Page 8 of Sweetwater and the Witch

“No.”

Ethan looked much too intrigued by that information. “How many dates have they arranged for you?”

“That, too, is none of your business.”

“That many, huh?”

“I suggest we change the subject,” Ravenna said.

“Right.” He tucked the polishing cloth into a pocket and used both hands to put on the glasses. “Speaking of marital status, the bottom line here is that you owe me one more date.”

“I’ve gone through our files again. I’m afraid I was unable to find one more suitable candidate.”

“How about an unsuitable candidate? Maybe I’ll have better luck if we just roll the dice.”

“I never roll the dice when it comes to matchmaking. I thought I made it clear, I am a professional. If you want to take risks I suggest you try one of the casinos. Here at Ottoway we do not play games with our clients’ matrimonial futures.”

“Too bad. It might be interesting.”

“This has gone far enough.” She clasped her hands on her desk. “I take full responsibility for this agency’s failure to find the right match for you.”

“As well you should. You were pretty damn positive that you could find a wife for me back at the start.”

“I’m afraid I was overly optimistic,” she admitted. “It’s true that while you are a strong talent, your para-psych profile is not exotic.”

His smile was suddenly ice-cold. “Meaning I’m not one of the monsters?”

Unlike me,she thought.Lucky you, Sweetwater.

“Precisely,” she said. “You’re a paranormal engineer. That is usually a very stable talent, even when it is high-rez, as it is in your case.”

“Good to know I’m stable. Is that a polite word forboring?”

She flushed, aware that she was walking the very narrow line between explanation and insult. The vast majority of the descendants of the First Generation colonists from Earth had developed varying degrees of psychic talent. Even a five-year-old kid could generate enough energy through tuned resonating amber to turn on a rez screen or unlock the front door of the family home. Some people exhibited above-average talent, and Ethan was obviously one of them. Powerful talents with unusual para-psych profiles made a lot of people nervous.

But Ethan’s profile was not dangerous or unstable. He was just a very good engineer. Her father and brothers were very good engineers who specialized in para-psych medical technology. Stable.

“Unfortunately, there are other factors at play here, Mr.Sweetwater,” she said.

His jaw flexed and he got a grim, knowing look. “Is it the Kavanagh affair?”

“That was, of course, a complication, but for the most part I was able to overcome it long enough to book those nine dates.”

It was true the nine matches she had produced so far had been hesitant about Ethan because of his vague responses on the extensive personality questionnaire. He had listed gardening as his only hobby and checkedN/A(forNot Applicable) andDecline to Specifyfor many of the questions.

But it was the fact that he had been theother manin a notorious love triangle that had created the biggest stumbling block. Eighteen months earlier the media had gone wild with the story of what became known as the Kavanagh affair.

Covington Kavanagh had been a fast-rising star in politics. He was on a trajectory that would have taken him all the way to the presidencyof the Federation of City-States. But his ambitions had been crushed when his wife, Bethany, had engaged in an affair with Ethan Sweetwater. The scandal had been huge. The media had splashed the headlines across the front pages of the newspapers and featured the story on the evening news broadcasts. There had been talk of a divorce, a rare and career-damaging move because the Kavanagh marriage was a Covenant Marriage.

Marriages of Convenience were dissolved all the time. They were designed to be short-lived. But the dissolution of a Covenant Marriage was not only an extremely expensive and lengthy process, it carried the weight of a heavy social stigma. Kavanagh’s political career would have been derailed by a divorce.

The whole sordid business had come to a miserable end when Kavanagh had suffered a heart attack and died. The family had blamed the death on the stress of the scandal. Specifically, they had blamed Ethan Sweetwater.

When the headlines eventually faded away, Bethany Kavanagh had disappeared from the elevated social circles in which she had once traveled. Ethan had left Amber, Inc., the Sweetwater family business, and moved to Illusion Town.

So, yes, the scandal had been a problem when it came to finding a match for Ethan. But not surprisingly, the powerful Sweetwater name had overcome the initial concerns of all nine matches. There had, however, been no second dates.

Under normal circumstances Ottoway Matchmakers would not have accepted a client who had been involved in a high-profile scandal—or one who had failed to complete the questionnaire, for that matter. But Bernice Ottoway had made an exception for Ethan. After all, he was a Sweetwater.

---