The Matchmakers

by Jennifer Colgan

  He’d begun to think `comfortable´ might be a good place to be for a while, and that made him nervous. Settling down meant it wouldn’t be so easy to pack up and leave when things got sticky and they always got sticky eventually. When the wanderlust hit him, he might be torn up about leaving certain things, or certain people, behind, and that was something he definitely didn’t want. That thought chased away the pleasant blur of sleep, and the events of the previous night settled in his conscious mind like a lead blanket. He had a stalker. Or maybe a real faerie. Come on. She had to be a magician of some sort. There must be a reasonable explanation for everything he’d seen last night. `Matchmaker. Right.´ He laughed as he rolled out of bed and drew up the window shade on a cool, breezy Friday morning. All that crap about true love. There was no such thing. Love came and went. He’d been in love once or twice. At seventeen he’d been desperately in love with a girl in his twelfth grade homeroom. Sandy something. She’d had the bluest eyes he’d ever seen, and kissing her made him feel like Superman. At the prom, he’d suggested they sneak out to the parking lot and spend a little time in the back seat of his dad’s car. He’d brought a blanket and a fresh box of rubbers just in case. She’d slapped him and called him a worthless, horny dick. Not surprisingly, that desperate feeling of love had faded before final exams were over. The next girl, to whom he’d made a similar suggestion, thought it was a great idea, and he’d never given Sandy what’s-her-name a second thought. At twenty-five, he’d met Clair Bainbridge in Tallahassee, Florida and spent four months high on endorphins. The aspiring dolphin trainer had the body of a sea goddess and she could swim like a mermaid. Hell, maybe she was a mermaid for all he knew. She sang like a siren and made love like it mattered. She was the girl of his dreams, and he’d walked away forever after she asked him to move in with her. That desperate feeling went away again in the months that followed, and Nick never questioned why. Love faded. That was a fact. The newness wore off after a while. None of it was real or `true´. He’d made damn sure all the women who had come after Claire knew that. Tinkerbell was crazy. Nick had nothing to lose. Life without having to worry about falling in love didn’t seem like a punishment at all. When the doorbell rang, he shot a nervous glance at the bedside clock. He hadn’t planned on sleeping until ten-thirty, but since he had nowhere in particular to go this morning«what if she’d come back early? Damn. He’d planned to be long gone by noon. Now he’d have to make up some new excuse to get rid of her. He grabbed a t-shirt from the bureau and slid into yesterday’s jeans. Raking his fingers through his hair, he headed for the living room but stopped to snag a piece of cinnamon gum from the nightstand before he left.

  At least this time she’d rung the bell. He opened the door a cautious crack, and Miranda threw herself into his arms. `Nicky!´ He backed up, clamping one arm around her waist to steady her, then swung her around and deposited her on her feet in the middle of the living room. He kicked the door shut as he let go of her. `Hey«there, Miranda. How are you?Śhe thrust one curvaceous hip forward and gave him the look he knew so well. That dark, mysterious, brown-eyed come-on that said, `What, me married?Ít had been his undoing three weeks ago when she’d hired him to build her new pool house. Now it just made him miss the open road. `Skip and I are separated.´ The announcement came with a triumphant smile, which faded a bit when Nick didn’t immediately respond in kind. `Aren’t you happy? He moved out last night. He’s on his way back to Boston right now. He’s got some little bimbo there, I just know it. But I don’t care. What’s wrong, Nick? You look like you have something caught in your throat.´ `I just I’m surprised he left. From the way things sounded last night, I figured you’d be the one moving out.Śhe shrugged, did a pirouette and plopped on the couch. `I just reminded him that our pre-nup requires proof of infidelity, and he’s got nothing on me. I’ve got copies of his cell phone bills and his credit card receipts from all his business trips this year. He wasn’t on the phone with the Boston office fifteen times a day, and the firm isn’t sending him to Pompano to get three-hour massages and shop at Victoria’s Secret. If the slut in Boston finds out about the slut in Pompano, I might just end up a wealthy widow.´ Nick had that tight feeling in his chest again that came whenever he felt a female net starting to close around him. Miranda jumped up and sidled into his embrace. She ran her fingers over his chest and up to the stubble on his lower jaw. Her dark hair tickled his chin. ` I’m writing the checks now, and I’ve got a lot of projects for you, Nick. Come finish the pool house, and then we can pick up where we left off last night.´ Her lips, painted a sugary shade of pink, drew into her trademark pout. Sex on a pile of two-by-fours suddenly didn’t appeal to Nick. He put his hands on Miranda’s shoulders and pushed her back just an inch or so. Her sweet pout flattened into a frown. `What’sa matter, Nick? I promise Skip won’t be back.´ Her fingers moved over the skin around his eye, which he just realized didn’t hurt a bit. `He must’ve pulled his punch. You don’t even have a bruise.´ `Miranda, it’s not«I don’t? Oh«uh, if you want me to finish the pool house, I will, but«´ But what? Yesterday, she’d told him she loved him. Why was that knowledge such a turn off? It wasn’t that he didn’t find her attractive anymore, he just `Nick, baby, aren’t you coming back to bed?´ The familiar voice had a sexy, sleepy purr to it that sent Nick’s blood rushing to his extremities. All of them. He backed up a full four steps away from Miranda. He turned and saw Calliope sauntering out of his bedroom, and his heart thumped once, hovering on the precipice of the next beat. She wore one of his work shirts, open to the third button. The tails of the plaid flannel swayed around her bare thighs as she yawned and blinked languorously at him. Jesus! His bedroom windows were locked. Where the hell had she come from? Miranda’s gaze turned to ice cold daggers, and she came at him, fists balled. `Who the hell is she ?´ He caught Miranda’s wrists and held her while she showered him with a mix of Italian and English expletives. `I«just met her.´ That didn’t come out right, but he couldn’t take it back. `You picked her up on the way home from my place?´ Miranda struggled against his grip. She kicked his right shin, but he held her off despite the pain. `No!´ `Well, actually, yes.Ćalliope winked at Miranda, then leaned on the doorframe and stretched. The movement raised the hem of her borrowed shirt barely an inch, but the distraction cost him. Miranda broke loose and cracked him across the jaw with her open palm. It stung, but not as much as Skip’s punch had. `Miranda, she’s a stranger some girl who followed me home. She’s crazy!´ `Mmm, that’s right, lover. Tell her how crrrazy I am! Meow!Ćalliope did a sexy shimmy and clawed the air. Miranda growled. `I can’t believe you! You said we I thought you ´ Miranda sputtered at him, obviously at a loss to pin any promises on him. Nick gaped as Calliope turned and glided back into the bedroom. `When you’re finished out here, cowboy, I’ll be waiting for another ride.´ `She’s ah! You can’t do this to me, Nick.´ Miranda raised her hand for another blow, which Nick deflected. `I didn’t do anything. She’s not I didn’t sleep with her.´ `How can you expect me to believe that? She’s wearing your shirt. My God! I think I’m going to be sick. I’ve got to get out of here. You’re just disgusting, Nick.´ Miranda tore her wrist from Nick’s grasp and pushed past him. He turned to watch her leave, but he didn’t even consider stopping her. Why should he? She was better off. Maybe she’d work things out with Skip now or find someone who really did love her. Miranda slammed the door, rattling the living room windows. Nick waited until he heard her little BMW coupe roar away, and just for good measure, he counted to ten before he whirled around and trudged into the bedroom.

  Chapter Five

  Calliope perched on the corner of Nick’s rumpled bed, her Fae heart pounding. It wasn’t fear that had her charged up, he wouldn’t couldn’t hurt her, but his anger might wilt her wings a bit. It certainly couldn’t be jealousy she felt. Seeing that woman throw herself at Nick, wrap her arms and legs around him, had done nothing more than drive home another of Freya’s valid points. Nick Garrett was a player. This was the woman
he’d led on. He’d driven a wedge between her and her husband. She was the latest notch in his bedpost, the final bead on his string of broken hearts. Callie had done them both a favor by throwing a little wrench in the workings of their dysfunctional relationship. Later on, they’d both thank her. Despite her righteous resolve, her heart beat faster when he burst into the room. He looked dangerous and taut with his fists clenched in frustration and his cool blue eyes blazing. `What the hell was that all about? How did you get in here?´ `Pop,śhe said. `Did you forget? I don’t need doors or windows.´ `Well, you might need your wings in a minute, Tinkerbell, because I’m about to toss you out of here. What’s your game plan, Sugar Plum? Ruin my life?Ćallie straightened her shoulders, aware that she still wore nothing but Nick’s very masculine-smelling work shirt. She tilted her head and leaned forward. `Let’s define µruin’, shall we? Were you in love with that woman? Were you glad to find her on your doorstep this morning? Relieved to know she’d broken up with her husband?´ Nick didn’t answer. `Let’s define µlife’ next. You have rented furniture. The last time you spent a holiday with people you cared about, you were fifteen years old. By human standards, Nick, that’s no life.´ `Who the hell are you? How long have you been following me? Are you some kind of private investigator?´ With each question, he took a step closer until he towered over her. Callie seized the moment and shrank back just enough to make herself appear vulnerable. As predicted, Nick stepped back, relaxed his shoulders and shook off a little bit of the mad he’d worked up. `I’m exactly what I told you. I’m a Fae. My game plan is to meet the challenge Freya set for me and spare myself a very long, loveless existence.Ćallie rose, and her proximity forced Nick back another step. She put her hands on her hips and leaned into her tirade the way she’d seen Miranda do. `I promise you, Nick Garrett, I’ll become the bane of your existence. I intend to torment you day and night until you agree to help me.´ Torment. There was another one of those spine-tingling words, like `painless´, `destinyánd `enemy´.

  The word brought to mind hellfire and brimstone like his father always promised as the punishment for living a directionless life. On the other hand, how much torment could a half-naked girl inflict? And she was definitely half-naked. `So you’re going to torment me?´ He raised one eyebrow. `Every minute of every day until you agree to cooperate. I let Miranda see me, but I can come and go Śhe popped out of existence, and when she tapped him on the shoulder, he jumped. `At will. You may think you’re crazy, Nick, but I can make everyone think it. I can do a lot more than make your beer disappear.´ `That was you ?Ít had to have been someone, but if he’d seen her at Farley’s, he definitely would have remembered.

  She nodded, her lips pressed flat together and her arched eyebrows high. Despite the niggling question in the back of his mind that asked what if she was actually telling the truth, Nick rose to the challenge. That was his nature, of course, and he couldn’t change it. `What are you going to do? Hang around in my bedroom all day?Śweet torment. God, she had the cutest toes, and each time she moved, another inch of creamy skin was revealed beneath the hem of his shirt. Her eyes flashed, and he swore he saw flecks of gold amid the mossy green. `Are you saying you don’t believe I can make your life miserable?´ Nick laughed and spread his arms wide. `No. Any woman can make a man’s life miserable, Sugar Plum, but only if he lets her.´ `Are you daring me?´ He wanted to. He really did. He couldn’t help himself. `You bet.´ `Fine. If I have to make you help me, I will. It could have been easy, Nick. We could have shown Freya how wrong she is about you, but«she is a goddess, after all, so she’s not usually wrong about anything. I’d just hoped«Áw, damn. Was she tearing up? Were those beguiling eyes brimming? `Now wait a minute ´ `No. The gauntlet has been thrown down. You like a challenge, and so do I. I promise you that by the end of the day, you’ll be begging for me to reconsider and call a truce.Śhe sniffled, and he squinted at her. This was the best bluff he’d ever seen. `Tink, by the end of the day, you’ll be telling your story to a prison shrink if I have my way. Now pop out of here and let me get to work.´ `You don’t have a job.´ `I will. By the end of the day . Goodbye.´ He waved. She sniffled again and, before his eyes, she disappeared, taking his favorite work shirt with her.