Page 45 of The Matchmaker and the Marine

Melinda tapped the computer keys to finalize the hotel reservations for the wedding. She was glad to have someone to spend the weekend with. All of their friends would be paired off, and being with Adam was fun. She printed the ferry schedule and then sent the hotel and ferry information to Adam in an email.

Her office phone rang. “Hello, Melinda Phillips.”

“Melinda, hi. This is Nick.”

“This is a surprise. Did we have a phone conference scheduled?” She flipped through her appointment book on her desk and didn’t see anything with his name listed for a call.

“No. But I enjoyed meeting you and wanted to see if you were free for a drink this evening.”

She hesitated. Shoot. I didn’t want this to happen.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “Nick, thank you for the invitation, but I don’t date clients.” Her thoughts slid to Adam. He wasn’t her date for the wedding, going for ice cream wasn’t a date. They were two friends sharing a ride and spending time together while they attend an event for mutual friends.

“Couldn’t you make an exception with me?” he drawled.

She sighed and then hoped he didn’t hear it. “Nick, I have a wonderful match for you. Gretchen. Have you contacted her yet?”

“No.” He sounded disappointed.

“Why don’t you give her a call? I think you’ll be pleased.”

“Well, you do have an excellent reputation, but do me one favor?”

“If I can.” Melinda had a hunch she knew what he was going to say next.

“If you ever change your mind, let me know.”

With a nervous laugh Melinda said, “Thank you. I’m sure you understand I’m doing the job you hired me to do.”

“Is it wrong for me to hope you’ll change your mind? What would one little glass of wine hurt?”

“Now, Nick…” Her voice was firm. “You should give Gretchen a chance.”

“I will.” After he said goodbye, she set the phone back on the base and laughed.

“He certainly is persistent.” At that moment she heard a string of colorful language coming from her backyard. She moved to the window and pulled up the sash. “Hey, what’s going on out there?”

Adam held up his hand. She saw the blood dripping from his arm. Steeling herself, she said, “I’ll be right out.” Melinda stepped from view and put a hand over her roiling stomach. She had never been good at dealing with blood. “I can do this.”

She grabbed a roll of paper towels as she raced through the kitchen, regretting that she didn’t have a first aid kit on hand. Taking the back steps two at a time, she ran to him. Melinda kept her eyes focused on him searching for signs of him passing out.

Her stomach got that queasy feeling again as she unrolled an arm’s length of paper and then held it out to him. “What happened?”

“I was using the saw and the guard slipped. It was stupid. I caught my finger. I’m not sure, but I might have lopped it off.”

She took a quick look around as the blood was turning the paper towel bright red. She swallowed hard and deliberately tried to slow down her fast breathing.

“Mel, are you okay?”

Adam’s voice seemed very far away. She chided herself to get a grip. “I’m not a fan of blood.” She started to wrap more towels around his hand. “I won’t hurt you.”

“I’m okay.” He took a step and paled.

She grabbed his arm. “I’ve got you.” “We need to go to the emergency room and have someone take a look at that. At a minimum you’re going to need stitches.” She finished securing the paper towels and pushed on his elbow. “Keep your hand above your heart and let’s go.”

She steered him toward the kitchen door. Adam stopped in his tracks. “I can’t go in there. I’ll get blood on the floor.”

“I need my handbag and keys.”

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