Free The Matchmakers by Jennifer Colgan

kinds of magic tricks, right? Why not
get Farley and Diane locked in the storeroom over the weekend? If they didn’t
kill each other, they’d probably come out married.´ Her eyes sparkled, and Nick
couldn’t look away. `Now you’re starting to think like a faerie,śhe said. That
thought bristled him, like rubbing a cat the wrong way. `I am not. I’m thinking
like a man. Being locked in a small space with a pretty girl is a very straight male fantasy.´ `I meant faerie
as in Fae, not gay, so don’t get your alpha male homophobia in an uproar.´ `I’m
not homophobic.´ `Sure you are. By the way, a gay couple would count as one of
the three, you know. True love is true love, no matter what form it takes.´ `Fine
by me. I’m just not hitting on any guys.Ćallie laughed. `Noted.Śhe
looked around the bar again and tapped her foot to the music. `This is good. We
have an objective now. Why don’t we come back tomorrow night and get started?´ `Get
started how? Shove Diane and Farley in the storeroom?´ She gave him a guileless
look and shrugged. `Why not?´ `Once again, I was kidding. Who doesn’t have a
cell phone these days? They could call someone to get them out in no time.´ `So
we’ll have to be creative.´ `I’m not liking this idea.´ `Then come up with a
better plan. I’m open to suggestions.´ `How about a butterfly net and a
straitjacket?´ Nick muttered the suggestion under his breath, and somehow, over
the loud music, the din of conversation and the sharp staccato of laughter, she
heard him. She gave him an exasperated look and disappeared. Nick’s jaw
dropped, and he scanned the bar, waiting for the flabbergasted reactions from
those around him. No one blinked an eye or even glanced in the direction of
Callie’s suddenly vacant chair. `Where did you go?´ he whispered to the empty
air across from him, hoping she’d just turned herself invisible to piss him
off. `Get back here.´ Nothing. `Callie?´ No reply. He couldn’t decide if her
sudden disappearance did more to convince him she was indeed a Fae or an
emotional loose cannon. He hadn’t meant anything by his remark after all. It
wasn’t like she didn’t already know he thought she was crazy. How could she
have been insulted? `Callie. Come back.Á woman at a nearby table leaned toward
him. Her date had just gotten up and was strolling toward the men’s room. `Hi!
Were you talking to me?´ `Uh«´ Nick produced his cell phone from his pocket and
held it up. `Sorry. My girlfriend« I must have hit a dead spot in the
reception.´ `Oh.´ The woman turned back to her drink, vague disappointment on
her face. Another lonely heart. She had no interest in the man who’d just
bought her a drink, but she didn’t want to go home alone. Nick grabbed his beer
and took a long swallow. How the hell did he know that? Or was it just
speculation? Was he projecting these sad details onto people because Callie
wanted him to transform into some kind of Middle America version of Mr. Roarke,
granting fantasies to love-starved singles? Next he’d be dressed in white,
offering drinks with little umbrellas and speaking in an overblown European
accent. He had to get out of here and get his head on straight before he
started actually caring about someone else’s love life. If he’d known it would
be that easy to get rid of her, Nick would have invoked butterfly nets and
straitjackets a lot sooner. It bothered him that she’d vanished so abruptly,
but as the hour wore on, he began to think maybe he’d imagined her presence
here tonight after all. Nevertheless, if she wasn’t real, why could he still
recall the scent of roses and the feel of her in his arms when they danced? Nick
dismissed his sudden melancholy as a lack of alcohol. He returned to the bar,
but when Farley lumbered over, Nick decided he wasn’t as thirsty as he thought.
He said good night and left, catching Diane’s eye on the way out and giving her
a crooked grin. She didn’t smile back, but he