to take a breath to argue with her before she’d even finished her point, but to his credit, he stopped. Diana enjoyed one lovely, long moment of staring into his green, green eyes before they crinkled just a bit in what was precariously close to a smile.
“You’re right. There is a difference. I stand corrected.” He leaned close to Diana’s ear and said, “But I’m still not interested.”
His voice was warm. His tone was very assured, very in charge, but she could hear that touch of humor that lay just under the surface.
Diana felt...well, she felt antsy. There was something about Quinn that made her feel restless. The prospect of spending more time watching him dance with other women was not appealing. She needed to find a suitable partner for serious Quinn, and then she needed to get back to her mixing and her mingling.
That was all she’d come for tonight. Just a lovely, fun evening. She hadn’t come to pass out business cards, and she certainly hadn’t come to start brooding over a man who wouldn’t stop brooding over Lana MacDowell.
The band struck up a song with a livelier beat. Diana stood, and when Quinn didn’t follow, she grabbed his hand and practically hauled him out of his chair.
“Don’t worry, Quinn, we’re getting closer.”
“I wasn’t worried.”
“Two o’clock, white dress. Guaranteed not to live at home with Daddy. Looks like she’s terribly educated, but still young enough to go bungee jumping with you.”
“Haven’t I danced with enough women?”
“Third time’s the charm. She looks perfect for you.”
Quinn looked toward the woman Diana had picked out. Diana studied his face, feeling some smug satisfaction as Quinn raised that eyebrow in reluctant approval. “Very well,” he said, and he walked away.
Diana watched. Of course, the woman said hello graciously. Of course, the woman was soon smiling. Of course, the woman walked onto the dance floor and into Quinn’s arms.
This time, Quinn looked like he was enjoying the conversation. His partner looked self-possessed and confident, which was excellent, because she wasn’t going to be Quinn’s girlfriend for long. Diana had just found him his rebound girl, the one who would help him get past this Lana phase.
The lady in white looked like she’d be able to handle it. She and Quinn would share some lovely evenings and mutual interests in the meantime, and then...
And then, when that phase was over and Lana was firmly out of Quinn’s system, would he be open to a different kind of woman? One, say, with a love of parties and a passion for homeless pups?
Diana gave herself a mental shake. She was not a plotter and planner. She was the spontaneous girl who trusted her senses, and she’d sensed right away that this man needed a little fun in his life. That was what had drawn her to him, the desire to help a fellow human being enjoy life. Nothing more.
The woman he was dancing with was the one. Diana could see it in everything about their body language. They looked right together.
Mission accomplished.
Diana toasted herself with a sip of her champagne. It still looked pretty in the glass, but it had grown warm and kind of flat.
She looked around the room, hoping to see someone with whom to strike up a conversation. It would be nice to enjoy herself with a man the way the woman in the white dress was enjoying herself with Quinn.
I’m the gal pal. Again.
Diana knew her role. There was always a character like her in movies and TV shows. Once the gal pal helped the guy decide to go for it, she exited, stage left.
Diana tapped her tiny purse against her thigh as she took one more look around at the crystal and the flames. They were pretty, but they didn’t need her to continue brightening the night. Neither did Quinn.
Diana headed for the grand mezzanine. Maybe someone there was just waiting for a push in the right direction.
Chapter Two
Quinn MacDowell, M.D., was enjoying himself. His family would be surprised.
He was enjoying himself at a mandatory-attendance gala for the hospital. Forget his family’s surprise; Quinn found himself somewhat astonished.
The reason he was enjoying himself was a bold and playful woman with hair the color of whiskey and a green dress that tantalized him with her every move. And that was—
Well, it was...
Unsettling.
At thirty-one years old, Quinn knew himself. He was a cardiologist. He dealt in physics, in measurable pressures and electrical impulses that powered the human body. He served on the board that governed the hospital his father had founded. He visited his mother on the homestead ranch, he badgered his brothers for getting married and tying themselves down, and he dated women who were polished, professional and career-oriented.
He knew himself.
If a complete stranger ordered him to dance with other women at a black-tie gala, then he, Quinn MacDowell, M.D., would never comply.
Never.
Yet here he was.
The woman in his arms purred her words in a cultured, educated voice. “It’s so refreshing to have real music to dance to, not that auto-tuned nonsense, don’t you think?”
She was stunningly beautiful. Every woman Diana had chosen for him had been so. As a matchmaker, Diana actually was good. Quinn had been exaggerating the flaws of his partners after each dance, but Diana had definitely picked out women in whom he’d normally be interested.
He’d fine-tuned his criteria over years of trial and error, and knew exactly the type of woman who fit into the lifestyle that his career as a cardiologist dictated. Long-term relationships saved time and effort when it came to dating, so Quinn generally dated a woman for a half-year or more. Eventually, the girlfriend would announce the need to move on, typically after reporting that her biological clock was ticking, or because she wanted to move into the ranks of the society matrons and needed to find someone with marriage in mind. With no hard feelings, they kissed goodbye.
His last kiss had been quite a while ago.
West Central Hospital had been floundering under poor leadership, and it had taken all of Quinn’s efforts to keep the ship afloat. Despite his aversion for corporate politics, he’d found himself incapable of standing by and watching his father’s legacy flounder, so he’d joined the hospital board. There’d been very little time for female companionship this year, not while he’d been the only MacDowell still in town.
The hospital was going to survive. With some manipulation on Quinn’s part, his oldest brother had left Manhattan to return to Austin, and a more competent CEO for West Central was hard to imagine. His brother’s wife, Lana, the woman whom Diana claimed was her business associate, was rebuilding the research division. Quinn’s youngest brother had finished his years of service in the army and now worked in the emergency department, and had just announced that he would take over as department chair in the fall.
All of which left Quinn with less of a professional burden to bear. He supposed the time was right for the next woman in his life. In fact, while he’d been watching Braden and Lana dance, he’d been thinking just that: something was missing in his life. Then Diana had appeared out of nowhere.
Now here he was, dancing with an entirely eligible woman, someone familiar to him as an acquaintance of an acquaintance. Tonight’s rounds on the dance floor were tantamount to announcing that he was available, something that managed to get around his social circles with quiet efficiency. Appropriate women, like the one in his arms, would find him. Quinn would make a choice, and everything would proceed smoothly.
Diana Connor’s matchmaking mission had been unnecessary.
Still,