Page 36 of The Matchmaker
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
“On whether you’re doing it for enjoyment or because you think it makes you look smart.”
“Are you serious?”
“It happens,” I tell him, relieved to be talking again. “I had an ex-boyfriend who carried aroundCrime and Punishmentthe entire time we were dating even though I swear I never saw him open it. He even put it by the bed while we—”
“I’m a slow reader,” Callum interrupts with aTMIglance. “But I got into audiobooks a few years ago. I’m trying to catch up. Turns out a lot of people have written a lot of stuff.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Another eye-dart to me, this one a little unsure. “You read?”
“Not as much as I could.” I leave the story on, but Callum doesn’t seem to mind that he might be missing a bit, he just turns it down so that it’s background noise. “My granny does,” I continue. “I live with her, and she has a lot of books, but I’m looking after her when I’m not working, so I don’t really get the time.”
“You’re her carer?”
“I’m her granddaughter.”
He frowns at that but doesn’t push it. “And how does she feel about the hotel?”
“She hates it,” I say automatically. That’s kind of a lie, though. “But she didn’t like the nuns either. Now she’s just apathetic about the whole thing. She says there’s no point in her getting annoyed about things changing because she won’t be around long enough to see it.”
“That’sdark.”
“It’s her answer to everything these days. I asked her last year what kind of funeral she wanted, and she said, ‘What do I care? I’ll be dead.’ Then the next day, she said she wanted to be pushed out to sea on a flaming boat.”
“She seems fun.”
“She’s just Granny.”
Though I did spend an entire afternoon looking up the laws for that kind of thing before she told me she was joking.
Callum doesn’t respond, slowing down as he lets another car cut in front. I force myself to concentrate on the book.
“You know you’ve only made it worse for yourself,” he says, just as I start to get into it. Some guy called Victor is having a nightmare and it all seems very intense.
“With what?”
“With Jack.”
The pleasant little mood lift I had drops immediately. And to think we were being so civil.
“I don’t want to talk about him,” I say, but Callum doesn’t seem to hear me.
“I get it, okay? I get that you’re upset about everything that’s going on. But it’s going to happen. The resort, the pub. All of it. This is the biggest project he’s ever taken on and he’s got a lot riding on it. His boss is already watching his every move.”
“His boss?”
“Gerald Cunningham? He’s the chairman of the company.” He looks confused. “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of him. You’ve probably already burned his likeness on a pyre or something.”
“I’m sure he’s on the list,” I deadpan, even as I consider his words. “So he’s the one I need to convince?”
“Good luck with that. He lives in New York.”
