A Matchmaker's Challenge

by Teresa Southwick

  “Kelsey didn’t tell you?”

  “No.” She grinned at her daughter. “I’ll have a word with her about that later.”

  He looked down at Courtney and recognized uncertainty and a little bit of anxiety in her eyes. This was skirting fake-dating territory, but nothing succeeded like the truth.

  “Actually, Ava brought us together.” He explained that their first meeting was at the freshman career day event and told them about his Q and A session, when he’d mentioned Make Me a Match. “Ava came into the office to find out about using our dating service for her mother. She had her babysitting money saved up and everything. Courtney came in to pick her up.”

  His mom gave the teen an “aw” look. “That is so darn sweet of you, Ava.”

  “I know, right?” Ava looked at her mom, and there was a “told you so” expression in her eyes. “Would you believe she grounded me?”

  “She’s leaving out a lot,” Courtney said wryly.

  “I figured that.” Flo gave her a knowing look. “I suspect it’s somewhere closer to her heart was in the right place, but execution of the plan crossed some lines.”

  “Exactly,” Courtney said enthusiastically. “Thank you.”

  “I get it. I’m a mother. It isn’t for sissies or pushovers.” Flo beamed at him. “Maybe Ava is a future Make Me a Match employee.”

  “She’s a romantic, for sure,” Courtney said.

  “The important thing is that you met. And Gabriel asked you out.”

  “I did.” He smiled, and Courtney returned it, but he was beginning to recognize the emotion that darkened her eyes. It was guilt. “And here we are.”

  “And we’re so glad you are.” Flo smiled her happy mom smile, then said to her husband, “John, we need to get drinks for everyone.”

  “I’m taking orders,” he said.

  “I’ll give you a hand, Dad.”

  Gabe could see Courtney was relaxing now and helped his father get out glasses and pour. While he was involved with that, Kelsey talked nursing with Courtney. When beverages were distributed, he had a chance to observe his “date.” She was talking about all kinds of things with his sister. His dad was in deep conversation with Ava about high school in general and the football team in particular.

  His mother took a quick inventory of everyone comfortably occupied, then came to stand next to him in the doorway. “She seems very nice, Gabriel.”

  “Ava is a great kid.”

  “I couldn’t agree more, but I was actually talking about her mother.”

  “Yeah, I knew that.”

  She looked at him expectantly, watching and waiting for more but didn’t get it. “You’re going to make me work for this, aren’t you?”

  “That was my plan, yes.”

  “It wasn’t enough I had to deal with the terrible twos and the teen years.” She sighed, but the teasing was there in her eyes. “Do you like her?”

  “Yes.” That was very true.

  “Do you see it getting serious?”

  “It’s still new, Mom.” That was also true, but incomplete. A lie of omission? After Ember, he wasn’t going to lose sleep over it.

  “Are you going to give me anything?”

  “We’re having fun.” Another very true statement.

  “I assume that since you brought her to Sunday dinner, you’re planning to ask her out again.”

  “Yes.” All part of the plan. It was a bonus that he was looking forward to it.

  “Have I told you lately how annoyingly concise you are?”

  “It’s a gift.” He grinned, and she returned it.

  There was a knock on the door, followed by it opening. Childish voices drifted to him, then he heard Mason’s loud “Hello.”

  And Sunday dinner was off and running. Twins Charlie and Sarah ran into the room. After being hugged and kissed by their grandmother, they ran straight to Ava. She went down on their level and smiled at the two of them.

  Before greeting the new arrivals, his mother leaned over and said quietly, “It makes me very happy that you’re going out again.”

  The words hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest. Oddly enough, the emotion he felt wasn’t grief. It was guilt. He’d been so caught up with Courtney and their strategy to deal with the present that he’d given barely a thought to the past. The love he’d lost. The reason he never wanted love again. How could he have done that?

  * * *

  Courtney was having such a good time with the Blackburne family that for a while she forgot it was all fake. After eating salad, spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread and homemade brownies topped with ice cream, she was in the family room with Gabe’s very pregnant sister-in-law, Annie. Her twins were on the floor roughhousing with Ava, and their laughter was hilarious—and contagious. Gabe was standing near the sliding glass door to the backyard with his brothers and father. Flo and Kelsey were in the kitchen finishing the dishes. They flatly refused any help.

  Every few minutes, Gabe would look over at her, and she wondered if they were talking about her. She tried not to care whether or not they liked her but couldn’t quite pull that off.

  “Ava is so good with Charlie and Sarah,” Annie said. “Would it be okay if she comes home with us?”

  Courtney pulled her focus away from the men and concentrated on her own conversation. “She loves kids. Even has her Red Cross advanced childcare certification.”

  “Impressive.” Annie tucked her long blond hair behind her ears, then rested her hands on her pregnant belly. “And it’s a luxury for me to be able to sit back and relax. I usually have to jump up every few minutes and stop them from getting into something they shouldn’t or referee their fights.”

  “I refuse to believe those two adorable, golden-haired angels fight.”

  “Believe it.” Annie laughed. “And being a boy, Charlie is a little huskier than Sarah and takes her toys because he can. We’re working on the concept of sharing right now.”

  “How’s that going?”

  “Could be better.” She sighed. “And when this new baby comes, it’s anyone’s guess how that will go over.”

  “It’s normal for them to have a reaction. Think about it. Some little intruder is going to steal their mom away. They’ll probably act out for attention, but it will pass.”

  Annie’s expression turned playfully serious. “I wasn’t kidding about taking Ava home with me.”

  “Maybe after the baby is born she could come over from time to time and help out so you can give the twins your undivided attention for a while.”

  “That’s a great idea. And I’m happy to pay her.”

  “I’ll talk to her about it.” A squeal of laughter from the little guy her daughter was tickling made her smile. “And just think, that would give her more disposable income for hiring a matchmaker for me.”

  “That story is priceless,” Annie said.

  And the reason she was here with Gabe. The reminder that this wasn’t real hit her hard. When they “broke up,” there was a good chance his sister-in-law wouldn’t want his ex’s daughter babysitting. These people were so awesome, and she was deceiving them. What a horrible person she was!

  At that moment, Gabe walked over and held out his hand to her. “Annie, mind if I steal Courtney away for a little while? I want to show her the backyard.”

  “Is that what you two crazy kids are calling alone time these days?” There was a suggestive tone in her voice, and she winked. “Enjoy the ‘tour,’ Courtney.”

  “Thanks.”

  She put her hand in his and let him pull her up. His palm was wide, warm and strong, and for some reason that made her heart flutter. They walked outside, and before the door closed, there were catcalls and whistles from the boys and sharp warnings from the girls for them to stop being jerks.

  Gabe led her to the edge of the cove
red patio trimmed in brick. He pretended to point out shrubs and flowers that ringed the grass. His arm was casually around her waist and shouldn’t feel nice, but it really did.

  “I thought we should debrief on how the operation is going so far,” he said. “When you were talking to Annie just now, you got a funny look on your face. Are you okay?”

  “I was nervous at first,” she admitted. “And on my guard.”

  “I noticed,” he said wryly. “Probably that worked in our favor. They’ll no doubt figure that you were tense because you like me and wanted to make a good impression.”

  There was some truth to that, although she could barely admit it to herself, let alone him. “Speaking of impressions, when we first got here, you were talking to your mom and got a look on your face, sort of sad but angry at the same time. What did she say?”

  His mouth pulled tight for a moment, and it seemed as if he wasn’t going to answer. Finally, he said, “She said she was glad that I was going out again. That made me realize you’re the first woman I’ve brought home to meet the family since my wife died.”

  “Oh, Gabe—” She felt an overwhelming urge to comfort and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. Now I feel even more awful.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s the whole reason we’re doing this. To get your family past the firsts and off your back. I’ve been following your lead, answering questions with the truth—how we met, we’re new, not serious. But I let my guard down because they’re so nice. Then Annie said something about Ava paying for a matchmaker, and I remembered that I’m playing a part. The idea of faking them out was much easier before meeting everyone. I like them a lot. They’re really good people.”

  “I know.”

  “But do you?” She stepped away and faced him. It was too hard to say this with his body touching hers. “I don’t know if you can really appreciate them and how lucky you are that they care so much. But I do.”

  “Of course I value them.”

  “Really?” She shook her head. “I was seventeen and pregnant, and my parents’ already failing marriage crumbled. Neither of them wanted me or the ‘brat’ I was carrying.”

  “They probably said that in anger. One of them changed their mind?”

  “No.”

  He sighed. “It’s just really hard for me to believe that they would completely cut off their daughter.”

  “That’s because you were fortunate enough to be born into your family and they wouldn’t treat one of their own that way.” The scary, painful memories scrolled through her mind. “I couch surfed and stayed in shelters. After Ava was born, I reached out to my parents, but they didn’t want anything to do with us. We have no contact with them. One of the hospital nurses gave me a room. She lived alone and helped me with Ava while I finished high school. She encouraged me to go to college, too, and I worked part-time jobs. She was kind and generous, everything my family should have been. I went into a nursing program because of her.”

  “Wow, I’m sorry you had to go through that.” He looked really angry.

  “It is what it is. I don’t think about them much anymore. My point is that your family would never have abandoned you like that. They accepted me because they think I’m with you. It makes me feel terrible being here under false pretenses.”

  “I know better than anyone how great they are, but they’re not perfect. This is the first enjoyable Sunday dinner I’ve had in a long time, because I got to choose the woman I sat beside.”

  “You’re welcome.” She gave him a small smile.

  “I love them very much, but their interference is making me nuts. It has to stop.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “And really, this was the hardest part. It’s all downhill from here.”

  “Oh? And where do we go from here?” she asked.

  “Just like we agreed. We convince them we really care about each other so when we ‘break up’ they will all believe I need time and space to get over you.”

  “Then they’ll just start trying to fix you up again.”

  “But by then Make Me a Match should be earning a comfortable profit for my aunt. Her retirement will be secure, and my mother can rest easy that her sister will be fine in her golden years.”

  “What will you do then? Will you stay with the company?” she asked.

  “One of the reasons I agreed to help my aunt was to give myself time to figure out what I wanted. So I’ve been thinking about it.”

  “And?” she prodded.

  “By the time Make Me a Match is out of the woods, I’ll be close to making a decision about starting my own company out of state. Too far away for the Blackburne family to interfere in my life.”

  That surprised her more than a little. “You’re going to leave?”

  “I’m a nomad. When I was contracting my services to pull companies out of the cellar, moving around was what we—” He stopped and blew out a breath before meeting her gaze again. “I moved all over the country. My plan always was to stop freelancing and start my own business. In the back of my mind, I was continuously looking for the best place to locate my headquarters.”

  Well, shoot. Courtney realized she didn’t really know him that well, and already what he’d just revealed made a little bit of a dent in her heart. The information shouldn’t even be a blip on her emotional monitor, but the revelation definitely produced a spike. His future plans shouldn’t matter because they wouldn’t be together even if he was still living in Huntington Hills.

  That thought made her inquire about something. “I’m curious, though. Obviously your family is thrilled that you’re here. You love them,” she said. “So, if you can put your company’s head office anywhere, why not open it here in town? The industrial center is expanding. Seems to me that would be a win-win.”

  “What part of ‘they are too involved in my personal life’ did you not understand?”

  “Don’t you want to stay here?” She tilted her head and looked up at him. “Think about it. Seems to me the worst that could happen is after we ‘break up’—” She added air quotes. “—you could just find another fake date partner.”

  “I don’t know—” He stopped when something in the house caught his attention.

  “What?” She looked over and could see most of the Blackburnes standing by the sliding glass door. They were talking and looking out the window. “Are they spying on us?”

  “And family interference strikes again. Now do you get it? Just a little?” His expression was apologetic. “They assumed I brought you out here to be alone. And kiss you.”

  “Maybe they’re just hoping?” she suggested. Her cheeks felt hot, and her heart started to pound. “Because we did both tell them we were taking things slow.”

  “What can I say?” He shrugged. “The thing is, our plan was to really sell us as a dating couple.”

  “And in that context, a kiss would probably be acceptable. Even with the parameters of taking it slow.”

  “Even expected,” he said. “There’s an expression... Show, don’t tell.”

  “Actions speak louder than words.” She nodded.

  “Are you okay with it?”

  Her bubbling hormones were saying bring it on. She was more than okay. “Yes. You?”

  “Yeah.” Was it her imagination that there was eagerness in his voice?

  “Then we should probably show them,” she said a little breathlessly.

  He reached for her hand and pulled her closer, although their bodies didn’t touch. “Here goes.”

  Courtney took that as her cue and quickly leaned forward at the same time he did. Their foreheads banged together.

  “Ouch.” She reached a hand up to rub her head.

  “Sorry. You okay?”

  “Fine. I’m not always that clumsy.” But she was that embarrassed.

  “My fault,
” he said. “Guess I’m off my game.”

  She met his gaze and couldn’t help smiling. “I guess we really showed them.”

  “Maybe they didn’t notice.”

  “And maybe I’ll click my heels three times and you won’t have to drive me home,” she teased.

  “Yeah. You’re right. I’m pretty sure Dominic gave me a thumbs-down. It’s official. There’s no salvaging that, and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “I guess our technique needs work,” she said.

  “It does if we’re really going to make believers out of them.” He was still holding her hand and brought it to his lips for a brief kiss. “So I propose a solution. Friday night, dinner and kissing class.”

  “It’s a ‘date.’”

  Chapter Eight

  During her first dinner with Gabe, Courtney had been nervous because she’d never fake dated before. Sunday with the Blackburnes didn’t count because she wasn’t alone with him. Although her hand still tingled where he’d kissed it. But now it was Friday night and she was in a restaurant, sitting across the table from him. The place was wood beams, white tablecloths and candles. Just elegant enough to be sophisticated, yet comfortable and cozy. Except after this part there would be “kissing class.” What did that mean? And how could she so casually have answered “It’s a date”? It was casual and easy because she’d air quoted it.

  He hadn’t yet said anything about tonight’s goal. Maybe he’d forgotten about the whole thing.

  They’d already ordered drinks and given their food choices to the server, so now it was time to fill the silence with innocuous conversation.

  “How was your week?” she asked.

  “Good. Our advertising efforts are continuing to pay off. We had a lot of new clients. It’s been busy.” He took a drink of his beer. “How was yours?”

  “Also busy. And not in a good way like you.”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “When you’re busy, it’s because people are sick.”

  “I was glad to have the last couple days off,” she admitted.

  “And tonight you don’t have to cook. That’s nice, right?”