by Lisa Childs
“I know. I know,” Tabitha said.
And even if it wasn’t, Tabitha probably would have stayed with Regina anyway. They’d always been closer to each other than to her. Probably because Miranda had had to act more like their mother than their big sister.
Tabitha was acting like her mother now, though. “You look like hell,” she said. “Aren’t you feeling well?”
She felt sick. Just not physically...
She felt sick that she’d let Grant Snyder get to her so much that she hadn’t been able to sleep the past few nights because she hadn’t heard from him. She didn’t know why she even expected to hear from him. He never called or texted; he just showed up. But she would not be available the next time he showed.
If all it was between them was sex, she would have kept seeing him. But she was beginning to catch feelings for him—that was the illness she’d come down with...
Lying sleepless in the bed he’d once shared with her, wondering what he was doing, whom he was doing.
That was something her mother would have done—obsessing over a man. That was not Miranda. So finally resolved to push him out of her mind, she’d fallen asleep, and because she’d had so much missed sleep to catch up on, she’d slept in.
“I’m fine,” she insisted.
Or she would be...
Clearly skeptical, Tabitha stared at her.
“Any messages?” she asked.
“I emailed them to you,” Tabitha said. “There aren’t any good ones.”
Once she’d pulled them up on her laptop at her desk, Miranda had to concur. More women had called to cancel their memberships. And a Snyder had called...
Blair. Not Grant, though. There were no messages from him. But that was for the best.
She’d been getting too attached to him.
But what had happened? Had she offended him with teasing him that he wouldn’t be able to please two women? Hell, with the extraordinary lover he was, he would be able to please all the women in Miranda’s dating service—especially with the rate they were dropping their memberships.
She sighed. That was why she had to stop obsessing over him; she was going to lose the business if she didn’t figure out how the hell to fix it. That was what should have been keeping her awake nights, not him.
Maybe she’d just been using him as a distraction, though, so she didn’t have to think about what an epic failure the matchmaking business was turning out to be.
Except for one match...
“There’s a good message in here,” she called out to her sister. “Blair’s...”
She and Teo were so happy.
Through her closed door, she couldn’t hear her sister’s response but imagined it was as snarky as it ever was regarding her best friend. Her sisters had always resented her relationship with Blair, but since Miranda had set her up with the billionaire, their resentment had grown.
Miranda wished Blair hadn’t called the office number, but she could understand why she had. Miranda hadn’t been returning her text messages. After texting her that Grant was giving her a ride back to Monaco, she hadn’t texted anything else to her friend—despite her questions about how the night had gone.
It had been incredible—as it always was between them. Incredibly sexy. Incredibly fun...
And now incredibly done...
With a sigh of resignation, she picked up the phone. She’d rather call back Blair than any of their disgruntled members.
“Hey, stranger,” Blair answered her phone. “I haven’t heard from you for a few days.”
“I’m sorry,” Miranda said. “I’ve been busy.”
“So I hear...”
Not from Grant—since he hadn’t been around.
“And I’m the one who’s sorry,” Blair continued. “Teo thought his interview would help your business. Not hurt it.”
“How do you know...” Tabitha. Of course. She’d taken Blair’s message and had apparently given her one of her own. “I’m sorry. And truly, if those women were only members because they were looking to land a rich husband, then they didn’t belong at Liaisons International.”
In fact most—if not all—of the clients giving up their membership Miranda had inherited when she’d bought out her mother’s business. When she’d done so, she’d explained that she wasn’t operating her mother’s matchmaking business, where the sole objective had been marriage. Her objective was for her members to have some fun and excitement with someone they enjoyed—not whom they wanted taking care of them financially or otherwise.
Blair chuckled. “Guess I didn’t belong, then.”
“What?” Miranda asked. “Are you...did you and Teo get engaged?”
“Not yet,” Blair said. “But he’s been hinting—probably so he doesn’t scare me off when he drops down on one knee.”
“And?” Miranda asked. “Are you scared off?”
“No,” Blair said.
And Miranda could hear the smile in her friend’s voice.
“Not at all.”
Miranda released a shaky sigh.
“Sounds like you’re scared for me,” Blair said. “Aren’t you confident of your matchmaking skills? You promised me Teo is a great guy.”
“You know he is,” Miranda said.
“So how come you can set me up with a great guy, but you don’t want to find one for yourself?”
“I trust my judgment when it comes to other people,” Miranda said. “But not myself.”
If she’d had good judgment when it came to herself, she wouldn’t have slept with Grant once—let alone all the times she’d had.
“You’re too hard on yourself,” Blair said. “And if things are getting hard with the business, let me know. Teo would love to help out somehow. We really owe you.”
“You gave me a fun night out,” Miranda reminded her. And it had been fun.
“Grant gave your winnings to Teo,” Blair said. “Begrudgingly.”
But she hadn’t won...
“Then he took off somewhere and we haven’t seen him since,” Blair said. “Have you?”
Miranda choked on her own saliva. After she stopped coughing, she asked, “Why would I have seen him?”
“He’s been making those trips to Monaco lately...”
“Must be for a game,” Miranda told her.
He had to be playing games with her. Why would he want to join a dating service when he couldn’t even consistently stay in touch with her?
What the hell was he up to?
* * *
“Speak of the devil...”
Despite how exhausted he was, he grinned at his sister’s remark as he walked into the office off their airplane hangar. He’d just landed on his trip back from that dangerous mission. It had been dangerous—more so because he’d been so damn distracted with thoughts of Miranda than because of the mission itself.
“Tell Teo hi,” he said as he dropped into the chair behind his desk.
“It’s not Teo,” Blair said. “It’s Miranda.”
His heart flipped, and excitement coursed through him—more excitement than he’d felt even once during his last mission. He’d thought the danger might get his mind off her, but it had only made him think of her more—at some damn inconvenient times. Like when he’d actually been able to sleep but his body had been too tense and achy over wanting hers.
“He must still be pissed over your beating him at poker,” Blair said and chuckled.
He swallowed a smile over the lie he’d told. But he’d been too grateful to his sister for buying Miranda that leather outfit to keep any more of her boyfriend’s money. Not that Teo would have even missed it.
“Yes, sure, I’ll let you go,” Blair said into the phone. “I know you’re busy. And please, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you.”
Fe
ar clenched his gut over that. “What’s up?” he asked. “What does she need help with?” Was she okay? Had something happened to her?
“Her business,” Blair said, her forehead creasing with concern. “It’s down—” she sighed “—a lot thanks to that interview Teo gave.”
“Wouldn’t that help her out?”
“That’s what he thought,” Blair said. “But women are angry they didn’t get set up with him, and they’re leaving.”
A twinge struck his heart. He should have been happy that he’d been right about her friend, that he’d had reason to worry. But he just felt sick. “She told you that?”
“Of course not,” Blair said with a chuckle. “Tabitha told me.”
“But now you know...” Grant murmured.
And Miranda knew she knew. Would she ask Blair to give up Teo?
“Yes.”
“You offered to help her,” he said. “How?”
Blair narrowed her eyes and studied him. “Finding another good-looking rich guy for her might bring those female members back.”
He shuddered at the thought of actually joining the service. “Was that what you meant when you said ‘speak of the devil’ when I walked in?”
Had they been conspiring about him?
No. Miranda didn’t want him joining her dating service. She didn’t trust him.
Blair chuckled. “Funny that you knew we were talking about you.”
“Was Miranda asking about me?” he asked. Had she missed him like he’d missed her?
Blair shook her head. “No, I was asking her if she’d seen you. Where have you been?”
He shrugged. “Here and there...”
“Are you ever going to be straight with me about whether or not you’re really out of the service?” Blair asked.
But having been in herself, she had to know her question was rhetorical.
He couldn’t discuss what he did.
So he chuckled instead. “Service? You really thinking about having me sign up for Miranda’s dating service?”
Blair shook her head. “I doubt she would take you. She has a thing about honesty.”
“And I’m not honest?”
“We both know you’re not,” his sister said.
“Why does she have such a thing about it?” he wondered.
“Because she wants all the members of Liaisons International to be safe,” she said.
“I’m not dangerous.”
“But you are,” Blair said. “Because you would break hearts with the way you go in and out of a person’s life.”
He heard the catch of emotion in her voice, and a twinge of regret struck him. “Have I ever hurt you?”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You’ve done so much for me. You’re the best brother. But if you weren’t related to me, I wouldn’t want to date you.”
He grabbed his chest as if she’d stabbed him. He expected her to laugh.
But she continued, “And Miranda would sure as hell never date you.”
He nearly choked on the sudden rush of saliva welling up in the back of his throat. She had done more than date him; she’d screwed his brains out. After clearing his throat, he asked, “Why not?”
“Because of all her mother’s marriages, she saw firsthand a lot of dishonesty—a lot of lying, cheating and sneaking around.”
“Hey!” He wasn’t a cheat.
“She won’t put up with it in her own life,” Blair said. “That’s why she won’t get involved with anyone.”
But she was already involved with him. Wasn’t she? Didn’t she want him as much as he wanted her?
He doubted she would have crashed his poker game if she’d never wanted to see him again. And if all she wanted from him was sex, he wasn’t upset. After being away from her and thinking nonstop about her, he had to see her again.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HE WAS BACK.
Miranda’s hand shook when she finally hung up the receiver. Blair had ended their call a while ago, shortly after he’d walked into the office.
Grant was back.
So why hadn’t he come to see her yet? And where had he been?
With another woman?
Maybe he’d wanted that hostess from the gambling room all to himself...
Or he’d found a billionaire of his own to help support his gambling habit?
Not that he probably needed much help supporting it; he was so damn lucky.
She wished now that some of his luck would rub off on her. But she’d always found hard work got more done than dumb luck. So she literally rolled up the sleeves of her white blouse and set to work calling up the clients threatening to leave and reminding them that true love wasn’t about money. It was about emotion, about a connection...
Despite her best efforts, Grant kept popping back into her head. Sure, they had a connection. But it was just sexual. That was all it was; it wasn’t emotional.
And she had probably only been so drawn to him because he’d distracted her from her business woes. But she couldn’t use him anymore.
She had to focus on her business. So every time he popped into her mind, grinning that wicked grin of his, she pushed him back out. She refused to be distracted.
And some of her effort paid off.
She managed to save a few clients, but she had to draw in some new ones. Ones who weren’t tarnished with her mother’s desperation to be married whether she’d met the right person or not.
What could she do to draw in new clients? Regina hadn’t come up with anything to help their marketing. To help brand them as their new name for the dating service, Liaisons International.
Sure, they had clients from all over the world. But except for Blair and Teo, few of them traveled outside their sphere to meet with other members. Only members within that certain geographical area dated each other.
Was that the problem?
But then, most of the other members weren’t like Blair and Teo, in that they had access to private planes and could fly off at a moment’s notice.
Her door burst open, startling Miranda into letting out a little scream. When she realized it was her sister, a twinge of disappointment struck her. She’d wanted it to be Grant. He’d had enough time to make the trip from London to Monaco. If he’d wanted to...
Grant could fly somewhere at a moment’s notice. But that was the only part of her new branding that he fit; he wasn’t safe.
Not at all...
“What is it?” she asked Tabitha.
Had her sister gotten an audition?
Instead of the relief she expected to feel, that twinge of disappointment struck again. As much as Tabitha and Regina annoyed her sometimes, she did love them very much. And because of that, she wanted what was best for them.
“Did your agent call?” she asked.
The disappointment was clearly all Tabitha’s now when she shook her head, sending her red hair flying around her shoulders. “No,” she said. “And I should probably fire him. But that’s not why I came in here.”
She paused for dramatic effect, saying nothing more for a long moment.
Then, as if sick of waiting for Miranda to give her the reaction she wanted, she burst out, “We have a potential new client! And he might be even better than Teo.”
“Really?” Miranda asked skeptically.
Matteo Rinaldi was rich and good-looking and more importantly a really good man. That was a trifecta that was hard to find.
“He’s a prince,” Tabitha said, her green eyes wide with awe.
Miranda snorted. “And he wants to join Liaisons International.”
Tabitha nodded. “He wants us to find his Cinderella for him.”
“Do I look like a fairy godmother?” Miranda said. The last thing she wanted was to put someone in a situation tha
t made them a target of the media. Even an article that was supposed to have been good, like Teo’s, had wound up doing harm.
“You should at least meet with him,” Tabitha said. “He already chartered a flight for you. Do you still have your passport on you?”
Miranda nodded. With the way Grant had been coming in and out of her life, she’d figured carrying it was smart. But meeting up with him like she had wasn’t.
Not that she was falling for him or anything. She knew better. She was just using him. That was all she was doing. Using him for incredible sex that kept her mind off her business problems.
But maybe setting a few of her female clients up with the prince would earn their forgiveness for her not setting them up with Teo—if he really was a prince. She had her doubts.
“Where am I going?” Miranda asked as she stood up from her chair. She could use a break from the phone. And there was something about the timing of this meeting that intrigued her, especially now that she knew Grant had resurfaced, at least at home.
Tabitha clapped her hands together with glee. “His private island.”
“Okay...” She grabbed her purse from the credenza. “And whom am I meeting?”
“He wouldn’t reveal his name until he meets you in person. I guess he doesn’t want you alerting the press that he has to enlist a service to find him a mate.”
“Okay.” She could certainly understand his wanting to date discreetly, if he was truly royalty. But as she headed out the door, doubts flitted through her head.
Hours later, after a helicopter, plane and limo ride, she arrived at an elaborate villa in the middle of a very beautiful island full of leafy green trees and vibrant flowers.
And she wondered...maybe she truly was going to meet a prince. She was pretty certain that this island actually belonged to one from the crests she’d seen on street signs and in the foyer of the villa. The chauffeur had opened the double entrance doors for her and escorted her inside the space that was more courtyard than receiving area. The same trees and flowers from the grounds overflowed the foyer. She drew in a deep breath of fragrant air and something else...
That scent she and Blair had called boy. That she called man now. The chauffeur had gone back out the doors he’d opened for her, but Miranda was no longer alone. She turned around, but she didn’t see him...just a dark shadow standing in another doorway, a doorway to a dark room.
