Once Upon a Matchmaker
Autor:in
Marie Ferrarella
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Prologue
“He’s a good, decent man,” Sheila Barrett said.
The “he” the tall, striking woman referred to was her nephew, the young man she’d taken into her home and raised when her sister and brother-in-law were killed in a car crash.
That had been nearly twenty years ago. Micah Muldare was more like a son than a nephew to her and, like a mother, she worried about him. In her opinion, she had good cause to be worried. He’d all but become an emotional hermit.
“But ever since his wife, Ella, died, he’s become almost driven, throwing himself into his work. If I even try to mention socializing, he tells me he’s too busy.” She pressed her lips together, trying to suppress the wave of sadness welling up within her. “It’s like he’s always trying to outrun the pain.”
Sheila didn’t usually pour out her heart this way, even to a good friend like Maizie Sommers, but at this point, she needed help getting through to her nephew. If anything, the situation was getting worse, not better.
“What about his sons?” Maizie asked. “Didn’t you tell me that he has two little boys? How is he with them?”
Sheila nodded, pausing for a moment to take another sip of the exotic-tasting tea she’d ordered. Maizie, a real estate agent, had suggested that they meet here in this little café to discuss what was bothering her. The problem, it seemed, was right up Maizie’s alley.
In addition to having her own real estate company, Maizie, along with her two lifelong best friends, Theresa Manetti and Cecilia Parnell, dabbled in matchmaking. Initially undertaken just to match up their own single children, they’d come to enjoy such success that now they did it for their friends. Knowing about this sideline, Sheila had come to her, worried about Micah and looking for help.
“Gary and Greg,” Sheila confirmed. “They’re five and four, and he adores them. But the boys are seeing less and less of their father because he’s immersing himself in his career. And it’s not helping,” she confided. “Any of them.”
“Work is never a substitute for a good relationship,” Maizie maintained.
Sheila couldn’t agree more. “The boys need a mother and Micah needs someone to love who loves him back.” She looked at her friend, feeling somewhat uneasy. “I don’t usually meddle in his life—”
“And I’m sure he appreciates that, but sometimes those we love need a little push in the right direction. Nothing wrong with that,” Maizie assured her.
“He’d be really upset if he knew I was even discussing his life like this—”
Maizie flashed the other woman an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry. This’ll all be discretely handled. Let me see what I can do,” Maizie told her. “Mother’s Day is coming up,” she noted, thinking that could somehow be utilized in this case, then promised, “I’ll get back to you before then.”
The wheels in Maizie’s head went into high gear as she began to consider possibilities. Operation Micah Muldare had begun the moment Sheila had sat down at her table.
