by Laura Wright
He glanced at his watch. Seven-thirty. Where was his date, anyway? he wondered, moving his gaze to the front door.
A few couples were strolling in, but no single lady. Maybe he was going to be stood up, he thought with a slow grin. Then his gaze caught. He squinted. Was that Maggie? His pulse raced. It sure was, and in a tight white T-shirt and a long pink skirt, she looked good enough to eat.
He stood up as she walked toward him.
“Hello, Nick.”
“Maggie, what are you doing here? Is everything all right?”
“Your date couldn’t make it.”
“Thank God, because I’m through with dating.” Yep, he thought with a smile. This day couldn’t get any better. “Why don’t you sit down? I’ll get you something to drink.”
“No, thanks. I can’t stay.”
Why wasn’t she looking at him? Her voice was so cool and distant. In fact, her expression seemed completely detached. They hadn’t seen each other in a week. Maybe she wasn’t quite sure what to say. He opted for humor. “So this officially ends the dating season, then?”
She nodded stiffly. “That’s part of why I came.”
“Really?” That sounded promising.
“Listen, Nick. I wanted to thank you for holding up your end of the bargain.” She lifted her chin. “I think your experience is going to be exactly what I need to get men to come and sign up for my service.”
“I’m glad.” Nick’s smile began to fade. She was acting like a damn iceberg. “So what’s next?” he asked, hoping for some clues to her abrupt attitude change.
“Just taking advantage of all that free press for my business, and then—” she took a quick breath and shrugged lightly “—on to my next project.”
He frowned. Her next project? Okay, so maybe they started out that way—working on a project together. But that had all changed, hadn’t it?
“I’ve already had about twenty calls from men eager to sign up,” she continued. “The grand opening should be a total success.”
He cursed silently. Success? Why the hell had he even done this whole project if men were signing up, anyway—and before he officially became her poster child? What a sucker. He’d been sitting here, mooning over her and making plans and she was back to business and thinking about her next project?
He looked across the table at her. Had he really misjudged her that much? Thought she wanted him, felt something for him? Or was he just one helluva delusional jackass? Because it sounded as if she was saying that he’d served his purpose in her life and now she was finished with him.
“So, that’s it, then?” he asked, giving her an inch, hoping that would bring her back—back to the way she was when he’d held her in his arms just a week ago.
She nodded tightly, looking anywhere but at him. “Pretty much.” Then she cast a glance toward the exit. “Oh, one more thing. Do you mind coming by the shop tomorrow night?” she asked, pressing her lips together. “Talk to a few reporters?”
Hell, that was it, the nail in the coffin. It really had been “just business.” A phrase he knew all too well and should’ve stuck by the moment he’d laid eyes on her.
“Sure, no problem,” he answered, gripping his beer bottle so tightly he wouldn’t have been surprised if it shattered. For ten years he’d been the one who could see an affair as an affair and nothing more; he’d been the one who danced the fine line, trying not to inflict more pain than necessary. How the hell could he have switched roles and not even known it?
Well, today was payback time, apparently.
He could hardly wait until this business was finished. Until he could move forward again. No looking back, no regrets.
“I appreciate your doing this.” Her eyes were shuttered. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah. See you, Maggie.”
He watched her walk out of the restaurant, feeling as though she’d taken his heart with her. But it was only temporary, he told himself, downing his beer. He’d recover. Out on the road. It was the best place—and the only place he truly belonged.
He held up his empty beer bottle and nodded at the bartender.
Out on the road.
Only this time he’d save himself some trouble and stay far, far away from that damn Montana sky.
Eleven
There’s Someone Out There For Everyone. Your Perfect Match Awaits. Maggie Brings Hearts Together.
“Where should I put these, Maggie?”
Standing behind the reception desk, Maggie stared at the three banners in Kitty’s hands, banners she’d ordered a week ago. When she’d felt truly inspired.
It was already 10:00 a.m. and she’d had about fifty RSVPs for the opening tonight. In nine hours Maggie’s Matches would be packed with Santa Flora singles ready and hoping to make a love connection.
And her dream would become a reality.
She should have felt on top of the world, but instead she felt like hiding under the covers with her good buddies Ben and Jerry and crying into her chunky monkey.
But what good would that do?
Everything, her pride, her happiness—not to mention her savings—was riding on her business being a success, and she couldn’t let her feelings for Nick stop her from accomplishing her goals.
Lord, but she missed him—his touch and his voice. The hardest part was that she couldn’t find it in her heart to be angry with him. They’d both been willing participants. No one had uttered words like commitment or love or relationship, even if one of them had felt eager to hear them. If anyone was at fault for her broken heart, she was, and she had to acknowledge that. All along she’d been the driving force behind Nick finding that someone special.
And he had.
And she had to be happy for him. But that didn’t stop her from loving him, and she doubted it ever would.
Last night when she’d gotten home from the restaurant, she’d picked up the phone to call him. But she’d stopped herself. What could she say that wouldn’t put him in the awkward position of telling her he didn’t feel the same?
It was her first broken heart. First and last. From now on, she would put everything she had inside her into her work. Over time she knew she would start to erase him from her mind and from her soul. The best she could do now was never mention she loved him to anyone, then maybe the curse would leave him alone and let him enjoy his life with whoever it was that he’d fallen in love with.
“Maggie?”
She glanced up sharply. “I’m sorry, Grandma.” She brushed all thoughts of him from her mind and touched the banners that her grandma held out for inspection. “Why don’t we put one above the front desk, one outside and one…”
“Around Nick’s chest?” Kitty chided.
“In the video lounge,” Maggie said weakly. Well, that forgetting-Nick concept had lasted, oh, about ten seconds. She saw him in her mind, bare-chested and grinning with sex appeal, her banner stretching from muscled shoulder to tapered waist. She exhaled heavily, turned away from her grandma and began fumbling through a bag of decorations in search of God knew what.
“You should have told him how you feel, Maggie.”
I couldn’t. “I’ll get over it.”
“It’s not that easy. Love’s not like a faucet to be turned on and off.”
“Well, I’m certainly going to try.” And if turning off the faucet didn’t work, she thought, pulling out a bag of heart-shaped balloons, she’d have the water disconnected altogether.
Kitty grabbed a few balloons. “He obviously did that interview for you.”
For me, just not about me. “And I appreciate it. I really do. It’s bringing in the guys, just like I wanted.” She shook her head. “But why couldn’t he have told me first? Why didn’t he tell me that he’d found the woman of his dreams?”
“I don’t know, sweetie.” Kitty tried to blow some air into the small balloon, but nothing happened, and she gave up and pitched it back into the bag. “I’ll tell you one thing, though. That man loves
you. I’ve been a matchmaker for fifty years. I know the signs.”
Maggie’s heart squeezed at the thought. She couldn’t believe that Nick loved her. It was like the day that Paula Jenson had told her that Santa Claus didn’t exist. For hours after school that day she’d cried against Kitty’s chest while her grandma had wrapped her arms around a seven-year-old and very disillusioned Maggie. But when the tears had dried, Kitty had practically scolded her for believing such utter nonsense. “I’ve seen him many times, even spoken to him. And he wouldn’t appreciate you spreading a rumor like that any further.”
To this day Maggie still liked to believe that Santa was out there.
Kitty had been most convincing. And nothing much had changed, Maggie thought as a little voice inside her whispered that her grandma did have the experience—that she saw things that other people didn’t.
Lord, more than anything Maggie wanted to slide down into the warm, comforting fantasy her grandma had painted. But this time she couldn’t deny her reality.
She had lost Nick.
Oh, who was she kidding? she thought, grabbing the balloons and heading for her office. She’d never really had him to begin with.
Nick went through his mental Rolodex in search of a contractor who had the skills and the resources to finish the bed and breakfast for him, because after tonight he needed to get out of this town and away from Maggie Conner.
Well, first he’d probably want to get drunk, then he’d get out of town.
He hunkered down on the steps of the construction trailer and stared out at the water slapping its white foamy beard against the shore.
He didn’t like to admit it even to himself, but he’d missed living here, near the ocean. In his younger days, he’d have been out there body surfing, enjoying the moment, being a carefree kid. It was the one place where he didn’t have to think.
Today the air was warm, even though thin clouds passed over the summer sun from time to time. But what the hell, he thought, reaching down to unlace his work boots. Maybe a dip in the surf was exactly what he needed. He had a lot to forget. Like a sexy raven-haired goddess with eyes that would haunt him forever.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
Nick jerked his gaze up and saw his father walking toward him.
“I used to come out to my sites when times got tough. Sometimes it felt like the only place I could think.”
“Home away from home?” Nick cringed at the resentful tone in his own voice. Time heals all wounds, huh? he asked himself. He sure as hell hoped so.
His father sat down next to him on the steps. He was silent for a moment, then he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about not being around for you and your sister when you were kids, Nick. I was trying to build a business and forgot about my family. I had nothing growing up, less than nothing, and I wanted better for my children.”
As luck would have it, Nick now understood that kind of drive. To prove your worth to others and to yourself.
His father turned to look at him. “I can’t go back and change what was, but I can apologize for how hard I tried to turn you into…”
“You?”
“Well, yeah.” He chuckled. “And I’m real glad that I couldn’t. You’re one helluva man, Nick. I’m proud of you.”
It didn’t make Nick see hearts and flowers, but it was something. In fact, it was the something he’d wanted to hear for years. And it sounded good.
“So if you’ll let me, I’d like to start being that father right now. You look like you could use one.”
Nick stood up. “Well, actually, I could use your help.”
“Name it.”
“I’m looking to leave town early. Could you put one of your managers on this job and take it over?”
“You have another job to go to?”
“No.”
His father slowly came to his feet. Nick noticed for the first time that they were almost exactly the same height, same build. But his father’s eyes held a steady pain that he never wanted to inherit.
The man put a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “I could, but I think you’re looking for a different kind of help, Nick.”
“What does that mean?”
“You don’t want to leave here.”
His father had no idea what was going on. How could he? “You’re wrong.”
“Did you tell her that you love her?”
“Hell, no. I—” He stopped, knifed a hand through his hair. How in the hell did his father know what had happened between him and Maggie? He’d never given him details of their relationship. And, anyway, it didn’t matter, because nothing had actually happened between them.
“I don’t love her,” he said finally. Damn, he couldn’t even have a conversation without it turning to Maggie. She’d invaded his life, his thoughts, his dreams. He woke up reaching for her and went to bed longing for her.
What was he supposed to do? She didn’t give a damn for him. She’d made that clear. And he wasn’t going to run after her no matter what he felt. That highway was closed for repairs.
“I don’t believe you, son,” his father said. “I think you’re crazy about her.”
“No. I’m just plain crazy,” he stated through gritted teeth. “For the last time, Dad, Maggie’s out of my life.”
His father took a rolled-up newspaper from his jacket pocket. “Then what’s this all about?”
On a curse Nick snatched the paper. Grumbling about meddlesome parents, Nick glanced down. There was Maggie’s advertisement. So she’d run an ad for her business. Why wouldn’t she? It was obviously all she cared about.
“What’s what all about, Dad?”
“Stop being a stubborn jackass and take a closer look,” he said as he walked off toward the B and B’s foundation. “I’ll be over there looking at your handiwork if you need me.”
Nick looked down at the newspaper again and his gaze caught on the headline on the page that faced Maggie’s ad:
Maggie Makes a Match!
He stared at the headline. His article wasn’t supposed to run until tomorrow. Why would they run it today when—
His gaze shifted to the date of publication.
Friday. Yesterday.
A stream of curses fell from his lips. Those idiots at the Press had run his article two days early. He shook his head, trying to get the fog to clear. Had Maggie seen it? Of course she had—his article was positioned right across from the ad she’d placed.
His mind reeled, then filtered back to last night and the way she’d looked at him. Oh, yeah, she’d read this thing. There was no doubt in his mind. So that meant that she’d probably thought he’d found the woman of his dreams…and she’d no idea who he’d been talking about.
Something close to a growl erupted from his throat. No wonder she’d acted like the North Pole in winter.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. He was a jackass, so quick to assume that she didn’t want him. Too afraid of being caged to open his eyes and see that Maggie Conner was the one person on earth who had set him free.
He’d been ready to take off, leave his newly re-discovered family and the biggest job his company had had so far because of that fear. This misery he’d felt every night since he’d left her was his own.
Now it was time to make a choice. Did he want to be an angry drifter forever, or go find the woman he loved and tell her—
He froze. The realization moved over him like the clouds moved across the sun, illuminating and darkening, darkening and illuminating again.
It wasn’t possible. Not a guy like him. A dry laugh escaped his throat. But it was possible. He loved Maggie. Loved everything about her. Her drive, her blind faith and the way she threw herself fully into everything she did.
The way she believed in him and his heart.
He shook his head. It might already be too late, he knew. He may have already lost her, but he’d be damned if he’d give up that easily.
He walked over to his father who was staring out over th
e ocean from the bluff where the B and B would stand. The waves roared so loudly Nick had to put his hand on his father’s shoulder to get his attention. When his father turned around, Nick said simply, “I love her.”
“I know, son. You look just like I did the day I married your mother.”
In a thousand years, Nick never thought he’d be hearing something so personal from this man—hell, Nick never imagined confiding that he’d actually fallen in love. But life had a sense of humor and a forgiving heart.
Nick exhaled heavily, a smile coming to his lips. “You want to go to a party tonight?”
“Only if you’re going to come home with that girl on your arm.”
Nick chuckled. “If she’ll have me, Dad. If she’ll have me.”
Maggie opened her doors at seven o’clock. And by seven-thirty the grand opening of Maggie’s Matches was an official success.
And it wasn’t just Maggie’s opinion, either. She heard the buzz all around her—the excitement from all the singles who seemed confident that Maggie could help them meet their match. Their voices filled the air like the strains of an orchestra preparing to perform. A few reporters milled about, eating, drinking—some even making love connections of their own.
The atmosphere was certainly conducive to romance. The lights in the reception area were dimmed, and a hundred heart-shaped votive candles flickered from every surface like so many stars in the sky. The ocean sent a soft breeze through the open doors and windows, batting the balloons and streamers about. The caterer stood over the elegant spread of bruschetta, ground lamb wrapped in phyllo, assorted cheeses and fruit and the most delectable-looking miniature éclairs, while a man dressed in black tie served champagne in sparkling crystal.
It was perfect.
The only thing missing was Nick.
For the hundredth time that day, she wondered if he would really come tonight. And if he did, would he bring the woman from the article? She inhaled deeply, trying to steady her breathing. Seeing him with another woman, his arm linked with hers, her gaze sweeping his face—every now and again they’d kiss and Maggie would die a little more inside.