Looking for Love by Kathy Bosman Page B

couldn’t withdraw from her.
    A car drove up his driveway and
stopped behind him. He frowned. Who could that be? The man behind the
driver’s seat appeared business-like with his tie and dress shirt.
A salesman?
    He got out and walked to Ross’s
window.
    “ I’m looking for Exact
Match .”
    He gaped at the man, unable to say
anything. He’d come to his place instead of Ella’s. Yeah, they
lived in parallel roads and had the same road number, but still.
The chances…
    “ Take the previous road and it’s
the same number. You must have come one road too far from the main
road.”
    “ Oh, great. Thought I’d gone
totally off track.”
    Ross nodded and clenched his fists. The
guy sped off in his fancy Cleo, and he frowned. Ella would have
single guys stopping by her place all the time now! Not a good
idea.
    He reversed
his car back out. Time to return to her and nip this whole business
idea in the bud.
    The grassy bank outside Ella’s
house had
become a parking lot. Seven cars parked on the side and the front
yard opposite her home. What would the neighbours think? Had she
checked about business zoning in her area? His head throbbed with
all the concerns he nursed for her and her impulsive
ideas.
    Problem was, Ella wasn’t the impulsive
type. That’s what troubled him about the whole thing. She believed
in some magic—this funny book—and seemed to be basing her whole
life on it.
    He stormed to the front door which stood
wide open in a high crime city and found himself surrounded by
people in her living room. How long had he spent on his driveway
dreaming about Ella? How had this happened so fast?
    He spotted Carol in the
corner, dressed in a business suit and taking someone’s details
down on a clipboard with professional poise.
    “ Where’s Ella?” he asked her.
    Carol blinked
at him. She pointed her pen at the door of the conservatory. “In
there. With a client.”
    “ What’s going on?”
    “ We got busy.” Carol grinned.
    He stepped back a moment to take
in the totally new expression on Ella’s friend’s face. Carol almost always
looked tired of life. Now, her face shone.
    Pauline sat on
the couch surrounded by people. She didn’t seem flustered at all.
Quiet, timid, reserved Pauline.
    Huh?
    Andrea stood
by the door, welcoming people in, barking orders. Okay, not
everything had changed.
    He stood around, not sure what
to do. He couldn’t interrupt Ella with a client. In fact, all these eager
people hoped she could help them. Who was he to interfere in their
quest?
    “ Tell her I’ll see her
later,” he
said to Andrea as he walked out.
    “ Wait.” She called to him, almost
running out with him to his car. “Don’t go. Ella thought it would be good to have
you around, too.”
    “ What?” At least he could be
close to her, but be part of the madness?
    “ She thinks it’s better if she doesn’t look single.”
    “ She does?” If he played the fake
boyfriend card, it would keep guys at a distance—like the yuppy
Cleo one who’d stopped by his home. The last thing he needed was
one of her clients wanting to pair off with her.
    And he could
make sure no stalkers visited her—watch her safety. It just meant
his weekends and home maintenance plan would disappear off the
horizon.
    “ You talking long term?”
    Andrea shrugged. “Maybe until the business
is established. Don’t know. Talk to El. She mentioned
it.”
    “ Oh.”
    As much as he wished to
disappear, it didn’t seem possible right now. A sudden yawn took over as he
made his way back inside and slumped on an empty seat. This sure
was going to be a long day and night. He peered at his watch.
Three-thirty. What time would she even close?
    Did he want to
be used? As a type of prop or advertisement for her business?
    His life had drastically changed from four
hours ago when he’d first read the advert in the
newspaper.
    As he sat there, watching the madness, his
discomfort grew. Nope, he couldn’t stay here and be a part of