Meeting His Match

Chapter 9-2

Days passed and Mac hadn’t heard from Natalie at all. Brad had agreed it would be awkward for the clients to have Mac and Gem with them on dates. Since they didn’t tag along on the dates Mac had set up, it was only fair that they not attend the events Gem had scheduled. That meant there had been no reason for him to call Natalie, which irritated him. He shouldn’t need a reason, but he found himself searching for one because he missed spending time with her.

Then his reason came in the form of rough cuts of the clients’ dates. He’d called Natalie and asked if she’d like to come to his place to watch the tape. She’d agreed, and now he paced in his living room trying to figure out what else he needed. He had snacks and drinks. He looked at the room and imagined how Natalie would view it.

Masculine, without a doubt. He had no frilly pillows or soft blankets hanging on furniture the way she had. The leather couch was comfortable and his flat screen had a much better picture than hers. He scrubbed a hand over his beard. Why was he trying to impress her? Hadn’t he told Paul starting something with her would be too risky?

Forget it. He never worried about what the place looked like when Paul came over, so he wouldn’t be concerned now. Natalie was a coworker, a friend.

One he was attracted to.

Shit. He needed to turn off that part of his brain. The bell rang and he buzzed her up. He opened the door and waited in the hallway for the elevator to arrive.

When she stepped off the elevator, she was in full Gem form from high heels to perfectly applied eye makeup. He didn’t know why, but it bothered him. He’d expected her to be dressed like she had been while sick.

As she neared, she looked at him with a smile. The smile was pure Natalie. “Nice digs. I think I’m in the wrong line of work. Had I known matchmaking was so lucrative, I would’ve gotten into the business a long time ago.”

“My mother has built quite the nice empire.” He held the door for her.

She stepped into his condo and let out a low whistle. “It’s even nicer than I imagined. You probably had a good laugh coming to my place.”

“I didn’t laugh at your apartment. If it makes you feel any better, my mother owns this building.”

“Thanks for trying, but that doesn’t help. This place is amazing and nothing like where I live.”

“But your apartment suits you.”

She turned and looked at him with a raised brow. He didn’t know how she did it, but she routinely made him sound stupid. The words in his head didn’t come out the way he wanted them to. “I mean that your apartment is comfortable, lived in.”

“So something used and rundown suits me.”

He froze. Every time he opened his mouth to fix what he’d said, he only made it worse.

Finally, she let him off the hook. She smiled. “Lighten up, Malcolm. I know what you meant. And you’re right. My place does suit me. It’s cozy.”

Cozy. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Maybe because she was looking anything but cozy right now.

She turned away again and swept through the room. “But what I could do with a space like this. I could have a whole wall of books.”

Ah, the librarian in her shows. “My mother actually has a library at home. It’s always been one of my favorite rooms in the house.”

She looked at him. “You grew up in a house big enough to have its own library? Like in Beauty and the Beast?”

“Not quite that big. I don’t come from royalty.” They stood awkwardly for a moment. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”

“Sure. Whatever you have is fine.”

“I have wine or whisky. Water.”

“I’ll have some wine.”

“White or red?”

“Jeez. Aren’t you full service? Since Jillian and I usually drink whatever’s on sale, I’m not picky.”

Mac was grateful to have a task that would get him away from her for a minute to gather his thoughts. He didn’t like feeling out of step with her. They’d found rhythm for work and it had stemmed from the personal foundation they’d forged. He had no idea how they’d gotten here.

“Can I help with anything?”

So much for his reprieve. He pointed to the selection of snacks he had laid out on the counter. “Decide what you’d like.”

“A man after my own heart. Salty and sweet. The best kind of snacking food.” She opened the box of popcorn and put a bag in the microwave.

He grabbed the bottle of white from the fridge and opened a drawer to get the corkscrew. Natalie stepped around him. She tore at the package of chocolate chip cookies and opened a cabinet to get a plate. She moved through his kitchen as if she’d been there before.

They worked around each other, nearly colliding only once as they readied their feast. When he had glasses poured and she had cookies plated and popcorn in a bowl, they filled their arms and carried everything into the living room.

“I’m glad you agreed to come over tonight.”

“Yeah?” she asked.

“We haven’t talked in days, and I think watching the rough cuts together is a good idea.”

“Is that the only reason?” She set the food on the coffee table.

“No.” He handed her a glass of wine. He stared into her guarded blue eyes. “I wanted to make sure we’re really okay. I know you were bothered by what I said to Ashley. And you were right, I could’ve said things and handled the situation better, but I don’t know. You make me tongue-tied and then you poke at me, which makes it worse.”

She took a sip of wine, but it wasn’t enough to hide her grin.

“Now you’re going to laugh at me?”

“I’m not laughing.” She sighed and set her glass down as she sat on the couch. “I’m glad I’m not the only one affected by this.” She pointed between them.

“What have I done to you?”

She laughed. “You look at me. No—you study me. Every move, every word. I haven’t been able to tell if you do it because you like me or because you’re looking for my weakness.”

He hadn’t thought he’d been that obvious. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her whenever she was in the room. “I think we’ve already discussed the fact that I like you.”

“I like you too. Friends, right?” She winked. “Now let’s watch the dates.”

He settled beside her and turned on the TV. As the video started, Mac put the idea of her being Gem out of his mind. They were friends. That’s what they had to be.

Since they were viewing the rough cuts, there was a lot of extra footage of the women getting ready for their dates. Natalie kept a running monologue about their wardrobe choices.

Each woman had dinner at a different restaurant, each quiet and romantic, allowing ample time to get to know their dates.

“Kind of repetitive, huh?”

“I’m sure for the final show they won’t go back to back with these dates.” He hadn’t even thought about how that would play out on screen. No wonder Paul had been worried.

Melissa’s date was first and inside the first ten minutes of the date, she’d mentioned her desire to get married and talked about her past relationships. He’d specifically told the women not to bring up the past unless their dates asked a question.

Natalie didn’t comment, but shook her head.

Both he and Natalie saw the man, Greg, begin to distance himself. Watching the remainder of the date was almost painful. Natalie drained her glass before they cameraman got to the point of solo interviews. Melissa said she enjoyed the date, but didn’t feel any chemistry. Greg said he wouldn’t be calling Melissa again.

Without a word, Natalie got up and went to the kitchen. She returned with the bottle of wine. “I think we’re gonna need more to get through the rest of this.”

Unfortunately, she was right.

By the time they got to the third date, the bottle was empty and they’d resorted to fast forwarding through the worst parts. Natalie had moved closer to him on the couch, making it difficult to keep his focus on the TV. Her soft scent wafted over to him every time she shifted.

When they reached the end of the three dates, Natalie smiled. “You know, this whole time, I’ve been treating it as a given that you would win this competition.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, let’s face it, I know nothing about setting people up. But after watching this train wreck, I think I might have a chance.”

“That sure of yourself?”

“No, but I think it’s a possibility. I can’t be that bad, right?”

“You’re funny. Not every date is a homerun. I’ll go at it again. I’ll find men more suited to the women. As soon as I figure out where I went wrong.”

Natalie shook her head. “I’m probably going to regret saying this, but let them help.”

“What?”

“These women need to play a part in finding their partners. Sure, they’ve had no luck on their own thus far, but who’s to say you know what they like and what they need better than they do?”

Damn if she didn’t have a point. What if he let the women go through the database with him, watch the interview tapes the men submitted. It might work, especially with the time crunch the TV show created. He’d have to run it by his mother to see what she thought.

“Are you up for staying to watch how your event went?”