ENCORE PERFORMANCE (THE MATCHMAKER TRILOGY) by Bernadette Marie Page B

knew too well that those rooms weren’t
quite far enough apart in the house once had been a
boarding house with rules, but was now just a home shared
by a healthy young man, David’s attractive daughter, and
an old woman who had done her share of matchmaking.
CHAPTER FOUR
    David moved in behind Sophia as she folded the sheets
from the basket of laundry perched on the kitchen table and
placed a kiss on her neck. She leaned in against him with a
sigh.
    “Carissa just called. They’ll both be here tomorrow for
dinner.”
“How’s Thomas settling in?”
“Pretty well. She said they were going to dinner
tonight. I think she’s taken him under her wing already.
And I do believe they’re a little smitten with each other.”
She confirmed what Jeremy had said to him with a wide
smile.
“Sophie, I don’t know about this. I don’t even know
this guy.” In an attempt to keep his composure and his
hands calm, he reached into the basket, pulled out a
pillowcase, and folded it.
“David, I wouldn’t have called him if I thought he’d
bring harm to Carissa or wasn’t good for the school. I want
this to succeed for her. It’s what she’s always wanted.”
“I just don’t like you putting my daughter out there
like this.” He saw her wince and wished he could retract the
words.
“ Our daughter,” she corrected him with narrowed eyes.
She might as well have punched him in the gut. “And I
wouldn’t have done anything to harm her in any way. You
should know that better than anyone.”
David laid the pillowcase on the table and walked back
around behind his wife. He slipped his arms around her
waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“I know. It’s just that when Carissa takes on a project
she dives in. She doesn’t take her time to see things through
and to be patient.”
“You think she’ll fall in love too fast?”
“Fall in love?” His temper was rising as he moved
away from his wife and paced the kitchen. “You did plan
this out.” He wiped his sweating hands on the sides of his
pants. “You already have her married off.” He flung his
hands into the air. “What the hell happens if she falls in
love with him and he doesn’t with her? What then? They
still have to work together. You moved the man over here
from Rome and he has nothing. If this doesn’t work out
maybe you’ve ruined his life.”
Sophia stood before him, her jaw dropped. “I don’t
want her to waste years of her life. I wasted three years
thinking your proposal was enough, but not accepting it. I
wasted another ten trying to figure out my life and here you
were waiting.”
“I wasn’t waiting. I was raising Carissa,” he reminded
her.
“Then you should know she’s smarter than both of us.”
She dropped the folded sheets into the basket. “I love them
both. Carissa is my daughter. Thomas is my friend. They
are two of the most talented people on this planet and by
God if they’ve already found each other that’s great. If
they’re not interested, they won’t think a thing about it.
Dammit, David, don’t shut the door on her. She’s been in
love before and had it fall apart. She’s not going to break.
“So I introduced her to a wonderful man who I think
the world of. What’s wrong with that? I knew two old
ladies that did the same thing once. Imagine that
conversation. ‘I have a granddaughter . . . I have a
nephew . ’” She blew out her breath as he watched her
gather her composure and the basket of laundry. Without
another word she walked out of the kitchen.
    Carissa spun into the kitchen, making a grand entrance.
She’d wiggled into a pair of dark jeans and accented them
with a pair of high heels. The low-cut red blouse
immediately had Thomas’s attention, she noticed. She’d
fastened the Saint Nicholas pendent her mother had given
her around her neck and it dangled between her breasts.
    “I’m ready.”
“You look beautiful.” He stood from his seat at the
table, making a visible effort