas. But so far so good. She hadn’t done a thing that would prevent him or any other man from thinking twice about asking her out again.

  He signaled and veered to the right toward the village. A car backed out in front of them. Ben stopped, signaled then pulled into a spot along the curb.

  “That was lucky.” Meghan beamed a smile.

  “Stay put. I’ll be right around.” He hopped out and hustled to the passenger side, then pulled the door open.