just does.”
“Like a super power.”
“Sort of. I come from a long line of matchmakers on my daddy’s side. My Gramma and my great Auntie Jo brought hundreds of couples together. Auntie noticed I had the gift when I was sixteen, taught me how to use it, how to trust it.”
“Boy, I’ll bet she had an amazing love story.”
“That’s one of the drawbacks for some of us; we seem to be able to find love for everyone but ourselves. Most of us never marry. Auntie didn’t.”
“So, you’ve been like a nun?”
“No, I’ve dated.” Not lately. When was the last time she’d had a date? And now Shane had negotiated three? “It’s just when I’ve brought the right two people together, I get a kind of peace and joy that everything is as it should be in the world. I’ve never felt anything close to that with any man.” Except with Shane Carver—she’d felt plenty. Not joy and peace, but a push-pull of wanting and tenderness of feeling terrifyingly vulnerable yet safe. But when he’d hauled Cassie off on his shoulder, as awful as it should have been, the matchmaker part of her felt so very right. “The feelings I get are kind of addictive.” Was she talking about Shane or about finding the perfect match for someone other than herself? Or both?
“I want to get on with my life, Melissa, I do. I want somebody to love, kids.” She nodded, her face pained. “I’ve been out of the dating game for so long, if you can just help me—oh, God, I haven’t been on a date that wasn’t with Jack in over five years. Can I even do this?”
“Savannah, you’re beautiful and smart and fun, there was only one reason why you couldn’t have your happily ever after, and he’s out of the game.”
“I guess Jack bowed out a long time ago when he left, didn’t he? There was that night; we’d had a huge fight. We’d been fighting so much, when he said he wanted to end things, I didn’t believe him. I thought that—he’d come back to me. How stupid is that?” She grimaced. “I’ll pay you whatever you want. Let’s do this.”
Melissa shook her head. “I don’t take money for what I do.”
“Okay. So how does it work?” She asked tentatively.
“Unless we find your soul mate,” and Melissa was one hundred percent sure Savannah’s was stretched out on a lounge chair by the pool, “it’s kind of like shopping for shoes; you just have to try different ones on until you fall in love.”
Of course, that was not Melissa’s plan at all. She hoped that when Jack saw Savannah with someone else, he’d get his head out of his ass, and win her back. Sure, it sounded a little Parent Trappish, but clichés like that existed because they actually worked.
Melissa didn’t tell Savannah that part of the plan, in case it didn’t work. The important thing was that Savannah Sinclair was open to finding love or love finding her.
M elissa wasn’t ready when Shane arrived at her house well before six with roses, or rose bushes, to be more precise. Two climbers for the arbor he had made for Melissa just after she bought the house. While he put the flowers in the ground and adjusted the irrigation system to care for them, Melissa finished a couple of emails and changed into a bathing suit.
For early April, the day had been hot, but when the sun slipped over the creek side of the island, it would be cool enough for yoga pants and a t-shirt. She couldn’t help but smile at his momentary disappointment when she made her entrance clothed from the neck down. He rebounded quickly, picking up a large picnic basket with a Cru Café logo on the side. Another favorite of hers, whenever she went into Charleston for otherworldly comfort food.
“I told Mike Petrillo this was for you,” Shane said. “He said to remind you mac and cheese doesn’t picnic well.”
“That is so not true. Mike’s just picky.” But as executive chef, he should be. It was one of the things that made Cru special. “You have solo cups for
“Like a super power.”
“Sort of. I come from a long line of matchmakers on my daddy’s side. My Gramma and my great Auntie Jo brought hundreds of couples together. Auntie noticed I had the gift when I was sixteen, taught me how to use it, how to trust it.”
“Boy, I’ll bet she had an amazing love story.”
“That’s one of the drawbacks for some of us; we seem to be able to find love for everyone but ourselves. Most of us never marry. Auntie didn’t.”
“So, you’ve been like a nun?”
“No, I’ve dated.” Not lately. When was the last time she’d had a date? And now Shane had negotiated three? “It’s just when I’ve brought the right two people together, I get a kind of peace and joy that everything is as it should be in the world. I’ve never felt anything close to that with any man.” Except with Shane Carver—she’d felt plenty. Not joy and peace, but a push-pull of wanting and tenderness of feeling terrifyingly vulnerable yet safe. But when he’d hauled Cassie off on his shoulder, as awful as it should have been, the matchmaker part of her felt so very right. “The feelings I get are kind of addictive.” Was she talking about Shane or about finding the perfect match for someone other than herself? Or both?
“I want to get on with my life, Melissa, I do. I want somebody to love, kids.” She nodded, her face pained. “I’ve been out of the dating game for so long, if you can just help me—oh, God, I haven’t been on a date that wasn’t with Jack in over five years. Can I even do this?”
“Savannah, you’re beautiful and smart and fun, there was only one reason why you couldn’t have your happily ever after, and he’s out of the game.”
“I guess Jack bowed out a long time ago when he left, didn’t he? There was that night; we’d had a huge fight. We’d been fighting so much, when he said he wanted to end things, I didn’t believe him. I thought that—he’d come back to me. How stupid is that?” She grimaced. “I’ll pay you whatever you want. Let’s do this.”
Melissa shook her head. “I don’t take money for what I do.”
“Okay. So how does it work?” She asked tentatively.
“Unless we find your soul mate,” and Melissa was one hundred percent sure Savannah’s was stretched out on a lounge chair by the pool, “it’s kind of like shopping for shoes; you just have to try different ones on until you fall in love.”
Of course, that was not Melissa’s plan at all. She hoped that when Jack saw Savannah with someone else, he’d get his head out of his ass, and win her back. Sure, it sounded a little Parent Trappish, but clichés like that existed because they actually worked.
Melissa didn’t tell Savannah that part of the plan, in case it didn’t work. The important thing was that Savannah Sinclair was open to finding love or love finding her.
M elissa wasn’t ready when Shane arrived at her house well before six with roses, or rose bushes, to be more precise. Two climbers for the arbor he had made for Melissa just after she bought the house. While he put the flowers in the ground and adjusted the irrigation system to care for them, Melissa finished a couple of emails and changed into a bathing suit.
For early April, the day had been hot, but when the sun slipped over the creek side of the island, it would be cool enough for yoga pants and a t-shirt. She couldn’t help but smile at his momentary disappointment when she made her entrance clothed from the neck down. He rebounded quickly, picking up a large picnic basket with a Cru Café logo on the side. Another favorite of hers, whenever she went into Charleston for otherworldly comfort food.
“I told Mike Petrillo this was for you,” Shane said. “He said to remind you mac and cheese doesn’t picnic well.”
“That is so not true. Mike’s just picky.” But as executive chef, he should be. It was one of the things that made Cru special. “You have solo cups for
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