Free ENCORE PERFORMANCE (THE MATCHMAKER TRILOGY) by Bernadette Marie Page A

don’t think that’ll be soon. You have to think
positive thoughts,” he offered, and he heard her sniffle.
“Aunt Millie died.” The comment was simply stated.
“Mandy died.”
“Who’s Mandy?” He ran his hand down her hair again.
Though he was trying to soothe her, he found comfort in it.
“My mother.”
Thomas felt his breath hitch. He wouldn’t ask. That
wasn’t right. Yet that one sentence had so many things
running through his head. Wishing Carissa were there, he
closed his eyes and took a moment to enjoy the feeling of
someone needing him for comfort the way Hope was. Who
was this misplaced child that ended up in Sophia’s hands?
What a gift, he thought. What a gift.
He felt her become heavy against him and realized
she’d fallen asleep. He managed to pull the lever on the
side of the chair and raise his feet. The movie on the
television still played out in Italian and he listened to the
words that were as familiar to him as English. Soon he
drifted to sleep.
It wasn’t until he heard the opening of the front door
that Thomas’s eyes flew open. He quickly felt the
numbness of his arms and realized Hope still slept on his
lap. The television now played a French movie, which he
understood as well as the Italian one. David’s weary face
appeared in the shadows of the television light.
“Sorry to wake you,” he whispered.
“No.” Thomas tried to wake himself up to be more
alert. “No problem.”
“I should have called. But Sophia and Carissa were a
wreck. Trying to calm them kept me occupied.” He ran his
hands over his face. “I hope she wasn’t any trouble.”
“Not at all.” He tried to make his body to move, but
found it impossible after having held her for so long.
Hope stirred on his lap and woke up when she heard
her father’s voice call her name softly. She smiled and
slowly crawled off Thomas’s lap.
“C’mon let’s get you home.” David tucked the afghan
around her and held her to him as she gathered her
bearings. “Carissa is going to stay at the house tonight. Will
you be all right here alone?”
“Sure, I’ll be fine. Is Carissa okay now?”
“She’s fine. I think this shook her up. When Millie
died she’d fallen too and didn’t recover.”
“But Katie’s okay, right?” There was desperation in his
voice as he tried to stand to talk to the man before him.
“She’ll be okay. They’re going to keep her for a few
days. They thought she’d broken her hip, but it looks like
she’s just banged up a little.”
Thomas nodded. That was good news, he decided.
David offered a tired smile.
“Thanks for watching her.”
“My pleasure.”
Thomas walked them to the door.
David opened the screen to let Hope out. She took a
few stumbling steps then stopped and turned back around.
She wrapped her arms around Thomas’s legs and gave him
a tight squeeze.
He watched them drive away and then closed the front
door and fell to the floor behind it.
Hope would never know what her sincerity did to him.
He buried his face in his hands. Sarah had hugged him
like that and trusted him to protect her. How could he have
let her down?
CHAPTER FIVE
    Thomas woke in a cold sweat. He sat straight up in
bed. His heart was pounding in his chest and his breath
unsteady.
    He ran his fingers through his wet hair and took a few
deep cleansing breaths. The sun was peeking through the
drawn curtains. The throbbing in his head felt like he’d
indulged all night with a bottle of whisky, but he hadn’t. It
took him a moment to remember he’d shared a beautiful
evening with a beautiful woman, and how chaotic the night
had become.
    He rested his aching head in his hands. The night
hadn’t quite ended as he’d thought it would have, even if
he’d promised himself it wouldn’t have. How had he gone
from a wonderful evening with Carissa to feeling her up
like a teenager in a car to holding her baby sister all night?
    The emotional shifts had him uneasy; he was tired and
run down, and that