Captivated by the Tycoon (The Whittakers #4)(11)
Author: Anna DePalo

She cleared her throat. “Yes. Yes, I have some wonderful matches.”

“Great.”

He heard some clicking noises in the background and assumed she was searching for the right documents on her computer.

“I have a fabulous client named Melanie,” she said, her voice all business. “She’s a model and actress—”

“No actresses.”

“Why not?”

“Hollywood types are too self-involved.”

“But Melanie is a classically trained actress,” Lauren argued. “She does theater. Her mother is on the board of directors of MassachusettsYouth Theater.”

“Too artsy for me.”

It all sounded great on paper, but somehow as Lauren described a woman he’d never even met, he found he couldn’t work up any enthusiasm.

There was a pause on the line before Lauren said, “Okay, moving right along. Valerie is a wonderful woman who also happens to be a management consultant at Bain & Co.”

“No way.” Here he was on more familiar territory, and he had no trouble cutting her off.

“What? Why?” Lauren sounded startled. “Valerie’s a career go-getter, but she also loves sports and the outdoors. She happens to be a big hockey fan, and I know you played in college.”

“Great,” he responded, “because the only time we’ll be able to catch a game is on TV at the airport. Management consultants do some serious traveling. We’ll never even be able to schedule a date.”

“Okaaay.” Lauren’s tone moved from reasonable to crisp. “Next we have Bethany—”

He came to a halt. “Bethany Collingsworth?”

“Yes. How did you guess?”

“How many women named Bethany do you know?” he asked mockingly. “So, is she a paying client, or just someone you’re acquainted with?”

“Why are you interested?” she countered.

“I’m not, but I’ll take it from your evasive answer she’s a paying client.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She’s looking for a rich husband.”

“But she’s a trust fund baby,” she retorted skeptically.

“And said trust fund is about to see its limit.”

“What?” Lauren’s voice sounded exasperated over the telephone. “How do you know that?”

“I never reveal my sources.”

Boston’s upper echelons constituted a small world, and even he’d heard about Bethany “What Are You Worth?” Collingsworth, not the least because of her unsuccessful attempt to land his brother Noah not too long before his marriage.

Lauren sighed. “You’re going to have to give me some time to come up with more names.”

He could tell from her tone of voice that she felt like throttling him, and he fought a smile. “Take heart, sweetness. Everyone has to deal with the fact that the client is always right, including me.”

“Easy for you to say,” she replied. “You’re the client in this situation.”

A laugh escaped him. “Lucky me.”

“I’m going to give the speech I usually give here about staying flexible and keeping an open mind.”

“Another lesson?” he mocked. “When do we start?”

“Not this weekend. I’m busy.”

He felt an unwelcome stab of jealousy. Was she seeing someone? She’d said she wasn’t looking for anyone right now, but she could have a date from time to time.

“Business or pleasure?” he asked casually.

He could sense her hesitation before she said, “A little of both.”

“The mystery deepens,” he said probingly.

She sighed. “Well, if you must know, I volunteer at a retirement community.”

“As a matchmaker?” he asked in surprise.

“Love is for the young at heart.”

“Apparently.”

“Now who’s being cynical?” she said. “Actually, I’m attending the wedding of a couple I introduced. The groom is seventy-seven, and the bride is seventy-five. They’re both widowed, and they’re having a party for some friends and family.”

Something in the tone of her voice—a hint of vulnerability?—made him soften. “When’s the big occasion?”

“Late Sunday afternoon.”

He knew what he was going to say next, though he realized it wasn’t his wisest move. “Do you have a date?”

She gave a dismissive laugh. “Yes, my car, which is taking me there.”

“Trade up.” He kept his tone casual. “I know a macho Lexus SUV that’s looking for a good time.”

“I—”

“Consider it part of the job of reforming me,” he said before she could decline. “Otherwise, I’d be working.”

There was a pause. “Well…I suppose it would do you some good to see an example of true love in action.”

He felt the release of tension he hadn’t known he’d been holding. “When do I pick you up?”

It was déjà vu, Lauren thought.

The last time she’d been in a church with Matthew Whittaker, she’d been dressed in ivory satin, ready to marry another man.

When she’d agreed to have Matt accompany her today, she hadn’t been thinking about how it would conjure up feelings that had lain dormant for years. She’d been thinking only about exposing Matt to romance in its purest form.

Purely for the sake of improving his attractiveness to women, she told herself. Herself excluded.

She stole a look at him now, sitting beside her in the pew of the small chapel that served the Pine Hill retirement community. He looked austere yet heart- stoppingly handsome in a charcoal-gray pinstripe suit and pale blue-and-yellow tie.

Her pulse jumped.

She’d been nervous all day, waiting for the moment when Matt would arrive to pick her up in his car, trying to decide what to wear.

She’d eventually selected a powder-blue, midcalf- length chiffon dress with sheer sleeves and a sheer overlay on the bodice. It was one of her favorite outfits because of its unabashed nod to fantasy, and she’d worn it to a trio of weddings already.

Still, she’d been skittish when she’d greeted Matt—that is, until she’d seen the look of pure hunger in his eyes before he’d banked it.

Matt stopped looking around and leaned toward her. “I’m impressed. This place is like a small village. Who was the developer?”