upscale Boston restaurant on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Soft jazz music filled the air, accented by the rise and fall of a dozen human voices.
A blush filled Helen’s cheeks, making her look ten years younger. She had her chestnut hair up tonight, which elongated her neck and offset her deep green eyes. The dark blue dress she’d worn skimmed her calves, and defined the hourglass shape she’d maintained all her life, even after giving birth to three children. Coupled with the light in her eyes and the smile on her face, Helen looked prettier than ever, and far younger than her fifty-eight years.
“Yes, you were right, daughter dear,” Helen whispered back. “How’d I get such a smart child?”
“You gave me great genes.” Marnie glanced over the room. Cozy and intimate, the private dining space offered a prime location, great parking and an outstanding menu, making it perfect for Matchmaking by Marnie meet and greets. In her experience, full and happy stomachs equaled happy people who then struck up conversations.
Today, she’d invited ten bachelors to meet her mother, and set up a buffet of finger foods on the far right side of the room. While they noshed on chicken satay and mini eggrolls, Helen circulated. Three days ago, when Marnie and Erica had proposed the idea of a mixer to Helen, she’d refused, insisting she didn’t need to be fixed up, and didn’t want to be, but after a while, she’d relented and agreed to “put in an appearance.”
That appearance had lasted more than an hour now. Once the first man talked to Helen, and two more joined the conversation, Marnie had watched her mother transform into a giggling schoolgirl, flattered by all the sudden attention. Marnie made sure each bachelor got equal time, then stepped back and allowed the pieces to fall where they may. She’d paved the way, then let Mother Nature finish giving directions.
“So,” Marnie said, leaning in closer so they wouldn’t be overheard, “is there one man in particular who you like the most?”
Pink bloomed in Helen’s cheeks. “Do you see the one standing by the bar?”
“The tall man with the gray hair?” Marnie and Erica had interviewed so many eligible gentlemen in the fifty-to sixty-plus age range that some of them had become a bit of a blur. She didn’t remember the details of this man, only that he had impressed her during the group interviews.
“His name’s Dan. He’s retired from his landscaping business, hates to golf, but loves to watch old movies.” Her mother grinned, and in that smile, Marnie could see the energy of a new relationship already blossoming. “And, you’ll never guess what his favorite movie is.”
Marnie put a finger to her lip. “Hmm…Casablanca?”
Helen nodded. “Just like me. We like the same kind of wine, the same kind of music, and both of us love to travel.”
“Sounds like a match made in heaven.” Marnie grinned. “Or a match made by a daughter who knows her mother very well.”
Helen chuckled. “Well, I wouldn’t say it’s a perfect match…yet, but it’s got potential. Big potential. Now, if only we could find someone for you.” Helen brushed a lock of hair off Marnie’s forehead. “You deserve to be happy, sweetheart.”
“I am happy.” And she was, Marnie told herself. She had a business she loved, a purpose to her life, and a family that might annoy her sometimes, but had always been her personal rock. She gave her mother a quick hug, then headed for the front of the room, waiting until everyone’s attention swiveled toward her before speaking. She noticed Dan’s gaze remained on her mother, while Helen snuck quick glances back in his direction, like two teenagers at a football game.
“I wanted to thank you all for coming today, and if you weren’t lucky enough to be chosen by our amazing and beautiful bachelorette,” Marnie gestured toward her mother, who waved off the compliment, “don’t worry. My goal at Matchmaking by Marnie is to give everyone a happy ending. So work with me, and I promise, I’ll help you find your perfect match.”
The bachelors thanked her, and began to file out of the room. Dan lingered, chatting with Marnie’s mother. She laughed and flirted, seeming like an entirely different person, the person she used to be years and years ago. Marnie sent up a silent prayer of gratitude. Her mother had been lonely for a long time, and it was nice to see her happy again.
The waitstaff began taking away the dishes and cleaning the tables. Marnie gathered her purse and jacket, then touched her mother on the arm. “I’m going to get going, Ma. Call me later, okay?”
Her mother promised, then returned her attention to Dan. The two of them were still chatting when Marnie headed out of the restaurant. She stood by the valet counter, waiting for the valet to return with her car, when a black sports car pulled up to the station. The passenger’s side window slid down. “You’re like a bad penny, turning up everywhere I go.”
The voice took a second to register in her mind. It had been a couple weeks since she’d last heard that deep baritone, and in the busy-ness of working twenty-hour days, she’d nearly forgotten the encounter.
Almost.
Late at night, when she was alone and the day had gone quiet, her mind would wander and she’d wonder what might have happened if he’d been someone other than Jack Knight and she’d agreed to that cup of coffee. Then she would jerk herself back to reality.
Jack Knight was the worst kind of corporate vermin—and the last kind of man she should be thinking about late at night, or any time. Of all the people in the city of Boston, how did she end up running into him twice?
She bent down and peered inside the car. Jack grinned back at her. He had a hell of a smile, she’d give him that. The kind of smile that charmed and tempted, all at once. Yeah, like a snake. “Speaking of bad pennies,” she said, “what are you doing here?”
“Picking up my father.” His head disappeared from view, and a moment later, he had stepped out of the car and crossed to her. He had on khakis and a pale blue button-down shirt, the wrinkled bottom slightly untucked, the top two buttons undone, as if he was just knocking off after putting in a full day of work, even on a Saturday. He looked sexy, approachable. If she ignored his name and his job, that was.
She didn’t want to like him, didn’t want to find his smile alluring or his eyes intriguing. He was a Knight, and she needed to remember that. She was about to say goodbye and end the conversation before it really had a chance to start, when the restaurant door opened and her mother and Dan stepped onto the sidewalk.
“Marnie, you’re still here?” Helen said.
“Jack, you’re here early,” Dan said.
The pieces clicked together in Marnie’s mind. The timing of Jack’s arrival. Picking up my father, he’d said.
She glanced from one man to the other, and prayed she was wrong. “Dan’s your father?” she said to Jack, then spun back to Dan. “But…but your last name is Simpson.”
Dan grinned. “Guilty as charged. I’m this trouble-maker’s stepfather.” He draped a loving arm around Jack and gave him a quick hug.
“You know Dan’s son?” Helen asked Marnie. “You never told me that.”
“I didn’t know until just now. And, Ma, I think you should know that Jack…” Marnie started to tell her mother the rest, the truth about who Jack was, but she watched
