Page 21 of The Matchmaker and the Marine

“We’re getting married!” Molly screeched.

Silence fell over the backyard and Stacey came rushing over. “Did you say what I think you did?”

Molly nodded her head up and down. It made Melinda dizzy watching at the speed it moved. “We are!”

Melinda and Adam stepped aside as their friends rushed over to shake Tim’s hand and hug Molly. Adam steered Melinda toward the grill. “Care to help me burn,” he chuckled, “I mean, grill the fish?”

“Sure, but do you know what you’re doing or should I take over?” She couldn’t help poking fun at him. “You said you don’t cook.”

“You’re looking at a grill master.” He picked up a baseball hat sitting on a table. “See, the hat even has it on the front.”

Melinda took the hat from his hands and laughed. “Wearing this won’t help us have a tasty dinner if you aren’t equipped with the proper skills.”

Adam tapped the center of his chest with his fingers. “Not to worry. All I need to do is oil the fish and add some seasoning. Slap it on the grill for a couple minutes, flip it over for a few more and shazam, dinner.”

Melinda hip-checked him and said, “Move over. Let me show you how it’s really done.”

Adam handed her the hat. “If you’re going to cook, you have to wear this.”

She wrinkled her nose. “You’re kidding, right?”

He slowly shook his head and grinned. “Nope. If you want to run with a grill master, ya gotta wear the right hat.”

Reluctantly she accepted the well-worn baseball cap and perched it on top of her head. “Be prepared to weep over the most delicious fish you’ve ever eaten.” Melinda smirked over her shoulder and turned down the grill. “They need a medium heat. I don’t fancy sushi today.”

“So far you haven’t done anything I wasn’t going to do.” Adam crossed his arms across his chest and attempted to look stern. “But I am impressed.”

“The magic is in the flipping.” She laughed, surprised at how much fun she was having.

“Again, Mel, I know how to cook fish.” She could hear the teasing in his voice but noticed he was very attentive to everything she was doing.

Looking over her shoulder, she smiled as she watched Molly and Tim bask in the group of well-wishers. “Do you think they’ll tie the knot in July?”

“Nah. Molly is going to want a very specific kind of wedding and I don’t think there is enough time.” Adam leaned close to Melinda and said, “You do seem to have the magic touch. For matchmaking.”

She turned her head to look at him, taken aback by how close he was. She didn’t want to pull away and seem rude, so instead she said, “I’m very fortunate to be able to find people that seem to mesh.” She relaxed and grinned. “And you’re next.”

Adam frowned. “I hope the next one won’t have treated the profile process like a joke.”

“That isn’t typical of the people I work with.” Quietly she said, “I talked to Susan and she was very nervous to meet you. Sometimes anxiety can take over and highlight a person’s flaws.”

He adjusted the cap on her head. “I know I was hard on her but I am taking this process very serious. I had high expectations.”

For the first time, Melinda really noticed they were almost the same height; she could look into his eyes. “You know, you’re pretty easygoing for a Marine. At least with me.”

He snorted. “How many Marines have you met?”

She tapped her fingertip to her chin, pretending to think really hard. “Just one. Well, two. Will and you.”

“That just goes to show you, stereotyping can lead to a completely wrong conclusion.”

Adam held out an oversized platter and Melinda slid the fish from the grill to it. “Whenever I’ve seen pictures of the Marines, or a commercial on television, the men and women look so serious. Like they lack an obvious sense of humor. Is it a requirement for the Corps?”

“Ah, that’s all for show. You’d be surprised how many of us are jokesters.”

Without looking up, she said, “John was a police officer.”

“I had no idea.”

---