Free Sparks the Matchmaker (Aaron Sparks Series) by Russell Elkins Page B

coming, it was still moving pretty quick. Only minutes earlier he had caught her name for the first time. Now they were planning a weekend getaway together. Only minutes before that, he had awakened to her existence for the first time, and now they were going to take a romantic drive up into the Rocky Mountains to get to know each other better. Maybe he would take her to a Colorado Rockies baseball game and Sparks could tell him which seats to buy in order to catch a foul ball. That would be so cool!
    She probably already had plans for the weekend, though. She clearly wasn’t planning a random trip with a stranger just to meet someone.
    As he leaned against the wall not far away, another guy walked up to Joy as she was talking on the phone, and put his arm around her waist. Ollie looked at Sparks, questioning, but he just pointed him back to them. Ollie tried to fit the puzzle together. Her lack of surprise told him she was used to that arm being around her waist. But her lack of enthusiasm, as if the guy weren’t even there, told Ollie far more.
    She had never mentioned him, which probably meant she didn’t want him to come. That could only be good news for Ollie. On top of that, Sparks didn’t seem the least bit concerned about him, which told him not to worry. Still though… I don’t like that arm being there.
    Joy finished and hung up. “Whatcha up to, girl?” the guy with the intruding arm asked.
    “I’m going to take a trip to Boulder,” she said curtly, without looking him in the eyes.
    “You are? But what about the John Mayer concert?”
    She finally looked at him. “Sorry, I feel like I really need to go.”
    “What’s going on in Boulder?” he asked with disdain. “I thought you didn’t go back there much anymore.”
    “I know,” she said. “I know, but…” she turned away from him and hid behind her hair a little. “It’s just been so long since I’ve seen, you know, my old high school friends,” she wrapped her arms around the thick book she held, and pawed at the tile floor with one foot. “…Or even kept in touch with them. I really need to go this weekend.”
    Joy was giving out so many nonverbal cues that Ollie couldn’t believe this guy wasn’t picking up on them. Or maybe he’s choosing to ignore them. She wants to get away from you, dude. He approached them. “So, did you get it all figured out?” he asked Joy, ignoring her accoster for the moment.
    “You going with these guys?” the accoster asked as he eyeballed Ollie and Sparks, scanning them up and down.
    “Ollie and Sparks,” Joy said.
    Ollie offered his hand and the guy shook it lamely.
    “He happens to be going this weekend,” Joy said. She handed the yellow paper from the ride board to Ollie. It had a number and a name: Lynn. “We’ve got another girl from the ride board that’s going too.”
    “Well, would it be alright if I jumped in with you guys too?” he asked.
    “We’re going to be pretty crowded already,” she said.
    Ollie smiled, realizing she was looking for any excuse to keep this guy out of their car. He knew they still hadn’t discussed how many seats his car had. For all she knew, he could drive a school bus.
    “Come on. We can cram in there,” he said. “You and I can share the back seat. We’ll be fine.”
    “Nope.” She meant it.
    Ollie took a pen from Joy’s backpack and wrote his number on the yellow paper next to Lynn’s. He looked at Joy, wanting to step in to help her, but it was clear she was the mature one in the relationship— such that it was. The unwanted guy knew he wasn’t wanted, but he was still trying to manipulate her, to work his way into the trip anyway.
    She wasn’t budging, though, and that made things awkward for everyone— including Ollie. He left them there to settle things between them while he made his way back home.
    He felt sure that Joy was going to kick this guy to the curb. Besides, with Sparks coaching him, what could go wrong? Shall I count