Matchmaker (DS Fight Club Book 7)

by Josie Kerr

  Meghan slid another beer in front of him even though he was only about halfway through his current pint. “It’ll be flat and more than warm. It’s no good to drink now,” she said by way of explanation.

  “You’re a complicated one, aren’t you?”

  She cocked her head at him, looking like some sort of exotically colored bird, with her raven-black hair, which was streaked with electric blue, purple, and pink, and her heavily inked arms. “Yeah, complicated,” she repeated before moving down the bar to wait on another patron.

  Buddy snorted.

  Complicated. He wasn’t complicated. If anything, Buddy considered himself very simple. He was a father first and foremost; everything else was secondary. That was why he hadn’t dated much. He wasn’t interested in a wife, and the women who frequented fight clubs generally weren’t interested in single fathers. Although lately, now that his life was not so unsettled, he’d been thinking about dipping his toe back into the dating pool.

  Maybe.

  Perhaps.

  He just needed to find the right woman. Maybe he’d actually publish a profile on one of those mature dating sites; he’d already composed one—he just had to click the button. Just as he was mentally listing possible positive attributes for a potential match, Molly Mayhew walked through the door.

  Chapter Eleven

  Needing to decompress after a long day in the hot sun, pawing through dead people’s things, Molly decided that a night of no cooking was in order. As she was already in town at the flea market and it was early enough that the Saturday night crowd wouldn’t be in full force, she decided she’d go to Foley’s to try some of the dishes she saw on the menu the night before. There were just too many lovely dishes to try at once.

  Once inside, she debated getting a table or sitting at the bar. On the one hand, a table would guarantee that she would have a reprieve from people and have a nice solo dinner. But on the other hand, there weren’t many tables, and as she wanted to have a leisurely dinner, she would prevent the other people from sitting. And then she saw Buddy sitting at the bar with a look of intense concentration on his face.

  Hmm.

  Seeing that there were plenty of seats along the bar, Molly made her way across the dining room and slipped onto a barstool a few feet down from Buddy.

  “Be with you in just a sec, darlin’,” Meghan said as she swung by, laden with drinks.

  “Sure thing. I’m just going to grab a menu, okay?”

  “Help yourself.”

  Molly mostly looked over the menu but couldn’t help cutting her eyes over toward where Buddy sat. He had a menu in front of him as well but didn’t seem to be actually looking at it. She debated saying something to him, but the man seemed so preoccupied that she didn’t.

  “Hello there, Molly, was it?” Meghan flashed a brilliant smile. “Can I get you something to eat?”

  “Hello, hi. Um, how big is the starter sampler?” Molly figured it would be big but thought she might take part home, though she wasn’t sure how well some of the offerings would warm up.

  “Oh, honey, it’s way too big for one person, even if you halved it to take home. It’s really enough for three or four people to share.”

  “Oh. Hmm.”

  “I’ll split it with you.” Molly turned, and her brown eyes locked with Buddy’s gray ones.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Definitely. I was trying to justify ordering it myself.” He smiled, and Molly’s stomach did a little flip. It flipped again when he motioned that he’d like to move a few barstools over to sit nearer to her. “So we don’t have to slide the plate across the bar to each other, you know, since we’re sharing . . .” His voice trailed off, and he shrugged a shoulder.

  “Sure. Makes sense.” Practical, Molly. He’s being practical. And besides, you do not need to be interested in him. Remember where dating a parent got you last time.

  “So, back again?” She cringed when she asked the question, immediately feeling stupid.

  “Yeah, yeah. Um, Lucy wanted to stay another night at her cousin’s, and I’m not going to deprive her of that. So I’ve been on my own all day. Didn’t feel like hanging around the house all alone all night, so . . .”

  “You miss her.”

  “Yeah. I’m not used to her not being around all the time. I’m glad I’m working days now that she’s in school.”

  “Oh, you used to work nights?”

  “Um, yeah. When she was smaller.”

  They fell into an easy silence, each sipping their drinks.

  Molly was the first to break the silence. “It’s nice that your families are so close. You must have grown up with strong family ties.”

  Buddy choked on his beer, sputtering and dribbling it down his chin.

  “Oh, goodness!” Molly handed him her napkin, and he mopped his face and shirt before crumbling the square in his hand.

  “Um, no. Bailey and I were close for a while, but I left home right when I was eighteen, and she was fourteen. We’ve recently gotten back in touch. It was too long, which was my fault, and I regret every single minute that I wasn’t around for her.”

  Molly sensed that what Buddy was telling her was important, that he didn’t share this information with just anyone.

  “You’re here now, though, right?”

  “Right.” He cleared his throat. “So what about you? You were eating with your parents last night, right?”

  “Yep. We’re very close, especially my mother and me. I just got back from spending the day with her.”

  “Flea market, right? I think I heard something in passing . . .”

  “Right. Something to do, something fun.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Ta-da! One app sampler!” Meghan put two huge plates in between the couple. Molly looked at Buddy, and Buddy looked at the plate and then at her, and then they both started laughing.

  “Oh my goodness, Meghan wasn’t exaggerating!” Molly gaped at the heaping amount of food on the plate.

  “No, she certainly wasn’t,” Buddy said with a snicker. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. Let’s have at it.”

  The two of them proceeded to split the appetizer plate and talk. They chatted about Lucy and Lucy’s mother. They talked about movies, books, and music and discovered they had several coinciding favorites. Before Molly knew it, they’d consumed the entire plate and Meghan was ringing a big brass bell for last call. They paid their tabs, and Buddy shifted on the barstool.

  “I guess we need to clear out,” Buddy said, and Molly nodded. “Let me walk you to your car.”

  “Oh, you don’t—”

  “I insist.”

  It was a near frame-by-frame repeat of the night before. Molly had managed to get a close parking space, so the walk to her vehicle wasn’t nearly long enough, even though they’d been talking for hours. He hesitated and then shook her hand before opening her car door. But this time, before she got into the car, she gave him a peck on the cheek. He turned his head at the last minute but then pulled back.

  “I had a nice time tonight, Molly.”’

  “I did, too, Buddy.”

  “Text me when you get home, okay?”

  “Sure. You drive safe, too.”

  “Of course.”

  “Night, Buddy.”

  “Night, Molly.”

  And once again, he stood in the parking lot and watched her drive away. And tonight, she wondered if she shouldn’t turn around and go back for him.

  Chapter Twelve

  “You should have kissed her, you chickenshit,” Buddy muttered to himself as he attempted to smear too-cold butter on a piece of bread. The bread shredded, and of course, it was the last piece. Disgusted with both himself and the breakfast failure, Buddy tossed the knife into the sink.

  He exhaled loudly. When had he gotten so timid around women? He certainly didn’t use to be. After he’d started working with Jett Raptor and wasn’t always worried about where he was going to sleep or if he was going to eat,
Buddy had relaxed a bit. Actually, he’d relaxed a bit too much. After almost eight years of friendless loneliness, he’d thrown himself into everything the hedonistic lifestyle that a top MMA training facility offered, especially the women. He had submerged himself in that life for five years. His thirtieth birthday had come and gone, and he’d begun to tire of the shallowness of it all.

  And then he’d met Natalie Rabineaux. Natalie was different from most of the other ring girls. Those other girls, whom he had spent a lot of time with, had a tendency to be a little rough around the edges, at least until they’d gone through the Raptor regime, whereas Natalie had gone to an exclusive all-girls boarding school and was taking some time off before she headed to London or Paris to begin a modeling career. She’d been part of a wild group of ring girls, but she stood apart from them. And she’d only had eyes for Buddy, at least in the beginning.

  They’d dated and they’d had fun, but when Buddy wanted to get serious, Natalie put off his proposals. And then she’d gotten pregnant. If he’d wanted to get married before, a baby on the way had only increased that desire. But Natalie had still resisted, and that should have been his first hint that she was in no way ready to settle down. She was young, only twenty when she became pregnant, and barely legal to have a beer when Lucy was born. He’d had plenty of time to sow oats and have his share of debauched fun; Natalie hadn’t had the opportunity to get this need out of her system.

  So he’d looked the other way when he’d come home to find the neighbor watching Lucy and when Natalie had started going out in the evenings and returning very late, smelling of other men’s cologne. Of course, Natalie’s father had given him a raft of shit about not being man enough for his daughter and, at the same time, had been pressuring her to let him make an honest woman out of her, so finally she’d relented. Then the old man had croaked, and she’d taken off three months later. She’d returned the first time, just missing Lucy’s first birthday.

  Lucy’s return home interrupted Buddy’s further ruminations about her mother.

  “Daddy, Daddy, you’ll never guess who we saw this weekend!” Buddy caught her when she leapt up at him to give him a hug. “Miss Mayhew!” she blurted, too excited to wait for him to respond.

  “Oh yeah? Where’d you see her?” Buddy gave Lucy a squeeze and set her down when she wriggled to get out of his arms.

  “At the flea market. She was with her mama, looking at the glass that Auntie Em likes. Maude, I almost forgot. I want to show you my mermaid pillow.”

  “Don’t get too deep into anything, Maude. We need to be leaving pretty soon,” Bailey called after her daughter.

  Buddy chuckled. He was thrilled that Lucy had cousins near her age. He’d have given anything for someone to talk to when he was growing up.

  “Bud? You okay?” Bailey bumped her shoulder into his. “You survive the weekend? Colin thought two nights might have been a little much for you.”

  “Yeah, they almost were. I nearly dropped by the house, but I didn’t want Lucy to feel like she couldn’t stay. You want a drink?”

  “Sure. A glass of water would be nice.” Buddy and Bailey went into the kitchen, and Buddy served Bailey a glass of ice water from the refrigerator. “So what did you get up to? Besides building bookshelves and unpacking about a million boxes.” Bailey leaned through the doorway and nodded at the assembled shelving.

  “Nothing else to do except chores,” he said with a grin. “I ended up at Foley’s. Talked to Junior and Ryan for a bit before Meghan ran them off. And I also happened to see Miss Mayhew.”

  “Oh, really?” Bailey got a gleam in her eye that Buddy wasn’t quite sure he liked.

  “Yes, really.” Buddy rubbed the side of his face. “We split an appetizer plate, chatted a while.”

  “Uh-huh.” Bailey’s grin grew wider, and Buddy decided he definitely didn’t like that gleam.

  “It was just two adults having dinner.”

  “Mm-hmm.” She squinted at him. “I think you might be interested in her.”

  When he shrugged, she did a little jig and this clappy thing she’d done for years. “Oh God, Bailey. Let’s not make something out of this, but yes, if she weren’t Lucy’s teacher, I’d consider asking her out.”

  After he’d gotten home, Buddy had thought long and hard about Molly. She was the most interesting woman he’d talked to in a long time, and he found her incredibly attractive both intellectually and physically. But ultimately, he figured that asking Molly out on a date, at least while Lucy was in her class, wasn’t a good idea. If something happened and things didn’t pan out, he didn’t want to make things awkward for Lucy. Likewise, if things did get serious, he also didn’t want Lucy to get any flak for preferential treatment, not that Molly was the type to play favorites.

  “You know what’s best for you and Lucy,” Bailey remarked, though Buddy thought he detected a bit of doubt in her tone. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he knew what was best, but he’d had to go with his gut.

  “Well, we need to get a move on. I want plenty of time for the inevitable meltdown. I’m giving you fair warning—they’re both so tired that they’re wired, but they did have an awful lot of fun.”

  “Good. I’m glad to hear it.”

  Bailey squeezed her brother’s hand. “I’m so glad you’re back in our lives, Buddy. I missed you so much.” He detected a slight quaver in her voice, and he squeezed her hand back for his own assurance as much as for hers.

  “I am, too, Bailey. I am, too.”

  With a big grin on her face, Bailey rounded Maude up, and they took their leave.

  “So, sweet pea, what do you think we should have for dinner?”

  *****

  After a quick meal of breakfast-for-dinner, during which she could barely keep her eyes open, Lucy went to bed without a fuss—proof that she was truly exhausted—and Buddy found himself alone in the living room yet again. He was rereading his favorite book when the phone rang. He scrambled to pick up before the ringing woke Lucy, who was a notoriously light sleeper.

  “Hello?”

  “Buddy, darling, how good to hear your voice,” Natalie’s voice purred over the line.

  “Natalie, hey. Wh-what’s going on?”

  “I’m back in Atlanta, darling. I’d love to see you. We need to catch up.”

  Buddy paused. He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t mention Lucy right off the bat, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t pissed.

  “Lucy and I are free on Saturday . . .”

  “That long? Buddy—”

  “She’s got school during the week, Natalie. She needs to keep to her schedule.”

  He heard her scoff, but she replied pleasantly, “Sure, Buddy. I wanted to talk to you alone beforehand, though. Adult-talk.”

  Buddy wrapped his hand around his forehead in dread. “Sure, Natalie. We can meet for lunch tomorrow, but I need you to come down into town. I’ve got meetings in the morning and the afternoon.”

  After making plans, Natalie said good-bye and hung up, and Buddy was left sitting on the couch, wondering what in the world Natalie was up to.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Because of the time and her preoccupation with setting up the new classroom science center, Molly didn’t think anything of offering a cheery “Come in” when she heard a quick rap on her door.

  “Hello, Molly.”

  “Boone, what are you doing here in the middle of the afternoon?”

  “You know that making my own hours is a perk of being self-employed. Speaking of,” he stepped close to her, so close that she took a step back, “I’d like to take my favorite kindergarten teacher out to a late lunch.”

  “No.”

  Boone’s self-assured smile disappeared. “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, I am being rude. No, thank you, Boone. I would not like to go to a late lunch with you.” Boone got ready to interrupt her, but Molly shushed him, holding her finger up. “Not today, not ever. We do not have a relationship, Boone. That ended when your wife humil
iated me in front of the administration and a group of parents.”

  “Aw, Molly, I told you, she’s not my wife anymore—”

  “You told me she wasn’t your wife two years ago, Boone. The answer is no and will remain no.”

  “Listen here, Molly. Who the hell do you think arranged for you to get this job in the best elementary school in the district after you were encouraged to seek another position, hmm?”

  Molly felt all the blood rush from her face. No. Boone couldn’t have arranged that. He didn’t have that much pull. Her old principal got her this position. But the smug smirk on Boone’s face told her everything.

  “Oh my God, I am such an idiot,” she seethed.

  “Molly, sweetheart,” Boone crooned, reaching for her, “you are n—”

  “Do not touch me. Please leave my classroom, Mr. Cash.”

  “ ‘Mr. Cash’?” he asked incredulously. “ ‘Mr. Cash’?” Boone’s hand tightened on her upper arm.

  “Yes, Mr. Cash. Please leave.”

  “Molly.” Boone’s jaw tightened, and Molly could see the vein in his forehead ticking. He was still holding on to her, his grip actually growing tighter.

  “Please don’t make me have to call the security officer.”

  “Why are you walking away from this? Eight months ago, you would have given anything to be in this position.”

  “Because you lied to me, Boone. Because you betrayed me. Because you let me be humiliated.” She yanked her arm out of his grasp. “I’m calling the security officer.” Molly stepped over to the intercom, but before she could press the button, Boone was on her, jerking her hand away.