Page 34 of Sunset Serenade
It was enough to send her into a panic. It was a lot of pressure for someone who was a big, fat, fake.
And yet.
The first match had gone well, and Craig was impressed by what she had planned for the next clients.
That was what she had to focus on. Not the money, not the fact that she was a liar who talked too much and would surely out herself.
The work. She had to focus on thework, not Craig’s kind eyes and his strong-looking arms, and wondering if he worked out, and of course he worked out, and wondering what it would be like to have those arms wrapped around her and to lay her head on his chest…
She shook her head, as if trying to shake out the thought. Being a romantic was all good and dandy when it helped her make matches forotherpeople. It was not useful when she was trying to be a fake professional while having a cute boss.
No more of that, though. No more daydreams. She had to at least try to be serious and keep up the ruse of being professional, and she was getting close to finally reuniting with Greg. Nothing could mess that up.
Rose drove back to the apartment and was promptly dragged to a movie with Lillian and Lucy. It was nice to get her mind off things, and when she logged onto her computer bright and early on Monday morning, she felt ready for the million-dollar task ahead of her.
Her next client was a thirty-five-year-old woman named Jill Breyer. She’d started a company that produced children’s songs and stories and had been a millionaire since her thirtieth birthday.
This information was all available in her public profile, along with pictures of her sipping cocktails in Crete, skiing in France, and hiking in Japan.
What hit Rose in the gut was the last line of her matchmaking application. “I don’t have any kids of my own, despite desperately wanting them,” she wrote, “and it feels like time is running out. Please help me!!”
Rose sent her a message and within a day, Jill wrote back, saying how delighted she was to be selected for the matchmaking service. She suggested lunch at an Italian eatery in Seattle the next day, and Rose didn’t dare say no. She flew in and spent some time at the office, making sure to leave with time to spare.
Despite getting there ten minutes early, Jill had her beat. She stood and waved as soon as Rose walked into the restaurant.
Jill looked exactly like her pictures. She was tall, close to six feet, with sun-kissed skin and cascading locks of dark hair.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Jill.” Rose took her hand and got a firm handshake.
“You too. Rose, right? I’m going to call you Rose.” She said, taking a seat. “I’m going to be honest, I don’t have a lot of time for this, but I’ve tried everything. My last relationship was with a man twenty years my senior. I thought dating someone older meant he’d have life figured out, but eight months in, I discovered he’d been hiding something.”
“Uh oh,” Rose said, taking her seat. “Nothing big, I hope?”
“Oh, no.” Jill nodded. “Just his wife and three children. No big deal.”
“The nerve.” Rose shook her head. “How did he manage to hide it so well?”
“He lived in New York and we didn’t see each other very often.” She waved a hand. “I thought it was the perfect relationship at the time because he wasn’t needy. I find that all these guys are tooneedy. That or we go on one date and I never hear from them again.”
Rose nodded. “Interesting. So you see a pattern?”
“Yes!” Despite not claiming to have time, Jill then went on for forty minutes, detailing her dating life and the failures until this point, even going as far as reading messages aloud from various rejected beaus.
When she got to present day, she let out a sigh. “I want to have kids, and I don’t have time to mess around. I’ve already built my business, and now I need to build my family. Can you help me or not?”
A smile spread across Rose’s face.
“What?” Jill sat back. “Is something about my situation funny to you?”
Rose shook her head and leaned forward. “No, not at all. It’s just that you remind me of my sister Lucy.”
Jill took a sip of her lemon water, then slowly set the glass down. “Is that a good thing?”
“Lucy would say it is.” Rose made sure to stop smiling. “She’s also quite scary.”
Jill’s eyes narrowed and, for a moment, she was still.
Rose felt her insides run cold. Had she made the wrong move? Been too friendly? Too familiar?
