Page 37 of The Matchmaker and the Marine

“Hey, Adam. I’m not sure if you remember me, but we talked a couple weeks back at the hardware store.”

“Hi, Scott, how’s it going?” He half-turned to Melinda. “This is my friend Melinda.”

Scott smiled and reached out his hand to her. “Nice to meet you.”

“Hi, Scott.”

Adam said, “So what’s going on?”

“Remember the gazebo we were talking about? Well, I hate to interrupt your evening, but could you take a quick look at the overall measurements and let me know if you think I’ve gone too big. I’ve got the plans in my van.”

Mel noticed a van lettered with ELECTRICIAN in bold letters.

Adam hesitated. “Mel, do you mind?”

She stood up. “Do you mind if I take a look too?”

“Not at all,” Scott said.

After they walked across the parking lot, Scott pulled the plans from his passenger seat. He handed them to Adam, who looked at Mel and asked, “Would you hold my cone?”

“Yeah, sure.” She made sure to have an extra napkin ready when Adam passed it over.

He studied the plans, pointing out a couple of areas for change that would make the roof have a better pitch for snow in the winter.

Melinda felt the cool drip of his ice cream on her hand. And then another. Adam was totally absorbed in his conversation.

Should she let it just drip all over or… after giving it a thought, she brought the cone to her mouth. She licked the melting ice cream. She looked up through her lashes to see Adam’s eyes open wide. With a sheepish grin, she said, “Sorry.” She gingerly held out the cone to him.

He handed Scott the plans and without hesitation took a big bite out of his cone. “Good stuff, right, Mel?”

She gave him a shy smile. “Right down to the last drip.”

Chapter 15

The next day Melinda was at her desk chuckling over the impromptu ice cream get together with Adam. He had been so comical, practicing his opening line with her. She kept reminding him to relax and be himself. That was all he needed to do. He was a fun guy to hang out with; she could see how a girl would be smitten with him, if he would just be Adam.

She checked her email and was pleased to see she’d received a message from Beth. Scanning the contents, Beth had said the plan was to meet Adam for coffee at the ocean overlook on Sunday. Melinda made a note in her calendar to follow up with Beth on Monday. She had been very careful this time and re-interviewed Beth. She certainly didn’t want Adam to go through another lackluster first date.

She picked up a paperclip and toyed with it. She had to wonder what would Beth think when she met Adam in person. He was very handsome, a touch formal until he got to know you, and then he was utterly charming. At least that is how she saw him. Hopefully Beth would as well.

The sound of the electric saw distracted her. She glanced out a small office window. Adam was whistling as he worked. She returned to her chair and leaned back. It struck her as odd; why was she so invested in getting it just right for Adam? Yes, he was a client, but it was more than that. They had spent quite a bit of time together and had become good friends. This was the first time a personal friend was using her service.

She set the paperclip aside. That was all it was, they had become friends. She didn’t need to overanalyze everything.

Satisfied they were on the right track, she turned her attention to Nick and Gretchen. She was disappointed to see that other than a match based on physical attributes and the desire to discover new things, they didn’t have much in common. But Melinda had a hunch they might find discovering new things to do together would be a strong motivator.

She drafted an email to Nick, since he was the most particular of the pair.

Nick,

Enclosed please find a bio and contact information for Gretchen. I feel there is a strong potential for a connection. Please take a look and let me know what you think. If you’d like to pass, I have a couple of other matches to send to you.

All the best,

Melinda Phillips

It’s Just Coffee

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