Page 14 of Once upon a Summer Night
She smiled and gave a slight nod, as though to say she understood his intent, and sat in the matching chair.
So, Colin thought, mentally rubbing his hands together.It’s to be a full-on match, then.“I’m sorry for the loss of your husband.”
“Thank you. I’ve asked that refreshments be brought here. How are you finding London?” she asked, settling herself.
He leaned forward slightly and dipped his head towards her. “The city has its charms.”
She laughed. “Oh, you’re a cheeky one, Mr. O’Rourke. There’s no need to flirt with me.”
He smiled. “I rarely flirt with anyone, Miss Emsworth. I’m merely making an observation.” She raised an eyebrow, and he continued. “I enjoy city life, but I must admit to enjoying country life as well. I’m adaptable like that.”
She thoughtfully tapped her lips. “Mmm. Adaptability is important in life, isn’t it? I’m impressed with what you’ve done with your company since the unfortunate death of your cousin, Miss O’Rourke. Mysterious disappearance in Dublin, wasn’t it?”
Colin couldn’t exactly tell her that his cousin, who was now Lady MacWilliam, was living quite comfortably and happily with her husband and clan in the mid-1400s. Instead, he nodded and attempted to look stoic. “Yes. We miss her very much, but know she’s in a better place now.”
“Ah! Here we are. Thank you, Alan,” Miss Emsworth said as the butler arrived with a tray of sandwiches and tea. She said to Colin, “I love teatime. It’s one of the customs I uphold, as it’s so classically British.”
“I understand you’re Irish by birth?” Colin said, accepting the cup from Alan. “Your father, I believe, was an Irish farmer, and your mother was a British socialite.”
“Google does not tell the whole story,” Miss Emsworth replied with a slighttsk.
“Then I’m happy I didn’t bother with it,” Colin replied dryly.
“Things are done much differently here, Mr. O’Rourke. We are very different than Americans.”
“I’m quite aware of that.”
“Oh, yes, of course. You’ve spent quite a bit of time over here, even studying abroad in Ireland for a year. Was it the University of Limerick, or Trinity?”
Colin placed his cup and saucer on the table next to him. “Miss Emsworth, I don’t mean to be rude, but what do you hope to accomplish by asking me questions you certainly know the answers to?”
“To determine your honesty,” she replied without hesitation. “I’m attempting to see if you are worthy of handling my niece’s happiness.”
He leaned heavily on the armrest closest to her, hisexpression foreboding. “It is my understanding that you’ve already determined me to be so in issuing your demands. You wanted Celtic Connections to match your niece and prove that we do what we say—help people find love.”
She nodded, unruffled by his undertone. “Yes, that’s what you claim. And there is a part of me that’s very impressed with your success rate in the States. But in the interest of honesty, Mr. O’Rourke, let me be frank with you. You refuse to allow those of the middle and lower classes to partake of your services, and I find that abhorrent.”
He felt heat creep up his neck—not from embarrassment, but from anger. He sat up and forced himself to calm down before answering her in a measured tone. “I do not allow or disallow anyone from partaking of Celtic Connection’s services. Surely you’ve heard of gold diggers, Miss Emsworth.” He glanced around. “People who have worked hard to get where they are in life deserve to be with people who aren’t out to steal it all away.”
“My, what a dim view of life you have,” she admonished.
“Absolutely not,” Colin replied. “I’m a realist, and a businessman. My model in the States is that my clients are the ones who ultimately determine their life partner. I work within the requests of those clients, and I charge a certain amount of money to find them what they think they want. Some people can afford my fee, and others cannot. Those who can, give me a list of requirements. If a potential partner’s income is one of those requirements, I will do my best to fulfill it.”
“What if no income requirements are provided, Mr. O’Rourke? Does your pool of available women include any with low incomes?”
Colin just barely managed not to roll his eyes. “We have women and men in our databases, Miss Emsworth. I’m not running an escort service, for heaven’s sake.”
“Mmm.”
He braced both elbows on the chair arms and rested his chin on his steepled hands. “How we find partners for our clients is a trade secret, and I refuse to discuss it. I can assure you that we have men and women from all different backgrounds, but you’d have no cause to believe me. I do not match people based solely on income. I never have, and I’ve never claimed to.”
“You mean, youremployeesmatch people,” Miss Emsworth corrected him. “You strike me as a man who runs things from the top without any real insight as to how things are done at other levels.”
“I’ll try not to take that as an insult,” Colin intoned, “but I can assure you that Google does indeed tellmyentire professional story.”
“I wonder, though, if it tells your entire personal one?” she wondered idly. “You must forgive an old woman, Mr. O’Rourke. But if your company is as wonderful as your adverts here claim, why is the president and CEO himself not married, or at the very least, have a serious relationship under his belt?” Before he could answer, she charged on, “I’ve done my homework, Mr. O’Rourke. I am well aware of the number of no-name women on your arm at social events. You may be discreet, but I found no less than seven differentColin O’Rourke and guestcaptions on various pictures of you with beautiful, if rather thin, women. They were all the same—model types, an air of vapidity around them, happy to bask in the glow of your money.”
“You overstep yourself, Miss Emsworth,” Colin warned.
