9781631050275TheirPerfectMatchMarshNC

by Alela Marsh

  “Do you consider Lovelines a great success?” Zane asked.

  “Of course! It helped me pay for all this, didn’t it?” Todd waved a hand around the table. His voice trembled a bit, and Molly could tell he was more than a little tipsy. No doubt his engagement, not to mention the pressure to impress Sabrina’s friends, had made him nervous. “Speaking of that, Sabrina insisted on springing for a live band. I hope you’ll all get up and dance the night away when they start. I know that would make my lovely bride-to-be happy beyond belief.”

  “We’d love to,” Brenda said, leaning over to rest her head on Decker’s shoulder. “Decker and I go dancing every weekend, you know. We’ve been taking ballroom lessons.”

  “Really?” Molly asked, genuinely surprised. “Whose idea was that?”

  “Well, it was something I’d wanted to try for a long time, and when I told Decker about it, he insisted we plunge right in. We’ve never had so much fun, have we, honey?”

  “Maybe you can show us all some of your moves later,” Zane said. After finishing his champagne and watching Todd sway off to the next table, he rose and held out a hand to Molly. “Come on. Let’s tour the boat a little. Once a sailor, always a sailor, you know.”

  “Please excuse us,” Molly said as she too rose. Guilt clutched at her stomach when Brenda winked.

  “Let’s lose everybody,” Zane whispered to her, sliding his arm around her waist as they walked away. “We need to talk.”

  They made their way to a quiet part of the deck and stood looking out over the light-strewn harbor. Molly felt salty droplets sting her eyes, and she didn’t think they came from the sea.

  “Brenda and Decker seem to be having a good time,” she said, her eyes riveted on the dark water churning beneath them. “I hate that we’re out here trying to destroy their happiness.”

  “You’d rather let them ruin your business, never mind your reputation? I had a feeling about him ever since I heard he had a record. And you heard him—he likes his job because they let him set up computers. Does he insert his own special code every time he does?”

  “He did set up the Lovelines machines,” Molly admitted. “I’ve never seen anything strange about the software, though. Todd runs the program and he’s never noticed a single glitch.”

  “Well, he wouldn’t put in a code you could actually see,” Zane said with a touch of impatience. “That’s the point. And I told you before—one of the few items we were able to track on Alaric’s credit card was a gold bracelet. Did you happen to see what Brenda was wearing tonight?”

  Molly felt her face fall, her righteousness deflate. “I did notice it, actually.”

  “All right, then. All I’m saying is we ought to check it out. If I can’t find anything, no one will be happier than me. I don’t want this to upset you.”

  “It does, though,” she admitted. “Decker flattered me this evening, you know. He does that well. It could be part of his plan to keep me on his side.”

  Zane bent closer, his brow furrowing in concern. “Oh? What did he say?”

  “Well…” Molly instantly regretted bringing the matter up, given the context. “Brenda asked him about my dress, actually. It was probably nothing.”

  “Ah. I can’t say that I blame him for noticing that.” He traced a thumb along her cheek. She pulled away harshly. “You look wonderful in whatever you wear, but that particular garment seems especially flattering.”

  His eyes scanned her as if she were wearing nothing at the moment. A surge of adrenaline crept up her neck.

  “You don’t have to act here. No one’s watching us.”

  He looked hurt and stepped back. “I wasn’t. I promise.”

  Eager to change the subject, Molly returned her attention to the water. It really was beautiful out here, with the fragrant breezes swirling around them and the stars spread out in the open sky. “You must feel at home here. Back on board ship.”

  “Yes. But I never saw anyone as pretty as you when I was at sea.”

  “Why did sailing appeal to you so much? Was it because of what you told me about before, with your parents breaking up and all? Did dry land make you feel insecure somehow?”

  He laughed. “I see you were a therapist in a previous life.”

  “It sort of comes with the territory of matchmaking. I did take psych classes in college, though.”

  “To answer your question, not everyone heads for the open ocean because they’re running away from their old lives. Some guys—and even a few gals—get into it for the adventure.”

  “Does that include you?”

  “I guess so. It didn’t quite work out the way I’d wanted, though. There was a little excitement, but a lot of tedium. And plenty of loneliness, too.”

  “I’m sorry.” She turned her face away from his penetrating stare. Why did he insist on looking at her that way—as though they really were on a date, moving toward some kind of meaningful connection? “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”

  “I don’t mind. In fact, I enjoy telling you about my past. I’d like to know more about yours, too.” He paused a moment as if weighing his words before continuing. “In spite of everything, I still hope there’s a chance for us once we get this whole Lovelines mess straightened out.”

  Molly’s back stiffened. The breeze from the water began to feel cold. She tightened her wrap around her shoulders. “You deceived me. I’m not sure I can get past that, Zane.”

  “Okay. Let’s drop it for now.” Zane’s stormy eyes took on a faraway look as he gazed out at the water. “I’ve been thinking…maybe trying to settle down here wasn’t such a great idea after all. I mean, I’m glad I could come back and help my dad, but it sure wasn’t a fun time for me. We didn’t exactly make the kind of memories to last a lifetime, you know? Maybe I should just let it all go. Start fresh in a totally new place.”

  “Oh?” Molly didn’t want to acknowledge how uneasy that announcement, even though he’d made it hypothetically, bothered her. Really though, what right did she have to dictate where Zane should live? There was no reason for him to stay on in his father’s somewhat dingy apartment. Hastily she tried to cover up her discomfiture. “But you love the sea. I can’t really imagine you being happy anywhere else but on the coast.”

  “There are plenty of coastlines in the world, Molly.” He darted her a grim smile. “And lots of water in between. Plenty of places where a guy like me could get lost for a lifetime, if he wanted to. All of that amounts to opportunity, something there isn’t a lot of here.”

  “Opportunity is what you make it, though. That’s why I started my own—” she stopped, aware that conversation was about to veer off into a place she didn’t want to take it.

  “You’re right, and that might be the answer for me, too. I could buy my own boat—sail it around the world and give charter cruises or something. Or hunt for treasure. I’ve always believed that the ocean has a lot more mysteries than people have ever been able to uncover. What if I could make some great discovery, or set a world record of some kind? Never know till you try.”

  She tried again. Honestly, why was this bothering her so much? “You know what they say, though. Wherever you go, you have to take yourself with you. There’s no such thing as escaping the past.”

  “You know what else they say? ‘You can’t go home again.’ I’m beginning to see the wisdom in that. It’s never the same as we remembered it.”

  “Of course it can’t be. But things can get better…can’t they?”

  He gazed off into space again. “Can they? I wonder.” He seemed to shake off a chill of his own. “All right, enough of that. We ought to concentrate on what we came here to do.” He got up and took her hand. Big-band style music drifted up from the lower deck, suggesting that Sabrina’s band had arrived to play. “Come on. Let’s dance. Mingle. We can keep our ears open.”

  They walked out to the middle of the floor and stepped together. Molly wasn’t surprised when they picked up where they had left
off in The Grapevine. Somehow, their bodies seemed to fit naturally together—not only on the dance floor, but in other ways, she now knew. However, she forced herself not to dwell on that embarrassing interlude.

  They clung to each other, heat flowing between them, while the sultry strains of “In the Mood” guided them through some slow moves. She occupied herself with watching Brenda and Decker dance past them, followed by Todd and Sabrina. She wished she could read their body language, or better yet, their minds. Then she would be able to tell at once if her friends had betrayed her. The very concept was painful beyond belief, but given everything Zane had revealed, and the gold flashing on Brenda’s wrist, she could no longer dismiss the possibility out of hand.

  Zane seemed to be following her line of vision across the floor. She caught him scowling at her.

  “You know, I’ve been thinking. What Decker said about setting up the computers gave me an idea how we can end this thing—maybe tonight.”

  “Tonight?” Molly replied, surprised. “How is that possible?”

  “Lean in close—pretend we’re having an intimate moment in case anyone is watching us—and I’ll explain it to you. I’m going to need your help.”

  “Oh? Does that mean I’m no longer a suspect myself?”

  “Molly, you know better than to ask me that. Surely you must have realized by now that I’m not just going through with this for Alaric’s sake—it’s for yours now. I want you to go on with the business you built from scratch. I want you to be free of people who might be taking advantage of you. Most of all, I want you to be happy.”

  Startled, Molly stopped dancing for a moment and blinked up at him. She detected nothing but sincerity in his face and voice.

  “All right,” she said, leaning toward him so that her ear was near his lips. “Tell me.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Thanks for coming. It’s so nice to share our happiness with friends,” said Todd as the guests filed off the boat in pairs. Sabrina stood next to him, beaming with pride as she watched him handle the formalities. Molly got a very different vibe from them than she had with Todd and her college friend. They really were compatible and happy together. There was no point in dwelling on her own envy of their comfort.

  “We’re delighted to be here with you. Congratulations again,” Brenda said as she and Decker made their way toward the ramp, fingers entwined. They paused, waiting for Molly and Zane to join them.

  “Thanks for coming. Great to see you two having such a good time,” Todd said, offering his hand to Zane. “You’ll take good care of Molly, won’t you? If not, you’ll have some disgruntled defenders to watch out for.”

  Zane grinned. “I’ll consider myself warned.”

  “I don’t need to be protected, Todd,” Molly spoke up. “I’m not the same person you knew back in school.”

  “Tell me about it. She’s the boss lady now.” Todd feigned a shudder of fear.

  Molly pounced on the opportunity his remark presented. She made sure to include Brenda and Decker in the conversation. “That reminds me, I wanted to talk to you all about Lovelines. We’ve been experiencing some difficulty matching up new clients. Zane himself had some disastrous dates—totally unsuitable choices. That shouldn’t happen if the software is functioning the way it should.”

  “That’s because Zane was thinking about you the whole time,” Brenda said. “He probably didn’t give the others a chance. Good thing you finally snatched him up.”

  “No, I think it’s because there’s something wrong with our software. There could be a virus or maybe a hacker tinkering with our settings.”

  “You don’t say.” Todd reached up and adjusted his tie. “That’s odd. I haven’t noticed anything unusual about the computers.”

  “Apparently we’ve had some corrupted files. We think someone broke into our network earlier—we just didn’t know it.”

  “But we think we’ve come up with a way to solve it,” Zane put in helpfully. “I have a friend from my sailing days who went into programming when he got back to land. He’s designed a program that can track all activity on any system for the past six months, right down to the smallest keystroke on any connected machine. The software analyzes normal procedure and then flags anything out of the ordinary.”

  “Yeah? That’s a pretty sophisticated program,” Decker commented.

  “Sure is. He originally developed it to use on shipboard systems, where security breaches can be disastrous, but he’s redesigned it to work on civilian programs, too. With luck, we’ll be able to pinpoint when and where any questionable entry was made. We can even find out whose passwords he used to hack in. That might give us a clue who the culprit is, though it might involve a little research.”

  “Well, that certainly sounds exciting. Would you like Brenda and me to help?” Todd asked. “After all, I helped set up the system.”

  “No need. This program is idiot-proof,” Zane said. “Molly and I already disabled all outside access to the system so we can run the software from her office computer first thing in the morning. If we get stuck, we’ll get my buddy on the phone to talk us through it. After all, we have all of Saturday to work on it. We’ll figure it out.”

  Sabrina, looking bored, took Todd’s arm. “Let’s not discuss any more business right now, darling. We all need some time to relax after being on our best behavior all evening.”

  “Good idea,” Todd said. He flashed Molly an uneasy smile, and she and Zane continued on their way along with Brenda and Decker.

  “What do we do now?” she whispered as everyone said their goodnights and fanned out around the darkened parking lot. “Seems like we’re no further ahead than when we started.”

  Zane flashed her a wry grin. “Now comes the least exciting part. The stakeout.”

  * * * *

  Two hours later, they were back at Lovelines, huddled in the dark behind her desk. Molly was wearing far more comfortable clothes now, a rugby shirt and a pair of khakis she’d grabbed from her apartment on her way back to the office. Zane had changed out of his suit back into his more familiar leather jacket, black T-shirt, and faded jeans, which he’d had the foresight to stash in his car. Molly had to admit that he looked absolutely great in those, too. What irony—she’d started out wanting to drive him insane with regret at losing her trust, and it had ended up just the opposite. Still, she’d begun to come to terms with her feelings about the rift between them. Angry as she was at Zane for suspecting her friends, she now knew he was trying to help in his misguided way.

  And she couldn’t forget the way his body had felt against hers that day in his apartment…and afterward, in his bedroom, when they’d come together in a shower of sparks that still had her body burning.

  Maybe after tonight, when she went through with his plan and nothing happened, when none of her employees revealed their guilt, they could get back on track with one another after all. Because as much as she hated to admit it, Zane was in her breath, her blood. No man had ever excited her as much and she knew no man ever would touch her so deeply again. How could she walk away from something that felt so right?

  He stretched his legs out on the floor next to her, watching her face intently. “So here we are.”

  “I hope you know this could take a while,” she said. “Especially since none of my employees are involved. I’m willing to bet we’ll be here for a long time with nothing to show for it.”

  “I know. And like I said, I hope you’re right.” He sighed and looked around the empty office. “We ought to do something to pass the time.”

  “It’s a little dark for checkers or hangman.” She’d meant to sound snarky, but without even meaning to, she smiled.

  He tilted her chin and kissed her hard. Molly returned his kiss.

  “I wasn’t sure if you’d slap my face for trying that,” he said when he eased his lips away a few minutes later.

  “I thought about it,” she confessed. “But not for more than a second or two.”

&
nbsp; “I’m glad,” Zane said with a sigh of relief. “I really am on your side, Molly. I want you to believe that.”

  “I’m starting to. But I’ll reserve judgment until this crazy plan of yours is over and Lovelines is in the clear.”

  “Suits me just fine. I don’t mind hanging around with you here all night, if that’s what it takes.” He moved his thumb across her cheek, bringing it down to rub the corner of her lip. He was about to kiss her again when they heard a noise from the reception area of the office. Someone was turning the key in the lock.

  Zane’s hand dropped down over hers. They sat, not breathing, not moving, waiting to see what would happen next.

  They watched, amazed, as Sabrina Lambert slipped into the office, walked over to Molly’s computer table, and calmly booted up her desktop. They watched, even more amazed, as she took a flash drive from her clasp purse and inserted it while the software was still chiming its notes of welcome. A few moments later, she frowned and tapped the keyboard.

  Zane touched Molly’s shoulder and nodded. Together, they rose from behind the desk. “How are you doing, Sabrina?” Zane asked. “Any luck covering your tracks? Or maybe you were just downloading a copy of Lovelines’ client list for future use?”

  Sabina jumped up, so startled that she nearly knocked over the light swivel chair. “What are you talking about? I just thought I’d come down and help Molly with her investigation. Todd was busy taking care of things after the party, so he asked me to download a few codes for him to study at home.”

  “I don’t think so.” Zane crossed the room with Molly right behind him. She watched as he leaned over Sabrina’s shoulder and reached for the flash drive. Sabrina swiped for it, but missed.

  “Give that back!” Sabrina snapped.

  “I have a feeling we’ll be able to find everything we need right on this little device,” Zane said, holding it just out of her reach. “Maybe things like names, credit card and social security numbers, and other relevant details about all of Molly’s clients? I wouldn’t be surprised if we also found a virus on here that will wipe the entire system clean. It would be the only way to beat the kind of security software I described at the party.”