Looking for Love (8 page)

Then it had occurred to him, slowly at
first, but then in a whirlwind of frantic thoughts—he loved her.
Had actually loved her for years but had been too much of a dimwit
to realise it. He’d gone out with all the other women as a way to
distract himself from the attraction he felt for Ella. He’d put it
down to friendship feelings, although contact with her had always
put him in a strange mood.

Now, she consumed his thoughts. He wanted
to spend every spare moment with her, but until he could tell her,
he had to pretend they still had the same comfortable friendship as
before.

He’d nearly decided to ignore
his feelings and leave
‘well enough’ alone, but he’d thought long and
hard about the woman he loved. He could be there for her forever,
keep her safe from dysfunctional relationships, be the guy she’d
wanted all these years. It was a good thing. He just needed to
convince her of the fact.

Easier said
than done.

Something held
him back. Maybe he feared she’d push him away totally.

Could he hope that her feelings would grow
over time? He did, but his patience was wearing thin. He couldn’t
bear to be close to her much longer without touching her, kissing
her, and taking her into his arms.

But even
worse, he couldn’t withdraw from her.

A car drove up his driveway and
stopped behind him. He frowned. Who could that be?
The man behind the
driver’s seat appeared business-like with his tie and dress shirt.
A salesman?

He got out and walked to
Ross’s
window.

“
I’m looking for
Exact
Match
.”

He gaped at the man, unable to say
anything. He’d come to his place instead of Ella’s. Yeah, they
lived in parallel roads and had the same road number, but still.
The chances…

“
Take the previous road and it’s
the same number. You must have come one road too far from the main
road.”

“
Oh, great. Thought I’d gone
totally off track.”

Ross
nodded and clenched his fists. The
guy sped off in his fancy Cleo, and he frowned. Ella would have
single guys stopping by her place all the time now! Not a good
idea.

He reversed
his car back out. Time to return to her and nip this whole business
idea in the bud.

The grassy bank outside Ella’s
house
had
become a parking lot. Seven cars parked on the side and the front
yard opposite her home. What would the neighbours think? Had she
checked about business zoning in her area? His head throbbed with
all the concerns he nursed for her and her impulsive
ideas.

Problem was, Ella wasn’t the impulsive
type. That’s what troubled him about the whole thing. She believed
in some magic—this funny book—and seemed to be basing her whole
life on it.

He stormed to the front door which stood
wide open in a high crime city and found himself surrounded by
people in her living room. How long had he spent on his driveway
dreaming about Ella? How had this happened so fast?

He spotted Carol in the
corner,
dressed in a business suit and taking someone’s details
down on a clipboard with professional poise.

“
Where’s
Ella?” he asked her.

Carol blinked
at him. She pointed her pen at the door of the conservatory. “In
there. With a client.”

“
What’s going on?”

“
We got busy.” Carol grinned.

He stepped back a moment to take
in the totally new expression on
Ella’s friend’s face. Carol almost always
looked tired of life. Now, her face shone.

Pauline sat on
the couch surrounded by people. She didn’t seem flustered at all.
Quiet, timid, reserved Pauline.

Huh?

Andrea stood
by the door, welcoming people in, barking orders. Okay, not
everything had changed.

He stood around, not sure what
to do. He couldn’t interrupt
Ella with a client. In fact, all these eager
people hoped she could help them. Who was he to interfere in their
quest?

“
Tell her I’ll see her
later,”
he
said to Andrea as he walked out.

“
Wait.” She called to him, almost
running out with him to his car. “Don’t go.
Ella thought it would be good to have
you around, too.”

“
What?” At least he could be
close to her, but be part of the madness?

“
She thinks it’s better if she doesn’t look single.”

“
She does?” If he played the fake
boyfriend card, it would keep guys at a distance—like the yuppy
Cleo one who’d stopped by his home. The last thing he needed was
one of her clients wanting to pair off with her.

And he could
make sure no stalkers visited her—watch her safety. It just meant
his weekends and home maintenance plan would disappear off the
horizon.

“
You talking long term?”

Andrea shrugged. “Maybe until the business
is established. Don’t know. Talk to El. She mentioned
it.”

“
Oh.”

As much as he wished to
disappear, it didn’t seem
possible right now. A sudden yawn took over as he
made his way back inside and slumped on an empty seat. This sure
was going to be a long day and night. He peered at his watch.
Three-thirty. What time would she even close?

Did he want to
be used? As a type of prop or advertisement for her business?

His life had drastically changed from four
hours ago when he’d first read the advert in the
newspaper.

As he sat there, watching the madness, his
discomfort grew. Nope, he couldn’t stay here and be a part of this
fiasco. Ella had taken this huge risk where she hadn’t considered
the consequences. All these people depended on her amateur advice.
Some book inside played out like a magical slide show before her.
And her friends dug for a piece of the cake, too. They’d probably
played a big part in her decision.

And now he
must be a part of the circus?

Could he reconcile this new tangent of
Ella’s life with his own? He loved her, but…

Maybe pure
friendship had been better. Safer. He didn’t have to get so
emotionally involved and invested in every detail of her existence.
If her life became a mess, he could merely comfort her and be a
shoulder to cry on. Not stress and wonder what he should have done
to prevent it. Nah, too much responsibility came with love.

He wouldn’t
tell her he loved her. Not now. Maybe not ever. Could it ever
work?

The
door opened and Ella stepped out the
room with a woman in her arms. The blonde had puffy, red eyes—had
probably been crying—and she gave Ella a huge hug like they were
long-lost friends.

E
lla said goodbye to her and looked around
her. A frown formed on her face, probably at the population
dynamics within her tiny living space. When her gaze rested upon
Ross, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Or had he only
imagined it?

“
Ross, you made it back. I didn’t
even have a chance to ask for your help.”

“
I… What do you need?”

“
Well, I don’t know. The girls
seemed to have everything covered. My next appointment is in five
minutes.” She pointed at the Cleo man.
Argh.
“It worked, Ross.
The Album
showed Danni that the guy she likes
at work is perfect for her.”

“
Oh.” A queasy sensation swirled in his gut.

“
You don’t believe it, do you?”
she whispered to him, sending unwanted arousal through
him.

“
How can I? It’s not based on any
evidence or clinical trials.”

“
Why do you have to be so scientific? What about instincts?
Magic? Changed lives?”

“
And long term results?”

“
I gotta run. You can be the coffee man.”

His body
stiffened.

She turned to him again, the frown back on
her face. “You don’t have to stay, Ross. I can see you don’t
approve. No pressure, hey.”

She shrugged, seemingly
unperturbed by his
lack of support.

“
I
—”

“
Just go.”

She waved him
away, her voice light and breezy. Where had she received this
sudden boost of confidence? This light-heartedness from? He liked
to see her happy, but he didn’t think he could handle being around
when the bubble burst this time. When she went bankrupt or got a
bad reputation in the city. Or when her friends blamed her when
clients came back unsatisfied.

Was he a loser? Maybe his love wasn’t as
strong as he’d have hoped. He walked out, weaving his way through
the chatter and bodies. The drive home only worked to build up the
questions and concerns.

“
I’m about to fall asleep right
here.” Andrea gave a big yawn and stretched her long arms out,
nearly knocking Ella off the edge of the couch.

“
I’m still putting photos
in
The
Album
. Will
probably be busy all night but you ladies can go home. Thanks so
much.”

Carol was
already asleep. Pauline sipped a glass of wine in the corner, eyes
half-shut.

Ella
peered at her antique pendulum clock
and sighed. It faithfully swung from side to side, never giving up.
Her vision blurred but she forced her focus back on
The
Album
.
Suppose, at one-thirty in the morning, no one was at their
best.

The Album
in her lap seemed pretty slick,
though. Every picture produced a result, even some only a couple of
pages. Other photos filled up the whole album.

They never showed death of any of the
couples, but you could only assume as the photos revealed an
elderly couple and then one of them on their own at the
end.

“
What happened with Bernice, your first client? Did you phone
her yet?”

“
No, I still haven’t come up with
how to tell her neither of the guys are right for her. And I said
I’d be in touch on Monday.”

“
Just tell her,” Andrea said.

“
It’s not that easy. I have
to…hey, I could try Edward or Sheldon—the two male customers who
came in. Neither of them had a woman to work with. I was a bit
stuck with them—told them to put their details on file until I got
in more match options. They understood I’m new—that the business
has just started.”

“
Sure booming for the first day,”
Pauline said with a wink, swirling her wine around her glass as if
everything had turned right way up in the world.

Ella
wanted to believe it but she had
niggling doubts. Ross’s questions he hadn’t voiced went through her
mind.

“
When did
Ross go?” Ella spoke her
thoughts.

Pauline
shrugged. “Didn’t even know he was here.”

Andrea sat up.
“He made a duck for it very fast when he saw how many people you
had in your living room.”

“
The poor guy.” Pauline sighed.
“He is kind of quiet and nerdy. Well, he was at school.”

Ella
pursed her lips together. “He doesn’t
approve.”

“
Of?” Andrea sat up.

“
The Album
, of course. What else? Well, I
suppose the whole business idea.”

“
Of course he wouldn’t. His whole
life is based on logic and statistics, being a financial analyst at
an insurance brokerage.” Pauline nodded.

“
Being a financial person didn’t
stop Carol from believing in the magic. Even before she’d seen it.
Ross saw it as I told you.”

“
Yeah, lucky him. He saw the
first one.” Carol yawned.

How long had
her friend been
awake?

“
It was nothing special. Well, it
didn’t produce the best result for Bernice. Was special for me,
though.”

“
Maybe seeing
The Album
spooked him,” Andrea said. “I
mean, he didn’t have a build up to it like we did.”

Ella
laughed. “Yeah, he did get really
agro after that. In fact, he has been acting out of sorts lately. I
think he’s under a lot of stress with the house he
bought.”

“
Do you think he’ll come back to
help?” Pauline asked. “Didn’t you say Bernice was impressed you
weren’t single?”

“
Yip, she was. I don’t know. I should call him, but I don’t
feel like listening to his criticisms and strong opinions. I need
to sort through my doubts myself.”

“
Doubts?” Carol sat up. “What doubts?”

“
Aw, it’s nothing.” She dismissed
their pointed gazes with a wave.

“
What’s up?” Andrea’s expression softened. “Are you thinking
you did the wrong thing?”

“
No, not at all. I’m having an
absolute ball. But I sometimes have these niggles—what if
The Album
isn’t a hundred
percent reliable? What if we’re leading people…?”