A Perfectly Imperfect Match (Matchmaking Mamas) (20 page)

And yet, she made him want to take a chance, to set his sights on something loftier than just the end of the week with the same woman he’d begun it with.

“It’s a wonderful party,” his mother told him with enthusiasm when he stopped by their table to see if there was anything that either one of his parents might need.

“Yes,” his father zealously agreed, clearly touched that so many people had turned out to help them celebrate this milestone. “Thank you, son.”

“Megan set everything in motion before she left,” Jared reminded his parents.

“She’s a good girl, too,” his mother commented, then seemed compelled to say, “But you know what would make this wonderful party even better—?”

“Adriana.” His father’s voice rose ever so slightly in a partial warning note. Having shared so much of their lives together, Matthew Winterset apparently knew
exactly
what his wife was thinking and where she was going with the thought she was voicing.

She looked at her husband, the soul of innocence. “I’m just saying, Matthew...” She deliberately allowed her voice to trail off without finishing her sentence.

“I think we
all
know what you’re saying, honey,” his father said, fondly brushing a kiss to her forehead.

Granted Adriana had a few annoying habits, but so did Matthew. It was, and always had been, the bottom line that counted. And the bottom line in this case was that everyone knew Matthew loved this woman. But he seemed to love her more when she refrained from voicing certain recurring sentiments.

Lacing his fingers through hers, Matthew coaxed, “C’mon, let’s dance, honey.”

“Yes, dear,” she murmured, gracefully rising to her feet.

Jared watched his parents walk onto the dance floor, then meld into one being as they defined one another with their fluid movements.

Dancing.
That was, Jared thought, a very tempting idea.

So far, he hadn’t had a single dance with Elizabeth, although he’d been on the dance floor a number of times. But each and every time it had been with one of his relatives. There had been his father’s widowed sister, Aunt Alicia, and then he’d taken a turn with several of his younger cousins because they had all come without a “plus one” in tow.

He’d even attempted one dance with Megan, but halfway through she had cut it short, flagging and saying if she didn’t sit down, her ankles and feet would swell up like balloons.

That was
more
than enough to persuade him to escort his sister back to her table—and her husband who had wisely chosen not to dance tonight—posthaste.

And, as irony would have it, the one woman who had captured his fancy had not been available so far. He intended to do something to remedy that.

Jared crossed the dance floor, making his way over to the ensemble. Coming to a stop beside Elizabeth, his intended target, he said, “Any chance of you taking a break while the rest of your friends go on playing?”

This was almost like the first time she’d laid eyes on him, Elizabeth thought. Chills kept insisting on running up and down her spine. Was it because of her attraction, or was it because she had already initiated the program that would ultimately result in her being alone again?

She just didn’t know.

“Sorry,” she told Jared, “I’m afraid it’s one for all and all for one. Either we all take a break, or we all play,” she informed him, having every intention of spending the entire evening seated right where she was even
during
a band break.

“That’s okay, Liz, we can play one number without you, right, guys?” Amanda spoke up, looking at the other musicians. “After all, you were the one who got us this gig,” she tossed in just in case someone did feel like protesting.

“Yeah, go ahead. Take a break,” Jack echoed, although with a note of reluctance. “We’ll muddle through without you just this once,” he grumbled.

Elizabeth hoped that the keyboardist’s parting shot didn’t mean he still carried a torch for her, but she shoved that unsettling notion aside when the other two musicians graciously urged her to go enjoy herself.

Jared reclaimed her hand. “I do believe majority rules,” he announced as he took her hand in his, coaxing her to her feet.

Not wanting to cause a scene, Elizabeth allowed herself to be led off as the rest of the ensemble struck up the chords for the old Etta James standard “At Last.”

Elizabeth got the point immediately—and prayed that Jared wouldn’t.

Struggling against feeling like someone being auctioned off to the highest bidder, Elizabeth shot Amanda an if-looks-could-kill kind of look.

The latter was the personification of smiling innocence as she continued playing.

“I think it’s going really well, don’t you?” Jared asked her as he swayed in time to the rhythm.

Why did she get the feeling he was saying more than it seemed?

Because she felt herself walking on extremely shaky ground, she tried to nail down his meaning and hoped for the best.

“Yes, the party seems like a huge success. Congratulations, Jared.” She whispered the words a tad too close to his ear, her voice raspy and, consequently, sounding sexier than hell. It made him want to grab her hand, and run off with the rest of her.

“And so’s the ensemble,” he emphasized for good measure—and because they were actually better than he had even hoped.

“They’re a very good bunch of musicians,” Elizabeth agreed, for the moment comfortable because she was on familiar, not to mention neutral, ground.

“I heard my uncle say something about possibly hiring them to play for this party he’s going to be having for himself—he’s retiring in a couple of months,” Jared added, giving her as much information as he had right now. He just wanted to be sure that he had her services reserved for that particular evening.

He was about to give her the exact date when she interrupted him. “I’ll get you all of their cards,” she promised.

“Why would I need the cards if I have you?” he wanted to know, a little perplexed.

When she looked up at him sharply, he had the uneasy feeling that he was being given notice—without so much as a word actually being exchanged between them to that effect.

He felt even more certain of that when she insisted, “Take the cards, anyway.”

“All right,” he agreed, plucking them out of her hand, “if it’ll make you happy.”

It was her turn to look at him quizzically. Just what did he mean by that? “My happiness has nothing to do with it.”

“Now, there we might have a slight point of disagreement,” he told her.

But just then, the song ended and Elizabeth took her cue, quickly evacuating the dance floor.

It seemed to Jared that she was actually relieved to have the dance over with. He was even more certain when she cheerfully announced, “Well, my reprieve’s over. Time for me to get back.”

Jared was about to say something to stop her, but someone behind him called out his name. By the time he finally turned back, he’d found that she had all but vanished on him.

Elizabeth had taken the opportunity his momentary distraction had provided and quickly hurried back to the ensemble.

For now, her safe haven.

Something was definitely off, Jared thought, going to rejoin some friends. He was, quite frankly, mystified as to what was going on with Elizabeth—or why she was behaving so strangely.

* * *

The feeling that something wasn’t right grew stronger. Try as he might, he wasn’t able to get Elizabeth alone at the party; she was always too busy. He supposed he could understand that; she had a great deal she felt responsible for.

And when the celebration was finally over and the guests began to leave, to Jared’s surprise Elizabeth seemed to just disappear before his very eyes. He’d been positive that she would remain until the very end, staying with him until he was ready to leave.

But she hadn’t.

Then it got worse.

When he called Elizabeth on her cell, and then her landline, both just went straight to voice mail.

He was starting to get worried.

After several days, he still wasn’t able to get hold of her.

And when he came by her apartment, he found that it was shrouded in darkness. No one was home. He waited for hours, but she never came home.

Had she gone out of town on a gig? Or left on vacation? While both were perfectly plausible possibilities, he didn’t like to think that either had taken place, at least not without Elizabeth telling him. They had shared almost three very arousing, incredible weeks together and now, nothing.

Had he just imagined that they had something going between them, or had something else happened?

At his wit’s end, not knowing where else to turn, he went to see Theresa Manetti, approaching her in the small shop where she took her catering orders.

Surprised to see him so soon, before she could ask, “How’s everything?” he told her.

It was definitely
not
what she expected to hear.

“Elizabeth’s disappeared?” Theresa asked incredulously.

In all the matches she and her friends had brought together, both jointly and singularly, this had never happened before.

Too restless to sit down at the small table where contracts were drawn up and heavenly confections were sampled, Jared paced about the small shop.

“It certainly seems that way to me,” he told her helplessly. “I’ve driven by Elizabeth’s apartment several times. She doesn’t answer the door, and there’re never any lights on. I’ve tried her cell and her landline, but they all go to voice mail. I’ve left over a dozen messages and she hasn’t returned a single one. The last time I called, some recording told me her inbox was full.”

He looked at Theresa, silently clamoring for her help. “Elizabeth didn’t say anything about leaving town, and, frankly, I’m beginning to worry that something happened to her.”

Jared was just a couple of years younger than her own son and her heart went out to him.

“I would, too,” she agreed sympathetically. Here, at least, she could set his mind at ease, at least partially. “But as it happens, I know her father and I had occasion to see him yesterday. He didn’t mention anything about Elizabeth, good or bad, and I know he would have if there was something to report either way.”

She saw the skepticism in Jared’s eyes and knew exactly what he was thinking. That sometimes parents were the last to know.

But not in this case.

“As I’m sure you know...Elizabeth’s father lost his wife when Elizabeth was very young. He was determined that she and her brothers wouldn’t grow up feeling as if they’d somehow been abandoned. He’s very close to his children,” she informed Jared.

Reminded of their strong family bond, Jared decided to get in contact with Elizabeth’s father. If, for some reason, she had decided not to see him anymore, then, painful though it was, he needed to know that, too.

“Would you mind giving me his phone number?” he asked Theresa.

It was, Theresa felt, the very least she could do.

“Of course, Jared. Just let me get my address book.” She paused when she saw the slightly inquisitive look on the young man’s troubled face. Theresa flashed him a smile. “I know, an address book sounds hopelessly old-fashioned, but I feel better about writing things down. Power failures and dead batteries don’t affect things written down in books and that way, other than occasionally misplacing it, I don’t have to worry about losing the phone numbers and addresses of my best customers. Like you,” she added on with a wink before she slipped into her tiny back office to retrieve the aforementioned address book.

Behind her, she heard Jared sigh. It was one of the saddest sounds she’d ever heard.

Chapter Sixteen

W
hen he saw Elizabeth crossing the floor of the busy restaurant, walking just slightly behind the hostess, John Stephens found himself wondering if he was witnessing an end of a beloved tradition. If, once the dust eventually settled, she would still be able to make a little time for him.

Or if marriage would change her.

Well, that—including the matter of marriage—remained to be seen, but the survival of their Thursday night tradition wasn’t the important thing here, he reminded himself. There was something a great deal more pressing to deal with.

As was his habit, John rose ever so slightly in his seat, a sign of politeness and his strict upbringing even though the young woman slipping into her seat was his daughter.

“I wasn’t certain you’d come,” he mused with a smile as he settled back in his seat.

“Why?” She accepted the menu from the hostess with a nod. “It’s Thursday and we do have a standing date for dinner on Thursdays,” she said. “And, except for that one time—”

She let her voice trail off, not wanting to think about that recent interlude. It was in the past now, where it belonged. And she was moving on.

She really was.

Anytime now...

“Why are you staying at Amanda’s apartment instead of your place?” he asked, clearly surprising Elizabeth. “That area isn’t all that safe at night. By the way, I hear the chef has prepared the veal scaloppine in a new way. You might like it.”

The casual remark did not erase the impact of her father’s question. She stared at him. “How did you know I was staying at Amanda’s? And how do you even
know
where Amanda lives?”

To her best recollection, she’d never given him Amanda’s address. There had been no reason to.

“I called around,” he told her vaguely. “You forget, your brother Ethan had a crush on Amanda not that long ago. He gave me her address.” He paused to skim the menu before making up his mind. “She’s lost a lot of weight since college,” he commented casually, the doctor in him coming out. “But fortunately, it suits her.”

It was just one surprise after another tonight, wasn’t it? “You’re checking up on me?” Elizabeth asked, astonished. This was
not
the sort of relationship she was accustomed to having with her father.

“Just making sure you were all right, that’s all,” he corrected. As he placed the menu on the table for a moment, his eyes met hers. “Just because an offspring reaches the age to legally vote...doesn’t mean a father automatically stops worrying. Parents continue to worry about their progeny until they draw their last breath.”