Page 12 of Banter & Blushes

CHAPTER 7

CADE

All my skepticism about Luna’s matchmaking process and ridiculous questionnaire dissolves when she finds a perfect match on the first try. From reading her personal bio, I’m certain that Gabielle Moore and I will be very compatible.

We’re both career-focused individuals, so she’ll understand when business occasionally gets in the way. She won’t complain if I need to work over the weekend, because she’ll be working too. We’ll have a structured dating routine, with no spontaneity, dates always occurring on Friday evenings at 6pm. Communications will be to check in with each other, as needed, and we’ll respect each other’s space. No late-night text messages to contend with. No messiness. Emotions won’t be involved, just mutual respect and admiration.

Gabrielle and I are meeting tonight at a fancy beachside restaurant known for its vast seafood menu and romantic ambiance. I could skip the romantic ambiance, but maybe it will impress my date.

I drain my coffee cup, bus it to the dishwasher, and jog out the door. I’m meeting a potential buyer and their agent at a law office in town this morning. They wanted to meet in person to discuss some questions about Hugo’s property. That approach seems very old school—have they never heard of Zoom?—but who am I to question a serious buyer.

First though, I’m going to stop by Plot Twists and Perfect Matches and thank Luna for finding my perfect match so quickly. If everything goeswell tonight and Gabrielle and I hit it off, I’ll be well on my way to fulfilling Grandad’s ultimatum and finding the future Mrs. Bainbridge.

The little beachside community is hopping this morning. Tourists are out and about, wandering down the main street wearing shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops. I feel overdressed in my three-piece suit. When I whip into a parking spot two doors down from Luna’s shop, I chuckle. Maybe this superpower isn’t as useless as I thought.

Luna’s shop is the busiest I’ve ever seen when I stroll through the door. A group of older ladies are examining the crystal jewelry display. Two teenagers giggle by the essential oils display, and I overhear them debating lavender versus sandalwood for attracting the opposite sex. A preppy-looking couple are sitting at a café table enjoying tea and some of Luna’s bakery treats. They both have a book by their elbow, reminding me of Luna’s comment about books and crumbs not mixing.

After I make a loop through the bestsellers section, I finally find Luna. She’s standing beside the murder mystery shelf, having an animated conversation with an older man. Neither one sees me, so I take a minute to watch the beautiful shopkeeper. Her blue jean skirt and matching shirt are a new look for her—kind of gypsy meets urban cowboy. Her bracelets clink together as she talks with her hands. Dangly turquoise earrings sway back and forth on her ears, drawing my eyes because her hair is tied back into a ponytail rather than her usual down-around-the-shoulders style. Glancing at her feet, my eyes go wide because she’s replaced the Chuck Taylors with a pair of pink cowboy boots.

“Cade!” Luna says the minute she turns her head towards me. A smile splits her beautiful face, she says something to the man, then she comes over to where I’m standing. “What can I help you with?”

I return her smile as my heart does a summersault in my chest. “I came to thank you for setting up the date with Gabrielle this evening.”

A small frown tips her lips as she rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet. “Oh, that’s nice of you. But I was just doing my job.” She opens her mouth, as if she wants to say more, but instead she snaps her mouth shut and remains silent.

“Any tips for my date?” I tease. “What does a matchmaker tell her client before his first matched appointment?”

“Um, well... Be yourself. If the match is meant to be, it will be.”

A song plays through my head after she says those words. Surprised by Luna’s short-winded answer, I say, “That’s it? No tidbits you want to share about romance? Suggestions for how to woo my date?”

She places her hand on my forearm and that zap of attraction again zips between us. The way she immediately lifts her hand as if her fingers were burned tells me that she also feels the chemistry between us. Taking a couple steps back, she says, “Cade, I’m sure you don’t need any coaching.”

Our eyes lock, and I have a sudden urge to kiss her. I want to run my fingers through her hair. Touch my lips to her tempting red lips and drink in herintoxicating smell: a mixture of vanilla, citrus, and spice. Thoughts of Gabrielle Moore fly from my head, and all I can think about is Luna. Her quirky outfits... Her sweet laugh... Her tendency to overshare...

“Do these soy candles come in any other color?” a woman asks, interrupting Luna’s and my moment. Or whateverthatwas.

Luna gives me a brisk nod, then says, “Let me show you our complete selection. These come in a variety of colors.” In seconds, she disappears to the other side of the shop.

I stand in the murder mystery section for a couple more minutes, questioning my need for a matchmaker when the fact is, I’m falling for my matchmaker.

Fortunately,the meeting with the potential buyer and real estate agent takes my mind off my conflicted feelings about Luna and my upcoming date with Gabrielle. The two men had a raft of questions about the environmental study we conducted, the threat of beach erosion, and whether any hurricanes had hit the region in the last hundred years. The meeting dragged on and on. The other agent even ordered lunch, which I felt obligated to dawdle over with them.

By the time I get back to my beach house, I’ve got just over an hour to get ready for my date. When I spot the sand dollar Luna gave me, I sigh and flop down on my bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering whether I really know what type of woman I’m looking for. Before I met Luna, my concept of the future Mrs. Bainbridge was so clear. But the beautiful shopkeeper/matchmaker has put doubts in my head.

Resolved to wow my date, I hop into the shower, then debate what to wear. These fancy restaurants usually require a suit complete with jacket and tie, so I go with another full suit, even though it feels a bit stifling. If this was a date with Luna, we’d go to a casual seafood place where we could crack crabs with our fingers and wear shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops.

Despite my growing attraction to my matchmaker, I’ve re-resolved myself that I need to maintain my current course and speed and pursue a big-city corporate professional for the role of Mrs. Bainbridge. My fascination with Luna is just a chemical reaction. An attraction that will burn itself out and we’ll be miserable in a couple years. She lives in a small town, and I don’t see her moving anytime soon, especially since she owns a thriving business here.

With renewed enthusiasm for this date, I march into the Golden Anchor, ready to wine and dine Gabrielle Moore. When I arrive, a smattering of couples at intimate two-people tables is scattered around the dining room.

A waiter in a black suit approaches me. “May I help you, sir?”

“I have a reservation for two. Cade Bainbridge.” My eyes scan the tiny waiting area and the dining room for any sign of a woman that could be my date, and I spot two possible candidates. There’s a woman hiding behind a bookand wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap at one table and another woman hunched over her cell phone, dressed in a business suit, sitting at another table.Bingo!That must be Gabrielle.

“Follow me. Your date arrived a few minutes ago.” He leads me to the little nook in the far corner of the dining room holding the phone-distracted woman. As we approach, the woman in the business suit looks up and stands. She’s almost as tall as I am and is reed thin. Her hair is pulled back into a severe bun that looks like it could give her a headache.

“Are you Cade?” she asks, her nasally voice catching me off guard.

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