“Peyton,” Matt said, her name a stiff, stern greeting.
She stood there, her coat unbuttoned and splotched from the rain, a Christmas plaid scarf hanging listlessly from her collar. She appeared pale, hesitant, as if she’d rather be anywhere else. The sudden unwitting thrill of seeing her so unexpectedly faded as her eyes met his and her expression turned distant and cool. He missed the fire of her arguments, the zeal she’d thrown at him for no better reason than she enjoyed their debates. But since the night at the beach house, she’d avoided him.
“Matt,” she returned evenly, waiting in the doorway of his office for an invitation she seemed to know he didn’t want to extend. “Do you have a minute?”
“Actually, no.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m due in Providence in an hour and should already be on my way. Why don’t you talk to Jessica about whatever’s on your mind and she can fill me in later.”
“I could do that, but I don’t really think you want her to be the first to know that we’re…”
The unuttered word slammed into him. A sucker punch. “Come in,” he told her. “Close the door.”
The Matchmaker’s Plan
Karen Toller Whittenburg
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Toller Whittenburg credits her love of reading with inspiring her writing career. She enjoys fiction in every form, but romance continues to hold a special place for her. As a teenager she spent long, lovely hours falling in love with Emilie Loring’s heroines, falling in love with every hero and participating in every adventure. It’s no wonder she always dreamed of being a romance writer. Karen lives in Oklahoma and divides her time between writing and running a household, both full-time and fulfilling careers.
Books by Karen Toller Whittenburg
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
822—LAST-MINUTE MARRIAGE
877—HIS SHOTGUN PROPOSAL †
910—THE C.E.O.’S UNPLANNED PROPOSAL *
914—THE PLAYBOY’S OFFICE ROMANCE *
919—THE BLACKSHEEP’S ARRANGED MARRIAGE *
1006—THE MATCHMAKER’S APPRENTICE ††
1010—THE MATCHMAKER’S SISTER ††
MEMO
TO: Jessica Martin-Kingsley
Staff Supervisor and Volunteer Liaison
FROM: Matthew Danville
CEO, Danville Foundation
SUBJECT: Confidential
Jessica—
In regard to your latest memo to me, referencing Peyton O’Reilly and next spring’s Black-and-White Ball charity event, let me remind you that Ms. O’Reilly is a volunteer and cannot be reprimanded for (as you phrased it) “…irritating the oysters out of everyone with whom she comes into contact.”
As I’m sure you recall, she was put in charge of the B&W fund-raiser at your suggestion and despite my (and a few other board members’) reservations about allowing someone so new to take charge of such an important fund-raising event. However, Ms. O’Reilly was eager to take on the challenge, campaigned enthusiastically for the task, and was approved (on a vote of 5–4) as the B&W event chairperson. As she has (to date) done nothing either unethical or illegal, I see no recourse but to allow her to continue in this voluntary position.
In future, perhaps you will see the wisdom of giving new volunteers ample time to demonstrate the full extent of their irritation factor before putting them in a position from which they can (for several long months) drive our oysters insane.
Contents
Chapter One
There was ample reason for Matthew Danville to be having a fabulous time.
Ainsley, his baby sister, had just been married in a beautiful ceremony; his best friend, Dr. Ivan Donovan, had just become his brother-in-law; the reception—planned perfectly to the nth degree by his other sister, Miranda—was off to a rollicking good start; his parents, Charles and Linney, were home for the occasion and focused—for once—on the happiness of their children. Everything was just as it should be in the world of the Danvilles.
And that’s the way he kept trying to think of it.
Even if there was no escaping the reality that Ainsley was married, Miranda was engaged, and the world Matt had always counted on was changing.
In a few hours, Ainsley would leave with Ivan for a two-week honeymoon in Italy, and when she returned, it wouldn’t be to Danfair. She’d be living in Providence with Ivan. She’d call another place home, and when she came to Danfair, it would be only as a visitor. A few hours here or there. Possibly an overnight on special occasions. But then she’d leave again, returning to her own home. Not far from Newport and the famous cliffs, mile-wise, but still a whole other life away. Matt couldn’t quite get his mind around that.
Home without Ainsley.
Miranda would marry Nate Shepard and leave, too. She was newly engaged and no wedding date had been set as yet—at least as far as Matt knew—but he didn’t think it would be long. Probably by spring, Danfair would be home only to him and Andrew, Ainsley’s twin, born an hour before her. A place where two brothers, both bachelors, slept and ate and kept their clothes. They’d manage just fine, of course. There would always be other people around; a rotating staff of immigrants and foreign students sponsored by the Danville Foundation was a fixture at Danfair. A fairly constant stream of gardeners, landscapers and maintenance crews were on the estate at any given moment, as well. And guests. Miranda and Ainsley would no doubt visit frequently, if for no better reason than to make sure he and Andrew adequately missed them.
But it wouldn’t be the same. The magnificent mansion that had been both refuge and playground,