Page 44 of Once upon a Summer Night

He cocked a brow. “I’m sure there’s been worse. You do look lovely this evening. He’d be a fool to overlook you.”

She flushed and looked down, then noticed his footwear. “Your shoes!”

He glanced down. “What about them?”

“Do you own any footwear other than Doc Martens?” She wondered.

He winked at her. “I do, but they’re not work-appropriate.Have a drink. And have fun. Maybe you’ll like him.” He glanced up at Mike, who was waving at him, and gave a swift nod. “I’ve got to go. Enjoy yourself.” He turned, then stopped and looked back at her. “You look radiant tonight.” He quickly walked away, typing something into his phone, leaving Ellie speechless.

He made his way to the front of the room and started his speech. “Ladies, thank you for coming tonight. I know each of you would make a wonderful life partner for our gentleman. You’ll see that your name tags are colored; you’re paired up by twos for the next hour. We’ll go from group to group, so that all of you can have a chance to meet him. Then he’ll choose three women for some one-on-one conversation, and then from those women, he’ll select one for a date of your time, the activity his choosing. So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to Reginald Montgomery.”

Ellie watched in bemused fascination as the other nine women in the room quickly straightened dresses, smacked lips, stood taller, and pushed their chests as far out as possible. Her judging stopped there, however, as a handsome man joined Colin on stage.

“Wow,” someone breathed from behind her.

“I know! He looks like that guy who played Superman…what was his name?” another woman murmured.

“Henry Cavill?” someone replied dreamily.

“Yes, that’s it! I wonder if they’re related?”

“Wow.”

“You said that already,” the woman pointed out, but her voice was breathy. “But I think he warrants a double wow.”

Ellie looked around her at all the intelligent, beautiful women. Then she glanced up at the men and realized that they, too, were just as intelligent and beautiful.

This is so far out of my league,she thought, panic settling into her stomach.

She didn’t care to impress Reginald Whatever-His-Name-Was, but she definitely didn’t want Colin to see the shy, awkward side of her again.

He’d already seen enough of the clumsy one to last her a lifetime.

Why this was important, she didn’t know. She understood they would never be anything more than client and matchmaker. But part of her didn’t want Colin O’Rourke ever having a negative thought about her.

Ever.

She found her color-coded partner, who was, of course, Tamryn—her opposite in every way. Tall, blonde, legs that went on forever…and her job title of hedge fund something with a side of something bigger.

“So, how do you know Colin?” Tamryn asked nonchalantly, as Reginald and Colin began making the rounds. “You ran after him as though you two are friendly.”

Ellie shifted uncomfortably. “Um…”

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Oh. It’s likethat.”

“Not at all!” Ellie exclaimed, turning pink. “He’s too…”

“Untouchable?”

Ellie sighed, casting a glance at Colin’s profile. “I met him when he was setting up his UK office.”

Tamryn nodded. “What do you do for a living?”

Ellie opened her mouth to answer, but Colin’s voice made her spin around. And, of course, as she was in new shoes (or so she told herself every time it happened), she lost her balance, flailed a bit, and hit—

No, wait a second. She wasn’t on the ground. She was being held up by two hands, attached to two forearms, which were attached to two rather nice biceps.

Her eyes traveled up, into the smiling face of Superman—no,Reginald.

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