Page 54 of Once upon a Summer Night

“Angry,” Colin translated. “What did you do this time?”

Reilly shrugged. “Don’t worry about it; it’s my concern.”

“Not if they blow down this house with us inside of it,” Emma pointed out nervously as another clap of thunder shook the walls.

“Like I said,” Reilly repeated, his tone brooking no argument, “it’s my concern.”

“Despite the weather, I think staying in Ireland is a good idea,” James noted, tossing his phone onto the coffee table. “The entertainment news outlets are still all over Ellie.”

“Poor lass. Not the easiest time of it, for sure,” Reilly agreed. “It would be nice if she had someprotection.”

“Leave off,” Colin growled, tensing.

“What?” Reilly asked innocently. “I’m certain she could use someone to lean on in these trying times.”

“This is interesting,” Aidan mused, leaning back in his chair and watching Colin speculatively.

“I think aProtectoris just what she needs,” James added with a smirk.

“Yes,” Colin snapped. “Let’s talk about her security detail while she’s on her dates.”

Reilly shook his head slowly. “I think we should instead talk about how our fearless matchmaking leader here has found his soul mate.”

Aidan’s jaw hung open. “Really?”

“Yep,” James answered, peering into the bottle. “She’s pretty special.”

Colin ignored him and looked to Emma for help. “So we’re in a bit of a tough spot. Reg decided he wants to try a date with Ellie.”

Emma smiled at him, and when she replied, he felt relief that she would help him to steer the conversation away from the subject at hand. “I know he claims he’s changed, but he’s been such an ogre for the past year. Can’t we just drop him as a client?”

“And admit defeat?” Colin clucked. “Nope.”

“But Ellie is so sweet…” Emma trailed off.

“For what it’s worth, I think he’s changed for the better, though it remains to be seen if the change is permanent. But their suitability isn’t the main concern here. Emsworth gave me her list of must-haves. It’s a bit different than Ellie’s.” He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Emma. “Chew on this for a moment.” He watched as she scanned the bulleted list, her eyes nearly popping from her head.

“Emsworth wants atitlefor her?”

“British is preferable, but Scottish, Irish, or Welsh would do,” Colin replied wryly. He added, “If we match Ellie with someone who would take her away from the UK or Ireland, Emsworth won’t retract the article, title or not.” Colin could almost see the steam coming out of Emma’s ears.

“But…that’s Ellie’s drop-dead!”

“Drop-dead” was a term Celtic Connections used internally to refer to an item on a client’s red flag list. Many times, a client would refuse to entertain the idea of a person with qualities such as poor hygiene, someone of a certain profession, or, in some cases, an income less than their own. Most clients had multiple items on their drop-dead lists, but Ellie had given them just one.

No aristocrats.

“This is a disaster. The country—and her aunt—expects you to make a high-profile match, but you’ll have to go directly against her wishes!” she asked. “Unless…wait a second. Reginald doesn’t have a title. Oh, boy. I see the mess now. Has she agreed to the date with him yet?”

“She did.”

“So if she matches with him, then what? The article won’t be retracted?” Aidan asked.

“I’ve got to hold out hope that Ellie’s happiness—and the fact the Reginald lives half the year in England—will override the lack of title,” Emma replied, worried.

“Actually,” Colin cut in, “the title isn’t an issue, as he’s in line to become a baron or something.”

Emma blinked. “Um…wow. Okay. I didn’t know that. Doessheknow that?”

---