Matchmakers Box Set: Matchmakers, Encore, Finding Hope (27 page)

“Jeremy, this is Thomas.” David lined up the blade with the pencil mark.

Jeremy stuck his hand out, and Thomas shook it. “So, are you here to help this loser build this wall?”

“Loser?” David smirked and nodded in Jeremy’s direction. “You do see the man here covered in sawdust. He must be a loser, too.”

Jeremy gave Thomas a slap on the back. “C’mon inside. We’ll put you to work.”

David followed them with the board he’d just cut.

Thomas’s voice carried from the back. “I’m trying to convince her that we need a classroom for theory.”

David walked to the back of the school where the two men stood looking at the empty space.

Jeremy’s eyebrows drew together. “Theory?”

David laughed. “Those little black dots on the paper.”

“Smart ass.” Jeremy looked at Thomas. “Notes. I know what the hell notes are.” He shook his head at David. “Why does she need a room for that? Aren’t they just learning how to play?”

“Dear God, you have no idea.” David patted Jeremy on the back. “You’d better stop while you’re ahead.” He shifted his glance toward Thomas. “As soon as she says she wants a room for theory, I’ll build it for her.” But not a second sooner, he thought.

By the time they decided to stop for the day, they’d erected the partition wall that would separate the parents’ area from the rest of the school. Though Thomas had been correct about not being handy, David was grateful for the extra set of hands.

“Thanks for your help,” he called with a wave as he locked the front door, and Thomas climbed into Carissa’s car and drove away.

Jeremy tossed his tool belt into the back of his pickup. “So that was Thomas?”

“Yep.”

“Mary Alice talked about him for an hour last night.”

David secured the tailgate of the pickup and let his grip linger on the metal. “What did she have to say?”

“Just that they had eyes for each other.”

“Eyes?” His voice shot up in pitch.

“Yep.” He nodded. “Said they didn’t take their eyes off each other. Laughed easily. Touched.”

“Touched?”

“Christ, you pansy. She’s twenty-five.” Jeremy laughed as he walked toward the driver’s door and pulled it open. “You left her alone in that house with that man, and you’re scatterbrained if you think they’re just smiling at each other.” Jeremy laughed, and David backed away from the back of the truck as he pulled away.

David walked to his car and thought of them earlier that morning at breakfast. They did look very comfortable together. He shook his head. He wasn’t quite ready to think about his little girl getting involved with anyone. Especially the man she was living with, as Jeremy had so thoughtfully reminded him. He knew all too well that those rooms weren’t quite far enough apart in the house that once had been a boarding house with rules, but was now just a home shared by a healthy young man, David’s attractive daughter, and an old woman who had done her share of matchmaking.

CHAPTER FOUR

David moved in behind Sophia as she folded the sheets from the basket of laundry perched on the kitchen table and placed a kiss on her neck. She leaned in against him with a sigh.

“Carissa just called. They’ll both be here tomorrow for dinner.”

“How’s Thomas settling in?”

“Pretty well. She said they were going to dinner tonight. I think she’s taken him under her wing already. And I do believe they’re a little smitten with each other.” She confirmed what Jeremy had said to him with her wide smile.

“Sophie, I don’t know about this. I don’t even know this guy.” In an attempt to keep his composure and his hands calm, he reached into the basket, pulled out a pillowcase, and folded it.

“David, I wouldn’t have called him if I thought he’d bring harm to Carissa or wasn’t good for the school. I want this to succeed for her. It’s what she’s always wanted.”

“I just don’t like you putting my daughter out there like this.” He saw her wince and wished he could retract the words.

“Our daughter,” she corrected him with narrowed eyes. She might as well have punched him in the gut. “And I would never have do anything to harm her in any way. You should know that better than anyone.”

David laid the pillowcase on the table and walked back around behind his wife. He slipped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I know. It’s just that when Carissa takes on a project, she dives right in. She doesn’t take her time to see things through and to be patient.”

“You think she’ll fall in love too fast?”

“Fall in love?” His temper was rising as he moved away from his wife and paced the kitchen. “You did plan this out.” He wiped his sweating hands on the sides of his pants. “You already have her married off.” He flung his hands into the air. “What the hell happens if she falls in love with him and he doesn’t with her? What then? They still have to work together. You moved the man over here from Rome, and he has nothing. If this doesn’t work out, maybe you’ve ruined his life.”

Sophia stood before him, her mouth open. “I don’t want her to waste years of her life. I wasted three years thinking your proposal was enough, but not accepting it. I wasted another ten trying to figure out my life while you were here waiting.”

“I wasn’t waiting. I was raising Carissa,” he reminded her.

“Then you should know she’s smarter than both of us.” She dropped the folded sheets into the basket. “I love them both. Carissa is my daughter. Thomas is my friend. They are two of the most talented people on this planet, and by God, if they’ve already found each other, that’s great. If they’re not interested, they won’t think a thing about it. Dammit, David, don’t shut the door on her. She’s been in love before and had it fall apart. She’s not going to break.

“So I introduced her to a wonderful man, who I think the world of. What’s wrong with that? I knew two old ladies that did the same thing once. Imagine that conversation—‘I have a granddaughter…I have a nephew.’” She blew out her breath as he watched her gather her composure and the basket of laundry. Without another word, she walked out of the kitchen.

Carissa spun into the kitchen, making a grand entrance. She’d wiggled into a pair of dark jeans and accented them with a pair of high heels. The low-cut, red blouse immediately had Thomas’s attention, she noticed. She’d fastened the Saint Nicholas pendent her mother had given her around her neck, and it dangled between her breasts. “I’m ready.”

“You look beautiful.” He stood from his seat at the table, making a visible effort not to let his gaze dip lower than her face.

“Thank you.” She slipped on her jacket. “Katie, will you be all right? Do you need anything?”

“Just for the two of you to get out of here so I can turn on the television and enjoy my peaceful night.”

“We’ll be home around ten. Call my cell phone if you need anything.”

“Go. You hover more than your father, do you know that?” Katie stood and reached for her walker.

“Yeah, well, I was taught by the best.”

“Yes, you were. Now go.”

Carissa led the way out the back door, and Thomas pulled the door shut behind them.

“She doesn’t like to be fussed over, does she?”

“Yes, she does. She just doesn’t want you to think she does. If she didn’t like it, she would have moved to a retirement home years ago and gone chasing some old man. As it is, she was glad to have Aunt Millie around, and now she’s glad to have me around.”
 

Thomas opened the door for her. His cologne tickled her feminine senses. He was cleanly shaven, well dressed, and God, he was handsome. The shorter haircut made him look even more virile, if that were possible.

Carissa stood there a moment and looked into his eyes. “You know what would start this date off right?”

“What would that be?”

She reached her hand behind his neck and brought his head toward her. “If we start with a kiss.”

There wasn’t a moment to protest, even if he’d had the mind to do so. She had those full lips brushing against his, but it wasn’t just a peck. Her mouth opened to his, and her tongue sought his out as her other arm pulled him tight to her body.

Thomas had never had a kiss that had him lightheaded, but the one Carissa was planting on him was doing just that. His arms wound around her waist and pulled her to him, pressing their bodies tight to each other.

She wasn’t letting up. One of her hands was in his hair, while the other slid over his chest. The knot in his belly was as tight as the pressure in his slacks. When she finally released his lips, she balanced her forehead against his. “I knew you were a good kisser.”

“You’re not too bad yourself,” he said with an unsteady breath.

“Thomas,” she began. With her head still pressed to his, she shifted her eyes to meet his and continued, “I’d really like more of that.”

He made a moan of some kind to indicate that his thoughts were on the same path.

Carissa closed her eyes. She didn’t release her grip, but took in a deep breath before opening her eyes and gazing at him.

“I want to make something clear. I know what I’m doing. I’m not a child. When I want something, I go after it.” She lifted her head. “Thomas, I want you.”

“Carissa.”

“Don’t say anything.” Her finger pressed to his lips. “I know we haven’t even started working together, but in the last couple days, the things you’ve done to me by just being near me have sent my head spinning.” The hand on the back of his neck slid toward his cheek. Her perfume filled his head. Her eyes settled right into his. “After dinner, I want to take that kiss further.” She molded her body harder to his. “I want to make love to you.”

He knew he gasped aloud by the widening of her eyes, but he didn’t release her. He wasn’t sure he could physically walk away from her at that moment. “Carissa, you don’t know me.” At the moment, he didn’t know himself. That was what this trip was about. Finding himself without hurting anyone in the process. How come she kept putting herself in his path?

Carissa touched his lips with a brush of her fingers. “But I want to know you.” She straightened, released herself from him, and ducked into the car.

He shut the door, noticing her wanting eyes were still on him. How was it he finally landed the job of a lifetime and with it a woman he dreaded hurting for any number of reasons—but couldn’t turn down?

The hostess greeted them at the door and escorted them to a booth that would seat four. Carissa scooted to sit at the place setting right next to Thomas. She liked having him that close. Candles lit the darkened room, and soft music set the mood for romance.

She felt her skin get hotter with him near her. She rested her hand on his leg and felt him straighten. She realized she might be a bit much for him, but she’d never been so attracted to a man in all her life. She wanted this one, and with every minute that passed, she realized she wanted him for keeps.

“How about a bottle of wine?” Her voice was low and husky.

“How about a glass for you, and I’ll have water,” he said with a dip of his head, his voice soft as though he were saying it in secret.

She considered him a moment. “Designated driver?”

“Not much of a drinker.”

Carissa scanned the menu. She wasn’t the least bit hungry—for food. She wished the waitress would come to the table. Studying the menu wasn’t what she wanted to be doing with her eyes.

The waitress finally arrived at the table and offered the specials for the evening. Carissa considered them, then ordered her wine and dinner, and relaxed next to him, hoping to find out more about the man who was stealing her heart piece by piece. “Are you always quiet or just around women?” she asked from behind the rim of her wine glass as the candle on the table flickered.

Thomas adjusted his shoulders, squaring them. “I get pretty quiet around women who have me thinking thoughts I shouldn’t be thinking.”

Carissa inched even closer to him. “I love that I’m driving you wild.”

“You’ll hate me next week,” he promised, lifting his water glass to his lips. Carissa shook her head.

“I hope not.” She sat back. “What worries you? Do you think I can’t work with you if I seduce you?”

“Let’s just say I’m not the kind of man…women don’t want men like me.”

Carissa wasn’t sure why he was so afraid of her, but it wasn’t going to stop her.

“I think women like you just fine. Let’s get to know each other. I think you’ll find it hard to turn me down.” She drank down her wine. Feeling it swim in her head, she let the smile settle on her lips. She was making him nervous, and it was a thrilling feeling.

By the time they finished eating, she didn’t know much more about the man, but he had her tuned up. His eyes smoldered in the dark booth. He told stories of places he’d been and people he’d met. He stole a kiss after stealing a bite of cheesecake from her fork, and she trembled. He spoke to her in Italian, and her pulse raced.

As she watched him, a knot tightened in her belly. This man was going home and falling into bed with her, so help her God!

Hand in hand, they left the restaurant and stepped out into the cool evening air. It wasn’t even close to the cold shower Thomas would need when they got home. No matter what Carissa said, he couldn’t take her to bed. There was a fine line, and he couldn’t cross that line no matter how badly he wanted to. “Why don’t we take a little walk?”

“A walk?” Disappointment dripped in her voice.

“Yeah, I think we need a walk.” It was perhaps a bit cooler than he’d thought, but he tugged her along.

She hugged up to his arm. “Are you afraid to be alone with me?”

“I’m man enough to say yes.”

“Thomas,” she stopped and looked up at him, “what are you afraid of?”

He gathered her hands in his and held them to his chest. “Carissa, I’m not the marrying kind.”

“I didn’t know I was asking.”

“You deserve better than me. I’ll hurt you.”

“Then don’t.” The glimmer in her eyes was fading, and that began to break his heart. “What if I hurt you?”