A Matchmaker's Challenge
Autore
Teresa Southwick
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Chapter One
Courtney Davidson was late for high school, which hadn’t ever happened to her even when she was a student. On top of that she was nervous—not a good look for a career-focused talk in her daughter’s freshman homeroom class. The point of this whole exercise was to fire up the kids in their first year, motivate them to study hard and keep their grades up, in order to achieve every hope, dream, goal.
She planned to spotlight college and her nursing career, not the part of her own life where she got pregnant at sixteen. Sometimes it still boggled her mind that she was pushing thirty and had a kid in high school. She was trying to be someone the students looked up to, and being late wasn’t what a role model was supposed to do.
After parking in the visitors’ lot, Courtney ran to the designated room. In the hallway she saw two men—one fiftyish, the other in his thirties. They were standing just outside, one on either side of the door. She stopped by the younger man and leaned around him to peek inside. The teacher stood in front of the class explaining the purpose of this presentation.
“Thank goodness I’m not too late,” she said to no one in particular. “I’ve got a minute to catch my breath.” And scope out the two dads who had showed up.
The older guy in a suit and tie was standing on the far side of the doorway. He had index cards and was studying them. Courtney stood next to the other one, who was wearing tailored jeans with a white dress shirt and blazer, the walking definition of casual professional and drop-dead gorgeous. He had dark hair and a tall, lean, muscular body. His fashion vibe made her wish her scrubs were trendy instead of practical, functional and sensible.
Mr. Fashion Forward looked down at her, and crystal-blue eyes gleamed with curiosity, intelligence and a tiny bit of amusement. “Did you get hung up at work?”
His quiet, deep voice seemed to graze her skin and release tingles that touched her everywhere. She had an odd and unfamiliar urge to flirt. That was weird, because she was philosophically opposed to flirting.
“One of my patients coded,” she said.
“You’re a nurse.”
“What gave me away?”
He shrugged. “The scrubs were a clue.”
“Yeah.” She glanced ruefully at her shapeless pants and top. “It’s official. I get to wear pajamas to work.”
“Not a bad thing.” As he inspected her, his extraordinary eyes flickered with something, but it disappeared too quickly to identify. “And the patient?”
“The team got him back. He’s stable. I work in the cardiac observation unit at Huntington Hills Memorial Hospital. We were prepared.”
“My brother and sister work there. Mason is an ER doctor, and Kelsey is a nurse in the same department.” When Courtney stared blankly, he added, “The last name is Blackburne.”
She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “The name sounds familiar, but it’s a big place. Doctors and staff from different departments don’t overlap much.”
“Seriously? You don’t know everyone who works in a four-hundred-bed hospital?”
She laughed at his teasing. “I know. Slacker is my middle name. Any day I’ll get a stern talking-to about that.”
“As well you should.”
Was he flirting? The problem with not doing it herself was that she didn’t recognize the behavior in someone else.
Courtney had been half listening to the teacher inside and heard when the woman finished her opening remarks. She introduced the man with the index cards.
“Here we go.” The other man smiled at them before walking inside to the front of the classroom.
Courtney had been told each of them would have ten minutes. Thank goodness she wasn’t first, but she was next, and a knot tightened in her stomach.
“Are you all right?”
She looked up at the emergency room doctor’s brother. “I might throw up.”
“You face life-and-death situations at work all the time, and just a guess, but I bet you see blood and guts on a regular basis.”
“And your point is?” she said.
“It’s hard to believe public speaking makes you want to throw up.”
“They’re teenagers, Mr. Blackburne.”
“Right. So the speech content bar isn’t actually very high,” he pointed out. “A healthy percentage of them are going to tune you out and possibly figure out a way to sleep sitting up. It’s not personal. They’re kids. And the name is Gabriel—Gabe.”
“For me the bar is very high, because my daughter is in this class.”
His dark eyebrows lifted in surprise. “You’re not old enough to have a student in high school.”
“I got an early start.” This happened all the time, so her teenage humiliation had disappeared a long time ago. Now she was a proud mom. She pointed out Ava. “She’s sitting in that row by the windows, in the last desk. The one with long, straight, light brown hair who’s hunching down and trying to pretend she has no biological connection to me.”
He laughed. “That’s normal. She’ll get over it.”
“Easy for you to say. Or maybe not.” She scanned the rows of students looking for a boy or girl with dark hair the same shade as his. “Which child is yours?”
“None of them. I don’t have any children.” All traces of amusement vanished as his expression hardened into an emotionless mask.
She’d hit a nerve. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. Or to assume anything.”
“It’s a natural assumption.” The tension in his jaw eased slightly. “I was married, but my wife died.”
She was momentarily shocked into silence, then said what everyone did, because “that really sucks” didn’t seem appropriate. “I’m sorry.”
He didn’t respond at all, not even with the usual “thank you,” which meant something. She just wasn’t sure what. The other speaker droned on in the classroom, so she barreled ahead to fill the awkward silence. And probably made it more awkward.
“So why are you here to speak if you don’t have a student in the class?” she asked. “No one does this voluntarily.”
“I actually do volunteer here at the high school as a math tutor. My best friend is a teacher here at Huntington Hills High—supervisor in the department—and asked me if I could spare some time.”
“And apparently you could.”
“Yeah. I’m pretty good in math, and I like working with the kids. The downside is that it made me handy when someone flaked out on this career thing at the last minute.” He slid his fingers into the pockets of his jeans.
“That’s very nice of you. Besides being good in math, what else do you do?”
“I’m a businessman, a corporate turnaround consultant. I patch up failing companies. When your job is fixing things, you have to look at why they’re broken, and I’ve picked up a few strategies to prevent problems before they happen.”
“Right.” She nodded.
“And these kids are starting their education, the part where a certain amount of pressure kicks in. Getting good grades for acceptance to top colleges. If the seeds of wisdom fall on fertile ground, their high school experience will be more successful.”
“Exactly,” she agreed. Lukewarm applause from the classroom trickled out into the hall. “Doesn’t sound like very fertile ground in there. Tough crowd.”
The unenthusiastic response made her want to throw up again. Then the fiftyish man walked out the door, looking relieved that the ordeal was over. He wished her and Gabe good luck then walked quickly toward the exit sign at the end of the hall.
“It’s going to be fine,” Gabe told her in a calm and reassuring tone.
“Yeah?” Courtney desperately wanted to believe him.
“I’m told after the first ten minutes you completely relax and the nerves go away.”
“I only have ten minutes,” she said wryly. The teacher was talking again, introducing her. “I just don’t want to embarrass my daughter.”
“You won’t,” he said confidently. “And if you do, there’s always the witness protection program.”
Incredibly, that made her laugh. “Seriously, Gabe, it was nice to meet you. Thanks for distracting me. If you’re ever in the cardiac unit, I’ll take good care of your heart.”
“And who should I ask for? You never told me your name,” he added.
“Courtney Davidson.” Inside the classroom, the teacher said her name at almost exactly the same time. “Gotta go.”
“Break a leg.”
Just before she turned to leave, he gave her a thumbs-up gesture, and she smiled. Was it flirty? She hoped not and tried not to be. Ever. It could make a man think she was interested when she wasn’t. She was a happily single woman trying to be the best mom possible.
And in that spirit, she gave her talk without mentioning Ava or even looking at her. She focused on the benefits of just showing up, doing the work and asking for help when, and if, you needed it. A good GPA was essential to get into the best nursing programs, and careers in the health-care field were both personally rewarding as well as a way to earn a living.
When she finished speaking, there was lively applause, which made her happy. Ava had ducked down behind the boy in front of her, so there was no way to judge her daughter’s reaction. At least the other kids probably wouldn’t tease her about her mom being lame and uncool. In the back of the classroom, Gabe Blackburne was clapping, too.
Courtney thanked the teacher, waved goodbye to the class and headed to the back of the room, where he was standing. “Whew, that happened.”
“You were great. They loved it. No one snored, looked bored or sneaked a look at their cell phone. But, then, you look like you could be in high school yourself.”
“I hope none of these kids have to grow up as fast as I did.” She met his gaze. “Again, thanks for the moral support. So, I have to get back to the hospital.”
“Nice to meet you, Courtney.”
“Wish I could stay for your talk.”
“Ask your daughter later,” he suggested.
“I will. ’Bye, Gabe.”
As she walked back to the parking lot, Courtney realized how very much she wanted to stay and hear what he had to say. He seemed really interesting. And she wasn’t blind—there was no denying his hotness. Based on this reaction, it was probably fortunate that she had to go back to work. Saved from a potentially weak moment that she would no doubt come to regret. She’d been a two-time loser and wouldn’t take a chance on third time being the charm. It could also be third strike and you’re out.
Gabriel Blackburne had lost the love of his life. He wanted nothing to do with love ever again and found it painfully ironic that his current business turnaround assignment was a matchmaking company. If it hadn’t been owned by his aunt, who had invested every cent of her retirement into buying Make Me a Match, he would have turned the job down flat. But Lillian Gordon was like a second mother to him.
When his own mother was on doctor-ordered bed rest during her fourth pregnancy, his aunt had stepped in and took a special and loving interest in her quiet nephew, who grew even more withdrawn during the family emergency. She’d kept him from disappearing, and he was grateful. He would do his very best to make sure that her company succeeded and she had a comfortable retirement—if she ever chose to stop working.
And speaking of love, it wasn’t just clients finding it. His aunt’s personal assistant/receptionist was flashing an engagement ring. Carla Kellerman, a petite, outspoken redhead, was in the boss’s office right now showing off her rock when Gabe walked in.
“Hey, Aunt Lil. Carla, I hear congratulations are in order. Who’s the lucky guy? You didn’t go out with one of our clients, did you? That would violate company policy.”
“Of course she wouldn’t do that.” His aunt was in her early sixties, and her shoulder-length hair was silver and curly. Her voice was one part gravel and two parts smoothie. “If you paid more attention, Gabriel, you would know that Carla met Steve at a bar.”
“Ouch,” Carla said. “That doesn’t sound a whole lot better than poaching from the client pool. However, it’s essentially true. It was ladies’ night at Patrick’s Pub, and the rest is history.”
“So romantic.” Lillian sighed and leaned back in her high-back leather desk chair. “I’m a sucker for romance. Whatever it takes to bring two people together.”
And that was why he’d come into her office for a chat. “Aunt Lil, you’re not an amateur matchmaker setting up your friends anymore. You bought this business, and by definition that means you need to make a profit.”
She smiled fondly at him. “That’s why I brought you in, dear.”
She wasn’t wrong about that, Gabe thought. He’d come home a year ago when she called him with a 9-1-1, a business emergency. She was in financial trouble and needed his expertise. If anything about the situation was at all positive, it was the timing. He’d just completed a contract, had nothing lined up yet and looked at this interlude as a good excuse to push the pause button while he figured out what his next career move would be. But he sincerely wished his aunt was selling pork rinds instead of romance. It was hard to work up enthusiasm when he didn’t believe in the product for himself. Not again.
“I am here to help, and things are heading in the right direction,” he said. “But you have to stop giving away the farm.”
“This is about Tanya and Jeff, I bet.” Carla sighed. “They had a lovely and dreamy first date at Le Chene. Ooh la la. Things are looking promising with those two.”
“The same effect could have been achieved if we set up a lovely, dreamy meet for coffee. And far less expensive.” Both women stared pityingly at him, but he wasn’t budging on this. “We pay for first dates. That promotion along with our advertising and social media presence are bringing in clients and improving the revenue stream, but if you keep giving away costly first dates, there won’t be a profit.”
“Gabriel—”
“Don’t Gabriel me, Aunt Lil.” He rested a hip on the corner of her desk. “You brought me here to help. You asked for my expertise and advice. If you’re not going to take it to heart, pun intended, I can’t help you.”
“Of course you’re right,” she said. “It’s just, I do love creating an intimate and romantic setting, and that doesn’t come cheap. It’s hard for me to put budget over bliss and finding the one.”
“It is pretty fantastic to meet your soul mate,” Carla gushed.
Gabe knew exactly how fantastic it was. Margo had been everything to him, and he hadn’t given her everything in return. There was one thing she’d wanted, and he’d put her off. Then she died, and he knew exactly how much it hurt to lose his everything. It was a once-in-a-lifetime love, and that meant no more romance for him. Unfortunately, now his job had him knee deep in romance for others to find what he would never have again.
“Why don’t we research some first-date venues that are fun and lower cost?” he suggested. “The Le Chene experience could be a special promotional event to attract clients. A judiciously dangled carrot.”
“Patrick’s Pub is a great place,” Carla said. “It fits your criteria, and I have to say, when I saw Steve, that was that. We could have been anywhere.”
“Excellent idea,” his aunt agreed.
“Okay.”
Carla looked at her watch, then met his aunt’s gaze. “Remember you said it was all right for me to leave a little early? We want a short engagement, which means flowers and vows soon. I have to shop for a wedding gown.”
“Of course. Not a problem, dear.” Lil waved a hand, a shooing-her-out-the-door motion, and Carla headed that way. “Gabriel and I will take care of things here.”
“Thank you both.” The young woman disappeared through the doorway, but her voice floated back to them. “See you in the morning.”
When they were alone, he gave his aunt a look. “You’re too nice. People will take advantage.”
“Carla is a devoted employee because I’m a very generous boss. You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar, Gabriel.”
“Okay.” He couldn’t dispute that, but he was going to watch out for her just the same. “You are in charge.”
“And don’t you forget it,” she teased. “Oh, by the way, how did your talk at the high school go?”
“Good.” Instantly an image of Courtney Davidson popped into his mind. Mom, nurse and really pretty. A favor for his friend had turned out to be more interesting than he’d expected. “The kids were polite. And asked a lot of questions.” Especially Courtney’s daughter.
“I’m glad to see you involved in the community. A very positive sign,” his aunt said. “Would you mind manning the reception desk in Carla’s absence? We don’t have any appointments on the books, but just in case someone drops in, I think a Make Me a Match representative should be there. And I have some phone calls to return.”
“I’m just working on spreadsheets, so doing that at her computer isn’t a problem.”
“Thank you, dear. In case I don’t tell you enough, it means so much to me to have you here. And I’ll try to restrain my romantic streak.”
“No, you won’t.” He moved away from the desk and headed for the door. “And I wouldn’t want you to. You’re the heart and soul of this business, and with your personal touch and excellent instincts about people, you are going to be very successful.”
“Right on, as they say.” She grinned, then picked up the phone and said, “Shoo.”
“And that’s my cue.” He left and closed her door before heading down the hall that led to the reception area.
Carla’s desk was neat as a pin, thank God. He sat in front of her computer and logged on. After pulling up the files, he started to go over the monthly data, tracking revenue trends and client numbers.
It had been an adjustment working at a family-owned business. Normally his role while under contract was to advise existing management without taking an operational responsibility within the company. Here at Make Me a Match, things were different. And now he was the receptionist.
Make Me a Match occupied the top floor of a building centrally located in a Huntington Hills business park. There were two offices, a large conference area and a break room with a refrigerator and coffeepot. It was tastefully decorated with a mixture of cozy floral love seats and leather chairs. Pictures of couples walking on the beach or strolling cobblestone streets hung on the walls.
The building’s elevator opened right into the reception area, and he was surprised when it stopped. Aunt Lil had said there were no appointments and drop-ins were unusual, but it seemed he was getting lucky. Contrary to what his family thought, he could be charming when he wanted to be. An opportunity to shake the rust off that skill seemed to be presenting itself.
When the doors opened, a young teenage girl got out and walked up to the desk. He recognized her from his high school talk earlier that day. She was the one who’d asked a lot of questions and pried out of him that he worked at Make Me a Match. Her mom was the pretty nurse he’d enjoyed talking to. He knew that because Courtney had pointed her out, and she had her mom’s dimples.
Gabe wasn’t sure charm was part of the skill set he was going to need, though. “Can I help you?”
She was putting on a confident face, but the nerves showed. Just like her mom. “I’m here to fill out a dating profile.”
“How old are you?”
“Fourteen.”
That’s what he’d figured. That class was all ninth graders, but asking was better than assuming. “To become a client, there’s a minimum age requirement of eighteen. I’m sorry.”
“Oh no,” she said quickly. “It’s not for me. I want to do one for my mom.”
Gabe had a hard time believing the smart, funny woman he’d met earlier needed help meeting men. It had crossed his mind for a moment that in another time, another place, if he was a different person, he might have asked for her phone number or invited her for coffee. Then he remembered who he was, what had happened, and the anger kicked back in to set him straight.
“Well, Ava—”
Suspicion darkened her big brown eyes, her mom’s eyes. “How do you know my name?”
Gabe was only a little surprised he remembered it. “I met your mom today when we were speaking to your class. She pointed you out.”
“Oh.” She slid the heavy-looking backpack off her shoulders and rested it on the carpet. “The thing is, I want my mom to meet someone and be happy.”
“Maybe she’s already happy.” Business 101 didn’t recommend talking someone out of becoming a client. But this definitely wasn’t business as usual. He glanced at the phone—one of the lines was lit, which meant he couldn’t turn this girl over to his aunt. “She has you. And she’s very proud of you, by the way.”
“I won’t be around forever. Today you said all kinds of stuff about career goals and college. I listened and plan to go. What then? She’ll be all alone.”
“You’ve got a couple of years before that. It’s not something you need to worry about yet, and—”
“You don’t know my mom.”
True. He couldn’t say it hadn’t occurred to him that he might want to know her better. “Isn’t this something you should discuss with her?”
“I have! She isn’t easy.” All the drama and angst of being a teenager was reflected in her eyes. “Finding her someone could take a while, because she’s pretty stubborn. She’ll be all alone and it’s my fault. Because she has to take care of me.”
“I’m sure she doesn’t see it that way.”
“That’s what she says, but I don’t believe her.”
“You do realize that even if you fill out her profile, at some point she has to be involved in this process. If she doesn’t cooperate, it’s not going to work.”
“I’m hoping that she’ll be okay with it when she sees how much this means to me.” The distress on this girl’s face was almost an exact copy of her mother’s when she’d warned that she might throw up. “If you’re worried about your fee, don’t be. I’ve saved up money from my allowance and babysitting.”
She was killing him. “Look, Ava, because you’re underage, taking you on as a client is walking a very fine ethical line on company policy.”
“You have to help me.” Frustration wrapped around every word. “This company stands by its commitment to make meeting someone easier. I know that because I checked you out on the internet.”
The internet was a blessing and a curse. Gabe had a bad feeling that if he didn’t do something, there were a lot of bad places it could take this kid. And Ava, with her saved-up babysitting money, really got to him. So he made a snap decision.
“Okay. I’ll put together some paperwork for you to fill out. Contact information for your mom, a questionnaire about her likes and dislikes. That sort of thing. We’ll get some notes and go from there to get her on board with this whole idea.” He pulled open one of Carla’s lateral file drawers and pulled out a sheet of paper, then indicated one of two chairs in front of the desk. “Have a seat and we’ll get this rolling.”
“Thank you, Mr. Blackburne.” She sat down, took the pen he held out and started filling in the information.
The hopeful look on her face followed by relief when he relented made him feel like slime for deceiving her. He would get Courtney’s phone number from the contact sheet, then let her know what was going on. He was in over his head and eager to pass this on to a parent.
When Ava had completed it, he took the single sheet and handed her a clipboard with several more attached. “The questions are general, designed to create a profile to generate interest. But that shouldn’t be a problem. You seem to know your mom pretty well. Do the best you can with the answers.”
“Okay.” She smiled. “Thanks.”
Please don’t thank me, he thought. “Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, water, soda?”
“A soda, maybe,” she said hesitantly.
“Okay. You start working on that and I’ll go get it.”
“Okay.” She nodded then bent her head and concentrated on the paperwork in her lap.
Gabe took the single sheet with him to the break room and pulled out his cell phone then punched Courtney’s number into the keypad. She was probably dealing with a coding patient or something, but he could leave a voice mail with bullet points of the situation along with his heartfelt appeal for her to call him back ASAP.
“Hello?” A familiar female voice answered on the fourth ring.
“Courtney?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“Gabe Blackburne. We met today at the high school.”
“I remember.” There was a pleasantly surprised note in her tone before it changed when she asked, “How did you get my number?”
Bullet points, he reminded himself. “I work at a company called Make Me a Match. Ava is here to fill out a dating profile for you. She’s determined that you meet someone.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Your daughter is in my office doing paperwork right now. I thought you should know.” There was no reason she should believe him, so he added, “This isn’t a joke. And if you want a character reference for me, call Brett Kamp at the school. I promise you this is for real and I’m just trying to help.”
There was a brief hesitation on the other end of the line, as if she was weighing his words. Finally she said, “Okay. Thank you. If you’ll give me your office address, I’ll come right over and get her.”
“Of course. I’ll text it to you.”
“Fine. This must be an awful inconvenience for you. I’m very sorry.” Then she hung up.
Gabe wasn’t sorry. And that was a surprise. Courtney Davidson had raised an independent and caring young woman who would go the extra mile to see her mom happy. That intrigued him and, against the odds, he was looking forward to seeing her again.
