Page 17 of Once upon a Summer Night

“No, thank you.” Ellie relaxed a little. Emma seemed lovely, though she probably was acting more than anything, considering her profession. But perhaps this wouldn’t be as bad as she imagined.

“Please, come on in.” She led Ellie through the door.

Ellie once again pulled up short. The conference room was even more surprising than the reception area; through the window to her left was the same stunning view of the Thames. To her right, the wall was covered in an enormous medieval tapestry. Ellie promised herself a good look before she left the building; it was exceptionally intricate and she was sure she hadn’t seen anything like it before. The wall in front of her was comprised of the same stones as in the other room, again with sconces set into the wall. The table, set in the middle of the room on top of another gorgeous Oriental carpet, seated eight, and was the same wood as the receptiondesk, down to the granite inlaid through the center of the tabletop.

Her aunt rose as Ellie rounded the table to join her. “This office space certainly is something, isn’t it?”

Ellie nodded, her eyes wide. “It certainly is. I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Well, it’s my understanding they’ve sunk a lot of money into this endeavor.”

“We’ve invested quite a bit,” Emma corrected gently, “but only because we believe in our mission, Miss Emsworth. Are you certain I can’t bring you something to drink?”

“No, no. Just bring Mr. O’Rourke back in here so we can get started.”

“Absolutely. We have a couple of people for you to meet,” Emma explained to Ellie. “We have a small staff here, and they’re all dedicated to matching our clients with their best possible partner. I’ll go get everyone. Please excuse me.” She ducked from the room and closed the door behind her.

“I like her,” Winifred declared.

Ellie smiled. “How inconvenient.”

Winnie shrugged. “Just because I disagree with what they’re trying to do here doesn’t mean they’re not nice people. Just misguided. And clearly ignorant of English culture.”

“I don’t have any idea as to what they are and aren’t ignorant of,” Ellie replied with a shrug. The door handle turned. “But I suppose I’m about to find out.”

On his fourthday of searching London, Colin realized the fruitlessness of his endeavor. He and Reilly had very little information to go on, and that was if Rose was even in London as she had claimed. They visited so many universities that his head spun, and he was no closer tofinding her than he had been the moment the taxi took her away.

“I’ve never before known a man to find and lose his soul mate in one day,” Reilly mused as they reentered the office. He dumped the stack of papers onto the reception desk and turned to face Colin. “Truly, it must be some sort of family record.”

A part of Colin was relieved he hadn’t found her; not only would he have to convince her that he was the one for her, but assuming he did, he had never before thought about how he would explain his frequent absences to a romantic partner. He couldn’t exactly tell the woman his next business trip was in medieval Ireland.

And, as Reilly had reminded him as the days went by, there was always the strong chance of rejection.

“Now that some time has passed, I wonder if she really was the one for me,” Colin said. “Maybe it was just a really great kiss.”

Reilly leveled a stare at him. “I just spent four days of my life chasing downa really great kisser?” His eyes narrowed. “Because I love you like a brother, I’m going to kindly pretend that statement didn’t just cross your lips. You’re welcome.”

Colin shrugged. “Let’s be honest here. I spent an entire evening talking with her, she is a beautiful woman, and I haven’t had any female companionship in far too long. I’m man enough to admit when I’ve overreacted.”

Reilly’s phone rang, and Colin was spared a response, but not the look of disdain.

Emma stepped out of the conference room, closing the door behind her, and gave him a wide smile. “I was just coming to get you! She’s here.”

“First impressions?” Colin asked, adjusting his collar as Reilly stepped into the hallway.

“Sweet. Quiet.” Emma gave him a once-over.

He glanced down at himself. His crisp, dark jeans gave just enough of a casual air to offset the business jacket and button-down shirt; Emma claimed it struck a balance between friendly and professional.

“Is the aunt here as well?”

“She is.”

“Try not to make direct eye contact, else you might turn to stone.”

Emma giggled. “Colin! She’s not Medusa!”

He shrugged, his mood already soured. “Spend some more time with her.”

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