Page 99 of Match Me If You Can (Chicago Stars 6)

“Pay attention.” She shifted her purse higher on her shoulder. “All I’m trying to say is that I might have jumped to the wrong conclusion when we were at the lake.”

“Which of about a hundred wrong conclusions would that be?” He knew the answer, but she’d lose respect for him if he gave in too easily.

“That you were taking advantage of Annabelle. I hope I’m a big enough person to admit when I’m wrong, but you have to remember that you’ve programmed me to expect the worst. Anyway, every time I see Annabelle she talks about how thrilled she is to be making this match between you and Delaney. Her business is blossoming. And Delaney’s lovely.” She reached up and patted his cheek. “Maybe our little boy is finally growing up.”

He couldn’t believe it. After all these years had he cracked the ice with Phoebe? If so, he owed it all to Delaney.

As Phoebe disappeared into the owner’s skybox, he pulled out his cell so he could share the news with Annabelle, but before he punched in her number, Delaney reappeared. He probably couldn’t have reached Annabelle anyway. Unlike him, she didn’t believe in leaving her phone on.

Annabelle had never been a big opera fan, but Delaney had box seats for Tosca, and the Lyric’s lavish production was exactly the distraction she needed to take her mind off her mother’s phone call that afternoon. Her family, it seemed, had decided to descend on Chicago next month to help Annabelle celebrate her thirty-second birthday.

“Adam has a conference,” Kate had said, “and Doug and Candace want to visit some old friends. Dad and I were planning a trip to St. Louis anyway, so we’ll drive up from there.”

One big, happy family.

Intermission came. “I can’t believe how much I’m enjoying this,” Annabelle said as she bought Delaney a glass of wine.

Unfortunately, her old friend was more interested in talking about Heath than in discussing the trials and tribulations of Tosca’s doomed lovers. “Did I remember to tell you that Heath introduced me to Phoebe Calebow on Saturday? She’s lovely. The whole weekend was fabulous.”

Annabelle didn’t want to hear about it, but Delaney was on a roll.

“I told you that Heath left for the coast yesterday, but I didn’t tell you that he sent flowers again. Unfortunately, more roses, but he’s basically a jock, so how much imagination can you expect?”

Annabelle loved roses, and she didn’t think they were all that unimaginative.

Delaney tugged on her pearls. “Of course, my parents adore him—you know how they are—and my brother thinks he’s the best guy I’ve ever dated.”

Annabelle’s brothers would have liked Heath, too. For all the wrong reasons, but still…

“We’ll have been together five weeks this coming Friday. Annabelle, I think this might be it. He’s as close to perfect as I’ll ever get.” Her smile faded. “Well…Except for that small problem I’ve been telling you about.”

Annabelle slowly released the air she’d been holding in her lungs. “No change?”

Delaney lowered her voice. “I was all over him in the car on Saturday. It was obvious I was getting to him, but he didn’t follow up on it. I know I’m being paranoid—and I’d never say this to anybody else—but are you absolutely sure he’s not gay? There was this guy in college, totally macho, but he turned out to have a boyfriend.”

“I don’t think he’s gay,” Annabelle heard herself say.

“No,” Delaney shook her head firmly. “I’m sure he’s not.”

“You’re probably right.”

The bell rang to announce the end of intermission, and Annabelle slithered back to her seat like the miserable snake she was.

Rain pummeled the window behind Portia’s desk, and a bolt of lightning split the late afternoon sky.

“…and so we’re giving our two weeks’ notice,” Briana said.

Portia felt the storm’s fury pricking her skin.

The slit of Briana’s black skirt fell open as she crossed her long legs. “We only finalized the details yesterday,” she said, “which is why we couldn’t tell you earlier.”

“We’ll stretch it to three weeks if you really need us.” Kiki leaned forward in her chair, her brow furrowed with concern “We know you haven’t replaced Diana yet, and we don’t want to leave you in a bind.”

Portia repressed a hysterical bubble of laughter. How much worse could things get than to lose her two remaining assistants?

“We’ve been talking about this for six months.” Briana’s bright smile invited Portia to be happy right along with her. “We both love to ski, and Denver’s a great city.”

“A fabulous city,” Kiki said. “There are tons of singles, and with everything we’ve learned from you, we know we’re ready to start our own business.”

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