Читать книгу Seducing the Matchmaker - Elaine Overton - Страница 12

Together the couple leaned forward and gustily blew out the forty white candles on the beautifully decorated cake.

“Happy anniversary!” The room erupted in applause and well wishes for the happy couple standing at the head of the long, formal dining table.

As Kimber, Noelle’s older sister, stepped forward with a cake knife to begin dividing up the dessert, the crowd of family and friends gathered closer to offer hugs and congratulations to Gilbert and Claudia Brown. They were celebrating their fortieth wedding anniversary.

Noelle could not hide the wistful expression on her face as she watched her parents gaze at each other as if they were the only two people in the world. They had always looked at each other like that, and Noelle knew they always would.

She felt a tug on her pant leg. “Auntie.”

Noelle glanced down at her niece Lea, who was trying to get her attention.

The toddler grabbed the crotch of her pants. “Pee-pee, Auntie, pee-pee.”

Noelle quickly scanned the room and found her sister-in-law, Ann, standing with a group of family friends on the other side of the large dining room. Swooping the two-year-old up in her arms, Noelle quickly maneuvered her way through the crowd in her parents’ house.

“Hurry, Auntie, got go bad,” Lea whined, then promptly stuck the two middle fingers of her right hand in her mouth and began to suck on them like a pacifier.

Noelle quickened her pace. She knew from experience that once the finger sucking began, the clock was ticking. She elbowed and excused her way out of the crowded room and took the stairs to the second level, down the hall to the bathroom.

Once inside, she quickly slid Lea’s elastic waist pants down her short legs, along with the Huggies training diaper, and plopped the little girl on the toilet seat and waited.

After a moment, there was a small tinkling noise and then nothing.

Lea’s eyes lit up. “Auntie! Good girl!”

Noelle felt her heart swell with love and pride. “Yes, sweetheart, you are such a good girl.” She helped Lea re-dress and then hugged her close. “Look what you did. You’re becoming a big girl.”

Noelle lifted the small body up to the sink for hand washing, which was Lea’s favorite part of the process. She smeared soap on her hands over and over, playing in the water.

Just as Noelle exited, her brother, Raymond, came charging over into the bathroom carrying a little girl who was an exact replica of Lea.

When Ray and Noelle’s eyes met, the pair burst into laughter.

“Lena, too?” Noelle said, but Ray was too busy trying to get his second twin daughter settled on the toilet seat to stop for conversation.

Unlike Lea, Lena’s bladder was completely full and took several seconds to empty. While they waited, Ray leaned back against the door and closed his eyes.

The sounds of laughter, the occasional clinking of their mother’s fine china and the mellow sounds of the music of John Legend created a cacophony of sound drifting up to Noelle and Ray from the party below.

“You look tired.” Noelle noted the dark rings under her brother’s eyes and realized it was the first time she’d seen him in almost a week, which was unusual for her tight-knit family.

Ray smiled at his little sister. “Good to see you, too.”

“I don’t mean you look bad.” She playfully bumped up against him. “Just tired. Are you just now getting here? I didn’t see you earlier.”

He yawned sleepily. “Yeah, just finished a seventy-two-hour rotation at the hospital.” He reached down to help Lena, who was climbing down from the toilet seat.

“Look, Daddy!” Lena pulled up her Huggies diaper and pants before turning to point to the contents of the toilet.

Ray gave his sister a slight grimace before forcing himself to look into the toilet. “Wonderful, baby girl. You did wonderful.”

Not about to let her sister steal her thunder, Lea pushed her way between them. “Part of that me!” she declared, frowning up at her father.

“Well, you both did terrific. My little ladies are growing up.” He ran his large hand over the top of their matching curly afro puffs. Satisfied with the praise, the girls raced out of the bathroom.

“Hey, wait, Lena, you didn’t wash your hands!” Noelle made a grab for her, but they were already halfway down the stairs.

“Remind me not to eat anything Lena offers,” Ray chuckled as he reached forward to flush the toilet.

Noelle watched him silently. Every line in his body expressed sheer exhaustion. “The woes of being an ER doctor?”

Ray glanced up at her. “No.” He shook his head. “Trust me, little sis, the long hours—that’s the easy part of the job.”

Noelle understood at once. Unfortunately, she’d seen that sadness in her brother’s eyes before. Ray had lost a patient that day. “Wanna talk about it?”

He smiled softly. “No, but thanks for asking.” He crowded beside her at the sink to wash his hands. “So, what did you give Mom and Dad for their anniversary?”

“What do I always give them?”

“Not another gift certificate for dinner. For someone who makes her living creating romance, you sure stink at romantic milestone gifts.”

“By the time I finish making romance for my clients, I have no inspiration left for myself,” Noelle joked but instantly regretted it when her brother’s eyes sharpened on her face.

“You know, I’ve often thought that about you.”

Noelle could see where the conversation was going. Another one of her sibling’s infamous and indiscreet inquiries into her nonexistent social life.

In an attempt to steer it away from that direction, she folded her arms across her chest and glared at her brother. “Okay, Mr. Romance, what did you get them?”

“An all-expense-paid weekend at a romantic spa retreat in the Poconos.”

“Uh-huh.” Noelle frowned in disbelief. “That had to be Ann’s idea.”

“So what?” Ray didn’t even bother to deny that his wife was the brains behind it. “I still get credit for it.”

“Cheater.”

“Sticks and stones, Cupid, sticks and stones. So how’s the matchmaking business?”

Noelle hesitated sharing her good news for only a moment. “Great, actually. I picked up a very influential client today. If I find him a match, Love Unlimited will finally get some big play in the press. It’ll be in the big leagues!”

“Really? Who?”

“Derrick Brandt.”

“The architect?”

“One and the same.”

“Wow—way to go, kid. That’s definitely a name.”

Despite his words, something about Ray’s tone said he was less than enthused.

“What?”

Ray scratched his chin. “Isn’t that guy kinda known for being, well…something of a jackass to his girlfriends?”

Noelle winced. “Not just to his girlfriends. What about it?”

“I was just thinking that if you do find a match for him, great. But what if you don’t? I mean, someone in his position could make a lot of trouble for you, make it sound like the fault was with Love Unlimited—not him. Know what I mean?”

“Yeah, unfortunately I do. I hadn’t really thought about what would happen if I can’t make a match for him. Not to sound arrogant—but I always make the match. The idea of failing never occurred to me. But I admit, after meeting this guy, I am a little worried. He’s a total jerk. He spent the whole interview ogling me.”

Ray’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Noelle’s thin brows crinkled in indignation. “No need to sound so shocked, Ray. Men do hit on me from time to time, you know.”

“That’s not what I meant. He just looks so GQish. And you…you know.”

Noelle found the remarks surprisingly insulting, which was amazing considering some of the insults she and her siblings had exchanged over the years. Instead of letting him off the hook, she kept her silence and waited, watching to see how he would dig his way out of the remark.

“You know! You’re…so…Goody Two-shoes.”

“Are you kidding me? Goody Two-shoes? Me?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Just then, Ann peeked her head around the door. “Ray, when did you arrive? The girls just came downstairs and said Auntie and Daddy were in the bathroom. That sounded kind of strange, so I thought I better check it out. What are you guys doing up here? You’re missing the party.”

Ray crossed the room to his wife without delay. “Hi, honey. How was your day?” He mimicked his wife’s high-pitched voice.

Ann smirked. “Hi, honey.” She stepped up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “How was your day?”

Wrapping her in a tight embrace, he sighed into her hair. “Better, now that I’m with you.”

The sincerity in his voice melted Noelle’s heart, and she suddenly had the feeling of being an intruder. This is what it’s all about, Noelle thought. Ray and Ann, her parents—they were the couples that had inspired her to start Love Unlimited.

Despite the nickname of Cupid bestowed on her by her brother, Noelle had never believed that there was necessarily one soul mate for any one person. She thought it more likely that there were certain people who just fit together better than others. And that if given the proper tools and assistance, those people could find each other rather than spending their lives going from one bad fit to the next. Because when it was right, there was a kind of magic that happened. Like what she was witnessing now.

With their arms wrapped around each other, the couple turned to leave.

“Ray, what did you mean by that Goody Two-shoes remark?” Noelle hated to interrupt, given the day Ray had obviously had. She knew all he wanted was some time with his wife. But the comment was bugging her, and she couldn’t seem to let it go.

“Nothing—I meant nothing by it.” With his arm still around his wife’s small waist, Ray turned back to face his sister. “Noelle. You are a beautiful, intelligent, successful woman, and you deserve only the best. But if even half of what I’ve heard about that guy is true, he’s bad news. Just…keep it professional.”

As the couple neared the stairs, Noelle heard Ann ask Ray, “What guy?” Their voices faded down the stairs before Noelle heard his reply.

Noelle leaned against the shower door and considered her brother’s words. She couldn’t shake the feeling that, whether intentionally or not, Ray had expressed more than he’d meant to. In fact, he’d probably expressed the same feelings anyone would upon hearing that superfine Derrick Brandt had come on to her: amazement.

Noelle had no delusions about her physical appear once. She was of average looks, nothing stunning, but she’d certainly drawn the attention of more than one man in her lifetime. In fact, Noelle was certain that if she were a smaller, more demure woman, she would probably be considered extremely attractive. But she wasn’t a smaller, demure woman. Standing barefoot at almost five-ten, she felt like a giant. And not even an elegant giant, like the regal models the world admired. She was plump.

Of course, the people who loved her called her big boned, but Noelle knew the difference. Her bones were not the problem. It was the meat on the bones, and there was more of it than she’d like. The result of a lifelong sweet tooth and overindulgent parents.

Noelle, and her siblings, Kimber and Ray, had each inherited their father’s build. Of course, on Ray it was considered an attractive feature. What woman didn’t love a big, strapping man to wrap her arms around? Ann certainly seemed to appreciate his height and girth. And even Kimber, although tall, had done a better job of resisting the after-dinner desserts of their childhood, and instead of being big boned, she’d turned out long and willowy. Men loved long, willowy women.

No, Noelle knew she was the only one of her siblings for whom the inheritance of their father’s genetics had not been a plus. At home, it had not in any way been a hindrance. She’d grown up in a house full of love and had never been given the feeling of being anything less than fantastic.

Gilbert and Claudia Brown had managed to do what all the daytime talk shows thought impossible. They’d managed to raise three emotionally stable, financially successful, well-balanced human beings. And after spending the first five years of her professional adult life as a licensed marriage counselor, Noelle had developed a greater appreciation of the uniqueness of her family.

That deeply rooted love, that feeling of complete acceptance, was what had made it so easy for her to give up her career as a counselor and open Love Unlimited.

Although stunned at first by such a drastic move, it hadn’t taken her family long to get behind the idea, and now she had their full support. And that of her happily matched clients.

As Noelle started down the stairs, she considered her brother’s words once more, and was certain of his meaning. Although he meant no harm, Ray was right. If handled properly, Derrick Brandt could be very good for business. But if not…

Noelle didn’t want to dwell on that too long. She had already discovered three women in her database that just might fit the profile for Mr. Brandt. Once she started sending him on dates, he would forget all about his momentary interest in her.

What happened in her office today was just the knee-jerk reaction of a man accustomed to chasing anything in a skirt. Noelle had seen the kinds of women Derrick Brandt chose to date in scores of pictures she pulled off the Internet while preparing for their interview.

But she knew Derrick Brandt’s type, and she definitely was not it.

As much of a brute as he was, he was just so sexy. A real walk-through-fire-for-his-woman type of man.