Her father didn’t resist giving her the eye role of the century. He then reached out and gripped her hand, speaking to her like a condescending game show host.
“Darling,” he began, “the right man isn’t going to just pop out of the bushes for you. You have to put in some effort and look.”
Katy blew air between her lips like she was trying to blow out a candle. She had heard the same old lecture for years. It had never helped.
“I’m very tired,” she said after finishing her meal. “I think I’m going to head back to the hotel.”
“You don’t have to stay there, honey,” Tanya said, grabbing the bill before Katy had the chance. “You can stay with us and not have to pay a red cent.”
Katy had told them many times before that her employer paid for her time at the hotels, but she didn’t feel like reiterating herself. She merely shook her head.
“That’s okay, thank you. I want to spend some time by myself after being crunched into such a small space for three months. I’m sure you understand.”
Her parents looked at each other and shocked Katy by giving her their own shrug.
Katy went back to the hotel but wasn’t ready to turn in just yet. The bar in the lobby was playing live jazz music, and it felt soothing to her aching head
She sat alone at the bar, thankful there weren’t many attendants around. She ordered her Jack and Coke and relaxed while listening to the light piano music with her eyes closed. She tried to let the scent of the smoky beverage linger in her throat, the calming harmony melting into the pores of her skin.
“I’ll have whatever she’s having.”
Katy opened her eyes to see a woman with sleek silver hair, wearing a decadent charcoal gray suit standing next to her at the bar. What struck her wasn’t necessarily the attractiveness of the woman, who appeared to be around her mother’s age, but the shade of her eyes. A supernatural shade of gray and soft amber.
“Sorry?” Katy said, feeling breathless.
“You look so relaxed,” the woman said with a small smile. “I can certainly use a dose of whatever you’re having.”
It took Katy a minute to realize that she knew who the woman before her was, and why everything about her presence was so striking. She had attended the cruise ship Katy worked on and was a highly known wealthy philanthropist whom the deck crew had spoken about on more than one occasion.
She was also known for her superb and unparalleled matchmaking services.
“Gerri Wilder,” the woman said, holding her hand out to Katy.
Katy took the hand and found the shake to be strong and assertive. She felt a flush of respect and admiration for the stranger who glimmered in front of her like a mystical figure.
“I know you,” Katy said. “You were on the Voyage Cruise ship in the past few months, weren’t you?”
Gerri nodded with a grin that hadn’t faded, sliding into the stool next to Katy.
“And you are Katy, the cruise line’s Entertainment Director.”
Katy was briefly freaked out by Gerri’s knowledge of her but, at the same time, strangely comforted. There was an ease she felt instantly in her presence, almost like she was under a spell.
“I am indeed, yes,” Katy said, smiling. “What brings you to a place like this?”
Gerri ordered a gin and tonic, then chuckled softly.
“A place like this hotel, you mean? Or this bar?”
“Both, I suppose.”
Gerri sipped at her beverage, a smirk ever-present on her wine-shaded lips.
“I saw you come in and remembered you from the cruise. I wanted to make you an offer for a special adventure I thought you might be interested in.”
Katy felt a burst of excitement ignite in her chest despite the fateful energy of the conversation. She found herself hypnotized by Gerri as she spoke, holding onto her glass of whiskey for dear life.
“As you know, I run a matchmaking service,” she said. “It has yet to fail. You seem like a woman who doesn’t shy away from a challenge, right?”