Page 35 of The Matchmaker and the Marine

He sighed. “No, it’s not you. I’ve got a few things that I’ve been dealing with. I apologize, Mel.”

He heard her say softly, “I guess we’re both a bit tender from things. Still friends?”

“Absolutely.”

“That’s good, because I really don’t have a lot of friends in town.”

He kept the shock from his voice. “What are you talking about? Everyone loves you.”

She laughed. “If you say so.” Changing the subject, she asked, “Did you contact Beth yet?”

“No, but she sent me a text. I’ll touch base with her later.” He smiled into the phone. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you the four-one-one tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan. Have a good night and see you in the morning.” Melinda disconnected, and Adam wondered what had just happened. Did Mel admit that she really did feel isolated in a town where people respected and genuinely liked her?

Before he could overthink anything, he called Beth. She answered on the first ring.

“Hello, Beth. This is Adam Bell.”

“Hello, Adam.” He liked the sound of her voice. Warm and friendly, a nice combination.

“I was wondering if you’d like to meet for coffee on Saturday or Sunday?”

“That would be nice. I was impressed with the information Melinda Phillips sent me. You are a Marine? Thank you for your service.”

He was pleasantly surprised she used the present tense. Always humbled when someone said that, he said, “It was my honor.”

“I could meet you on Sunday. Say two?”

Adam didn’t hesitate. “Two is fine. Do you want to meet at the coffee shop downtown?”

“I have a better idea. I’ll bring a thermos of coffee and we could meet at the beach. Weather permitting, of course.” She continued, “The forecast doesn’t look that promising for the balance of the week, and if we don’t get a break I’ll call you to make a different plan.”

“Let’s meet on the bench at the end of Shore Line Drive. Do you know where that is?”

Beth said, “I do. I’m looking forward to it.”

Adam said goodbye and disconnected. He had just made a coffee date with one woman, but a very pretty matchmaker dominated his thoughts instead. Before he could change his mind, he dialed.

“Hey, Mel, I know I just left your place but do you want to grab ice cream? I was thinking maybe you could coach me on first date conversation.” Inwardly he groaned—now that was lame, and he hadn’t even let her say hi.

A soft chuckle answered him. “Hello to you too.”

“Sorry, I just got off the phone with Beth. We have a date Sunday and I’d like to make a good impression so I thought maybe we could go out and have ice cream. Sort of a practice run.”

“That sounds like fun. Give me twenty minutes and I’ll meet you at the diner?”

“No, I’ll swing by and pick you up. No reason to take two cars.”

“See you soon.” The phone softly clicked. He was shocked at his own impulsiveness. He was taking Mel for ice cream. He grinned and scooped up Skye.

“You be good and I’ll be back soon.” He gently set her on the back of the sofa and picked up his keys from the coffee table. He’d stop in and chatted with Will and Stacey before heading over to Mel’s place.

Melinda ran a brush through her long waves. She leaned toward the mirror and checked to make sure her mascara wasn’t smudged. She brushed her teeth, swished some mouthwash. What had possessed her to agree to go with Adam? Well, it didn’t really matter now because he would be here in a few minutes. This was the second time he had asked her to do something with him on the spur of the moment.

Her nerves jumped when she heard the doorbell chime. On her way down the hall, she grabbed a light cardigan sweater and her brown leather bag from the living room chair.

She grinned as she opened the door. “Hello there.”

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