by Clarissa Yip
“Worse than when they tried leaving us stranded at the lake house together?”
That had been another ordeal. Feigning migraines and allergies to dust, they’d driven away, leaving Max and Lia to fend for themselves, until Lia almost set the whole place on fire.
“It’s not about us.”
Disappointment burned in his chest. He should have been relieved. But their grandmothers’ usual attempts at throwing them together always pushed them to work as a team…and then the bickering would begin.
Pursing her lips again, she let out a deep sigh. “You need a proper date to the ball, and I get to help you choose a princess to keep you from turning into a frog.”
…
Max opened the door to the coffee house. Settling a hand on her back, he ushered her in, but Lia surged forward and gave him a glare over her shoulder. He followed her to a table in the back corner and nodded at Bill, the owner. The old man stood behind the counter, whipping up drinks. The place was Max and Lia’s usual conspiracy headquarters.
He pulled out a chair for Lia.
She paused in taking off her jacket. “What’s wrong with you?”
Max frowned. Her simple question grated his nerves. His acts of kindness always seemed to set her off. He couldn’t do anything right around her. Taking his own seat, he said, “You haven’t changed.”
Lia snorted as she tugged at the scarf around her throat. His eyes trailed over her cleavage, reminding him of the feel of her breasts pressed against him. He swallowed hard, grappling for the drink menu.
“I don’t have all day. Let’s just get this over with.” Lia sat and stared at him.
His gaze met hers and his breath caught. Had her eyes always been that green?
She snapped her fingers. “What is your problem? Why are you staring at me like that?”
He turned his attention back to the menu, but the image of her face stuck in his head. She’d grown even more beautiful since she’d left. She radiated a sense of sophistication and elegance. He didn’t know what it was, but she was still able to revert him to a hormone-ridden teenage boy who had to be on guard when she was near. “So talk. What are they up to now?”
Lia sighed. “They came to my office this morning. They want me to help you find a date for the Valentine’s party.”
Max stilled. They’d been after him to settle down for the longest time. “What did you say?”
She gave him a pointed look. “Besides the fact that they’re crazy? Nothing much. Just for you to sign up with my agency and find someone decent.”
He frowned. “I’m not signing up for a dating service.”
“Matchmaking,” she corrected. “Trust me, I don’t want to be here either, but you have to do something.”
He crossed his arms. “Why do I have to do something?”
“Because they want you to eventually get married.”
What the hell was he supposed to say to that? “I’m not ready yet. Maybe in a few years, but not right now.”
He had too much going on. His businesses were finally at their peaks, and he needed to follow his five-year plan. Work first, then build a family. He wasn’t a romantic, but he wanted the same love his parents had before his father had passed away when he was ten—a secure, loving relationship. Until Max finished building his empire, he’d put off even thinking about a future with the right woman.
Lia’s mouth dropped open. “You actually want to settle down?”
The disgust and shock in her tone irritated him more. Why did that bother her? “Yes, I do. Some day.”
“B-but you’re a bachelor.”
“For now. But what’s wrong with that?” Biting his inner cheek, he drew a deep breath, willing himself to have patience. “There’s nothing wrong with me wanting to settle down and start a family one day,” he said through gritted teeth.
Lia fell back in her seat. “I’m surprised. You’re usually so busy flaunting your money and changing girlfriends.” She frowned. “Maybe you have grown up.”
“And you?”
A frown marred her delicate features. “What?”
“What happened to Steve?”
She stiffened and picked up the menu, her attention on the laminated sheet. “What about him?”
“You ran off with him to the city five years ago, barely making the time to come home.” His fingers flexed. Irritation stormed through him. He had planned to apologize for walking away from her at the party…and possibly ask her on a date. But she’d been angrily packing her bags when he’d stopped at Nanna’s house to see her that last time. She’d turned her scorn on him and dropped the news of her plans to move to the city. With Steve.
She glanced at him over the top of her menu. “It didn’t work out, so I came back. Nothing wrong with that.”
Quelling the urge to reach across the table and shake her, he waved at Bob, who nodded and walked to their table.
“Hey, kids. Long time no see.”
Lia smiled. “Hey, Bob.”
“Where you been, girly?”
She shrugged. “Around. How’s business?”
“Good.” Bob’s gaze scanned the coffee house. “Slow right now, but once class ends for the college kids, they’ll be in here. Heard you opened up a matchmaking service. Must be gettin’ really busy with Valentine’s coming up in a few weeks.”
“Somewhat.”
“What are you two having?” Bob clasped his hands together.
Lisa closed the menu. “I’ll have the white raspberry mocha chai tea.”
“Coffee,” Max said.
“Sure thing.” Bob walked off.
Max waited until the man reached the counter before he asked Lia, “So, what do you propose we do?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He drummed his fingers against the tabletop. “Why’s it so hard to believe that I’d get married one day?”
Lia bit her bottom lip, deepening the color of the flesh from dark pink to red. His hand itched to brush against her mouth, but he clenched his fists.
“You’re Max. You don’t do the whole ‘white house picket fence’ thing,” she said.
His eyebrow rose. “I’m not getting any younger.”
“You go through women like they’re nothing.”
His eyes narrowed. “And who told you that?”
“Oh come on, why do you think Nanna and Grammy Carol came to see me? For fun? They don’t like the women you date, and don’t think you’ll ever get married. Not like you’d give up your lavish lifestyle and date normal women, anyway,” she muttered.
His fingers tightened around the edge of the table. “What are you trying to say?”
“Nothing.” She shrank into her seat. “Look, they just sent me out here to find you a proper date for the party. That’s it. How hard can that be?”
“And you think you can do that?” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “With what? Your magical matchmaking powers? You don’t even know what type of women I date.”
She snorted. “Like that’s so hard to determine? It’s always the same. Tall, skinny, and blond.”
“That’s not true.”
“Right.” Her hand shot out, and she tapped her pinky. “Rina, the model from Vogue.”
He frowned. “We went to school together. She was home that summer from one of her model tours, and sought me out to help with one of her campaigns to keep kids in school.”
She tapped another finger. “Katrina Banks.”
“Her mother was one of the committees I belong to. I helped her with a fundraiser for the needy.”
“Lindsay Forks—she wasn’t a client or a daughter of your business associates.”
“Who?”
Lia let out a light growl. “The blond chick you dated when I was in college. The one who showed up at that party the night we went out to celebrate my graduation.”
No image came to mind, but he would have found it amusing if he didn’t realize that all the women she’d listed were, in fact,
tall, skinny, and blond.
“What do you say now?” she asked.
He ground his teeth. “So I have a thing for blondes. Sue me.”
She hmpfed. “Doubt if we’d changed Lindsay’s hair color it would have mattered. She’s blond inside and out,” she muttered.
Max frowned, trying to recall how long he’d dated this Lindsay. Every woman paled in comparison to Lia. Good thing he could keep himself busy to avoid her now that she was back, but who knew how long she’d stay?
Bob appeared with their drinks before he could retort. The older man set their order on the table, shaking his head. “Play nice. You guys are always arguing when you’re in here. There’s nothing you lovebirds can’t solve.”
Lia gasped. “I’d never, Bob!”
Max laughed at her exasperated expression. Of course the idea was unheard of.
Bob chuckled. “It’s okay. I’ve watched you two since you guys were teenagers. I know when I see a couple in love. Enjoy your drinks.”
Lia glared at her tea as the older man walked off. “That’ll be the day.”
“What?”
She looked up. “Me and you.”
His heart pounded as he leaned across the table. “It wouldn’t work, right?”
Her gaze shot to his. Her breath hitched and her eyes widened. Mesmerized, he watched the slight parting of her lips. Heat traveled down his spine. He could remember her softness pressed against him, her fingers raking through his hair, her mouth parting under his. He shifted in his seat to ease the sudden discomfort.
“Of course it wouldn’t work. It’s me and you. We hate each other.”
Snapping out of it, he picked up his cup. “I don’t hate you.”
“Right, and pigs can climb trees.” Lia stirred her drink before taking a sniff.
Her dainty nose wrinkled as she took a sip. Her pink tongue darted out over her upper lip, and he stifled a groan. Her actions fueled the memories from years ago. “Back to our grandmothers.”
“Oh, yes.” She straightened in her seat. “Here’s my plan. All you have to do is come to my office, fill out the paperwork, and let me set you up on some dates. If the women don’t work out, I’ll tell them I tried, and you can go back to dating whichever bimbo you were seeing before. And life goes on.”
He frowned. “I’m not going to your dating service to set myself up with strange women.”
“Matchmaking agency.”
“Whatever.”
She glared, her lips pursing. He hated that look. “Then what do you propose we do? At least if we try, they’ll get over it and move on.”
“Until the next time they hatch another scheme.” She was right. Grammy, Nanna Maria, and Dina liked to gang up on him and Lia, which was why they stuck together when necessary. “I’m not signing up for a matchmaking service.”
“All right, then fine. You talk to Grammy and Nanna, because you don’t want to pretend to try. They just want you to bring a proper date to the party. That’s it, I swear.” She calmly lifted her cup to her lips.
His eyes narrowed.
“And you can tell them you want to stay a bachelor for life, and that you want to continue dating those blondes and keep disappointing them. Then they’ll probably tell you that they’ll never see the day you settle down, never have great-grandchildren to hold. Then the dramatics are going to start between the two, and you can deal with their sad faces, and you—”
He threw his hands up and glared. “Okay! I’ll be at your office tomorrow.”
Chapter Three
Clutching her coffee in one hand and her briefcase in the other, Lia proceeded up the stairs to her own domain. Max had left her with a sense of victory yesterday, but seeing him again drew forth the emotions she’d long suppressed—first to punch him in the face, then to curl up in his arms. But she held onto her anger instead. It was safer that way.
The years apart had done him good, and made him more handsome. Why couldn’t he have been more flawed, with a scar on his face or something? She’d expected him to have aged a bit, maybe gained a beer belly from all the drinking he’d done back in the day. But no. He’d only become richer and more desirable.
She’d returned to work, thinking about nothing but the warm press of his hand through her coat, as if his palm had burned her lower back when he’d opened the coffee house door for her to enter. That thought had done nothing but dredge up the old kiss—which had haunted her throughout the rest of the day, even when she’d gone home late and eaten a lonely microwave dinner.
And instead of falling into the exhausted slumber she embraced each night after overworking herself, she’d laid in bed formulating ways to torture Max.
Now that he’d agreed to sign up for her matchmaking services, there was nothing wrong with her having a little fun. And to think he couldn’t even remember much about Lindsay Forks. He could barely recall the women he dated, just like those guys who’d dumped her mother and moved onto the next piece of arm candy. She pitied the woman Max ended up taking to the party.
Lost in thought, she set her coffee down on her desk.
“Nice place.”
Lia jumped. Her briefcase fell to the floor as her hands flew to her chest. Max grinned and closed the distance between them.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Her heart pounded.
“Um, hello? You told me to come here to fill out paperwork, remember?” He leaned in toward her, until his mouth was barely an inch from hers.
Her eyes shot to his topaz blue ones, which darkened for the barest second. “What are you doing?”
“You dropped your briefcase.” His eyebrow lifted in question as he picked up her briefcase and set it on her desk, next to her coffee, then moved away. “Why are you so jumpy? Let’s just get this over with so I can go back to work. I don’t have all day.”
Neither did she. But she kept the retort to herself, hung her jacket on the coat rack, and smoothed her hand down her black skirt. She could feel his eyes on her, but she ignored the sensation. Maybe she was imagining things. When she’d first seen him yesterday, she’d noticed his look of appreciation…until he’d realized who she was. Not that she’d changed all that much over the years, besides maturing in her choice of wardrobe and learning what a dumbass she could be when it came to interpreting her own relationships and men.
She could find any client a perfect match, but when it came to herself, she was hopeless. Not that she’d had such a great role model to mirror herself after. Her mother’s choice in men always left her with a broken heart. And it didn’t help that Lia’s ex-best friend stole her fiancé, either.
Max sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk while she made a wide circle to get to her own seat. Her palms felt clammy as she turned on the computer.
“So, where do we start?” he asked, casually crossing his knee over his leg.
“Well, you have to fill out a few questionnaires, then the computer will match you up with a few candidates.”
The screen came to life and Lia maneuvered the mouse over the True Connections database icon. The program opened and she clicked until she landed on the new client form.
“Why a matchmaking service? Why couldn’t you have opened up a normal business like a drycleaner’s or clothing store or something?”
“I love watching people hook up. Maybe it’s from Nanna’s annual Valentine’s Day party or whatever. The idea of playing matchmaker has always been fun.” At least she had the joy of seeing others be happy. Her business was the only success she had.
“Which is why I avoided those parties when I could.”
She grinned. They’d always found ways to disappear when Valentine’s came about, but their grandmothers always wrangled them there. Although she’d thought herself lucky to have missed them for so long, now the idea of attending alone brought a pang to her chest. “That’s because Nanna and Grammy had designs for the both of us. Maybe it’s in my blood, maybe it runs in the family. Besides, our families have always been
romantics.”
He frowned. “If you say so.”
“Okay, except for you. I can’t see you doing anything romantic, anyway.”
“I’m a man. I don’t have time to play games like this.”
“Whatever you say. If I get you a date, then Grammy and Nanna are gonna love me more.”
“And what makes you think they won’t set you up after they think they have me taken care of?”
“I’ll deal with it when it’s my turn.” She’d be alone for the rest of her life, so it didn’t matter. Max drummed his fingers on the desk. She pursed her lips. “What?”
He shrugged. “How long is this going to take?”
She glanced at her watch. “Are you in a hurry? Would you rather forget this whole thing so you can deal with our grandmothers instead?”
He glared, and Lia bit her inner cheek to keep from smirking. Picking up the keyboard, she placed it in front of him and adjusted the screen to face him. “Fill this out.”
He sat up and shifted to the edge of the seat. “What is this bullshit? Favorite food? Color?”
Lia rolled her eyes and pulled her iPad out of her briefcase, then opened her calendar. “Just answer the questions.”
“This better be damn well worth it,” he muttered. He continued to click on the mouse.
“Who knows? Maybe you’ll actually meet someone worthy enough to rock your world.” She brushed the iPad screen with her finger to get to the next week, but something white caught her attention. She glanced over to the drawer to see the edge of the invitation sticking out of the drawer. She pushed at the corner of the ivory cardstock. Focusing on their grandmothers’ mission and seeing Max, she’d almost forgotten about the wedding that should have been hers.
“If anyone finds out I’m here, I’m sure they’ll get a kick out of it. But I do need a date to the charity ball this weekend.”
She recalled Grammy Carol mentioning the event. If she went with him, it would only fuel their grandmothers’ hope to see them together one day. No way. “What kind of charity ball?”
He gave her a quick glance before his eyes returned to the computer screen. “For the Marksmith Foundation. They raise money to help cranky single miserable women like you.”