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“Wonderful. Thank you for choosing us for your matchmaking needs,” she recited, a forced smile on her face.
“Of course.” He gave h
er a frown and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve got to admit, I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“No worries.” She placed a hand on his arm to reassure him, but ended up marveling at the bulge of his biceps instead. He probably had a full-time trainer on staff to look like that. Dropping her hand, she gave him a tight-lipped smile. “We’ll enter you into our system and give you a call as soon as we have a potential match. No need to be nervous. We’ve done this a million times. You can count on us.”
“Thank you, that’s reassuring.” He smiled at her again, revealing a mouth full of perfectly straight, white teeth.
She tried her hardest not to look him over, searching for flaws. Lydia called it her quick reject scanner. Surely, a man like that had to have some serious ones if he was coming through her door, besides being rich. A commitment phobe? A secret hoarder? At that moment, she couldn’t care less. He was business that she desperately needed.
“Sorry about the heat,” she said, leaning casually on the counter. Her scanner was still working in the background, taking in his deceptively cool demeanor. Here she was, melting like a Popsicle on the sidewalk and he was in a full suit looking as suave as could be. The man had super powers. “I just had maintenance out, but they said nothing was wrong.”
With a deep chuckle, he pointed at the AC. “Mind if I take a look? I can’t promise results, but I used to take stuff like this apart when I was a kid.”
A smile quirked on Emily’s lips. She nodded her head and handed him the screwdriver, their fingers brushing for a moment. He didn’t mind getting his hands dirty. Maybe he wasn’t such a stuck-up snob after all.
“I like when I get the chance to work with old tech,” he said, prying a panel from the front of the AC with the screwdriver. “Nothing like them these days.”
“Yeah, nowadays you’ve got the fancy systems that you control with your phones.” She stood next to the AC and leaned against the wall in what she hoped was a totally professional and cool pose. The trickle of sweat that dropped from her nose killed that dream fast. “I prefer simpler times. No remote controlled AC systems, no smart phones, and definitely no dating apps.”
She laughed at her own joke while the mysterious man chuckled and kept his eyes glued to the inner components of the AC.
“I suppose dating apps are hard for business?” he asked, fiddling with a wire.
“Everyone wants to swipe right, swipe left today.” She leaned her head back against the wall and grimaced. “No one realizes the actual talent it takes to build a solid match. It’s not just about a photoshopped head-shot and a few quirky words on your profile. Those relationships are lucky to survive a one-night stand. My business has decades, if not hundreds of years of experience pairing up couples. It’s an art. Something those apps will never be able to bottle and manufacture.”
“Is that so?” He broke his concentration to look at her, amusement dancing in his brown eyes. “You really think your system is that good?”
“I guarantee it.”
“We used to be the spot for the rich and elite to find their match, too,” Lydia added loudly from across the room. “It’s hard to find someone to spend your life with if you can’t tell who’s after your money and who actually wants to be with you. Emily’s mother knew how to spot the fakes.”
A flush worked its way down his neck and he turned once again to the business at hand. Emily wondered if they’d said too much. Sometimes, her mouth had a habit of running away on her, especially in the presence of a man who resembled a Greek god. It was probably why she was still single.
“I think we have liftoff.” He pushed the panel back into place and messed with one of the dials.
Immediately, the AC started pumping out sweet, cool air. Emily gaped at it, feeling the sweat along her face begin to evaporate. So, he was more than just a handsome face and a power suit after all. That was a good sign. She gave him a grateful smile and reached out a hand.
“I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you. You’ve saved us all from spontaneously combusting.”
He smiled warmly at her, took her hand in his and stepped closer. “If you tell me your name, that’ll be plenty of payment.”
She tried to suppress a smile. The guy was good. It didn’t seem like he needed much help in the flirting arena. Maybe pairing him wouldn’t be such a chore after all.
“Emily Sevenson. Although I feel like I got the better end of the deal. What did you say your name was?”
“Michael.”
The pad of his thumb brushed over the top of her hand. Blood rushed to Emily’s cheeks and she shivered as his touch sent electricity shooting up her arm. Dropping her hand, she tucked a curl behind her ear and crossed her arms over her torso. A slow smile spread on his face, as if he knew the kind of affect he had on women. Determined not to let him win, she raised her chin and gave him a slight smile.
“We’ll be in contact.”
“Thank you, Emily Sevenson.” His intense gaze lingered on her face for one, long heart-pounding moment. “I look forward to your call.”
“Certainly.”
She leaned against the counter to watch him leave through the glass front door. Lydia hopped up to sit next to her and both ladies sighed as he walked out of view.
