Page 31 of Tempting the Tender Guy: Imperfect Heroes

Feeling vulnerable, it’s hard to meet his eyes. “Yes, I love you.” Bending my middle and ring finger down, I give him the ‘I love you’ sign that’s pretty much universally known.

Joy explodes on Mack’s face, his smile wider than I’ve ever seen before. “I love you!” he declares, squeezing my hands. “I’ve loved you for so long.”

The words I’ve longed to hear are far sweeter than I ever dared hoped.

“I wish we would have connected sooner,” I say wistfully. “I don’t think we were ready then. At least I wasn’t.”

Nodding, Mack releases my hands. “No, we probably weren’t. I’m ready now, though. I’m also ready to face my hearing loss and see what I can do to improve it. For me, for you, and for us. I want to hear your voice and never miss a single thing you ever say.”

“Oh Mack.” I throw my arms around him, hugging him and trying desperately to kiss him. In my work shoes, even on my tiptoes, I’m too short.

Mack meets me more than halfway, his mouth connecting with mine in a kiss full of love and hope.

We may not have been officially matched, but it’s obvious we were met to be.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THE MATCHMAKERS

“Well, when you’re good, you’re good,” Elliot says with a wide grin.

Laughter breaks out from the gathered matchmakers.

“And sometimes you get lucky,” Charlotte remarks. “Sadie and Mack only needed a little push in the right direction to see what was already there.”

Sandra grins. “You mean like you and Mr. Jacobs?”

Bright pink pops up on Charlotte’s cheeks. She clasps her hands over them and the color intensifies. She didn’t know at seventy-six she could still blush. Then again, she also didn’t expect to find love again at her age, so apparently anything is possible.

“You’re never too old for romance,” Brooke argues.

“That’s for certain.” Linda sighs, pressing her clasped hands under her chin. Something about all this love business makes her positively giddy. Being an insurance adjuster for years people would have been surprised at this softer side of her. She knows she was thought of as uptight and also unfeeling. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. She loves nothing more than a gushingly sweet and hopefully steamy romance novel.

Margot puts up a picture of the happy couple on their matchmaking board.

“And Yvonne reports that Mack has an appointment with an audiologist next month.”

“Poor man. Hopefully he learns hearing aids aren’t the end of the world,” Roberta says, reaching up and pointing at her own.

Deborah shakes her head. “Ahhh... the foolishness of youth. I’m grateful to be old and wise.” She cracks a smile. “Though I wouldn’t mind having all my original parts back.”

“Isn’t that the truth!” Margot exclaims.

Agnes looks around the room at the smiling and happy faces of the eight other matchmakers. Pride fills her at what they’ve accomplished.

Six couples have found love because of them. Nine lonely grandchildren, one great-nephew, one best friend of a granddaughter, and one sweet tattoo artist have all found their happily ever afters.

It’s more than she ever dreamed when the idea of finding someone for her grandson Seth first came to her. Speaking to her friend Roberta, Agnes wasn’t surprised to find she also had a single and lonely granddaughter. It was then the idea of forming the matchmakers came to be.

Talking with other ladies that they knew, Roberta and her grew the group to eight. They spent weeks talking about their own experiences with love. What had worked and what didn’t. Personality traits that seemed to align against all odds and different quirks that made people individual and unique.

It was Charlotte’s idea to combine the group’s shared love of bingo into a scoring system to match up the grandchildren... and great-nephew. Once it was in place, that was when the real fun began.

Now it was over. Mission accomplished and they could sit back and bask in the happiness on their families faces wheneverthey visited. Which was an added bonus of successfully matching them up with their perfect partner. They had all started visiting and calling more often.

Oh yes, the matchmakers were quite popular and envied by many other residents for their loving families’ regular visits. And the treats that the ladies happily shared with all.

Standing, Agnes waits until the conversations have died down and all eyes are on her. “I suppose that’s that,” she declares with a thread of regret in her voice. “The matchmakers can pack up the papers, notes, and the pictures.” She pauses at Charlotte’s waving hand.

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