ENCORE PERFORMANCE (THE MATCHMAKER TRILOGY) (3 page)

Carissa dipped her head down toward her plate and
buttered her roll. He believed in the cause. Yes, that was
what she’d wanted. She wasn’t sure he’d have understood
the mission. After all he was a down-and-out performer and
she was a teacher.

And she’d been so conflicted with her mother’s idea of
bringing Thomas into their school. And now that he was
here all she could think about was him, not as a musician or
teacher, but as a man. A man whose passion for sharing the
gift of music she found more than attractive.

She took a bite of her roast. Did Thomas feel the heat
between them or was that just her?
His hypnotic blue eyes and that disheveled sandy hair
that he kept running his fingers through had her heart
fluttering. Heat prickled her skin, and that mortified her.
She’d felt like this before, just not over someone she’d
barely met. And she’d been burned before. This time she
wasn’t going to jump straight into bed with a guy just
because he was hot.
“Don’t you think so, Carissa?” her father asked and
she darted her head up.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Don’t you think that school will be operational by the
time the schools return from their winter break?” he
repeated.
“Oh, yes.” She blew out a small breath. “We took
possession of the building two days ago. There is a lot of
work to be done and that should take us through
December.” Thomas’s eyes were on her and she took the
courage to look at him and finish, calm and professional—
the way their relationship would be. “We’ll start enrollment
in the first part of December. We’ve talked to the local
schools about passing out our information and doing some
assemblies for the students. I think we should be able to
reach a lot of kids.”
“You’ve already done a lot work to ensure your
success.” He shifted his eyes to her mother. “Sophia, I’m so
impressed.”
“Well, I’m just the silent partner. This was really all
Carissa’s doing. This is her dream.” Carissa smiled as her
mother laid a gentle hand on hers.
She leveled her eyes with Thomas’s as he turned back
to her. That intoxicating blue peered into her soul and she
felt her heart hitch. Against her will, the corners of her
mouth turned up into a smile. He grinned at her, melting
her resolve.
“Thank you for considering me for your staff, then. It
is going to be an honor to work with you.”
That was it. Her heart was gone.
All she had to do was keep Thomas from finding out.

Carissa gathered dishes while Thomas sat on the back
porch with David after dinner. Katie excused herself to bed
for the night and Hope wandered between helping Carissa
clean up and diverting her father’s attention.

Sophia set the dishes by the sink.
“So what do you think of Thomas?”
“He seems nice enough and if you say he’s talented,

then he should be a wonderful asset to our school.” Carissa
flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned on the water
to fill the sink. She didn’t want to tell her mother what she
was really thinking of Thomas.

“I think we should all sit down on Sunday during
dinner and start addressing some issues about curriculum
and what we want to accomplish.”

Carissa snapped her head up and shifted her glance
toward Sophia. She was loosely throwing around the words
our
and
we
when it came to the school, but it was in fact
her
school and she had a clear plan on what
she
wanted to
accomplish.

Sophia touched her hand and Carissa knew her
thoughts had been transparent.
“I know you and I have ideas, but we should consider
what he has to say. He did come all the way back to the
States for this.” And that was only one of her problems
with Thomas Samuel. First it was his failed career and his
eagerness to leave Rome for Kansas City. Then her body’s
reaction to him had her practical thoughts dissolving. Now
Sophia thought he should have say in
her
school when she
thought he was just there to teach.
Carissa kept her misgivings to herself and nodded as
she looked out the window to the back porch. The October
sky had already turned dark, but the porch light illuminated
the men like a spotlight.
She watched the interaction between the men and her
sister. Hope had landed on Thomas’s knee and was
showing him something. She couldn’t make it out, but he
was giving her the attention she was demanding.
Sophia handed her a plate.
“Are you sure you’re comfortable with him staying
here? If you’re not we can find somewhere for him to stay.”
“Mom, we’ll be fine. If you trust him I have no reason
not to.”
“I do.”
“I know that. If you didn’t you wouldn’t have asked
him to be part of the school or stay here with us.”
“I think it’ll be good to have him here. It’s one more
set of eyes on Katie.” Carissa turned to take the plate from
her mother, but Sophia gripped it tightly as though she
were afraid to let it go. “I’m worried about her.” She
shifted her eyes to Carissa.
“I take care of her.”
“I know you do. But she’s getting frail and after we
lost Millie I really worried about you.”
Carissa began an assault on the dish in her hand,
scrubbing it hard enough she could have easily scrubbed a
hole through it. “I’ll be okay. I know Katie isn’t going to be
around forever, I just wasn’t ready for Millie to go. So if
you’re worried that I’m too attached, I’ll cope. But she’s
not going anywhere soon.” Carissa shifted her moist eyes to
her mother.
“If you’re all comfortable that will be good. We can’t
pay him much. The least we can do is give him a place to
live.”
Carissa nodded. A place for him to live, where he was
only a few feet from where she’d be dreaming about him
all night. She steeled herself against letting that thought go
any further.
Sophia grinned at her. “And you know, he’s single.”

Carissa walked her parents to the door. Her father
turned to kiss her good-bye and gave her arm a gentle
squeeze.

“Call if you need
anything
.”
“I’ll be fine. But I promise.”
“He’s paranoid,” her mother said as she kissed her.
Hope ran past them and down the front steps to the car.
“Don’t forget. You promised me a juice too.”
“How could I forget?” Carissa laughed as she waved

Sadness washed over her as they drove away. As
always she hated to see people she loved go, even for the
night. She turned to go back inside and ran right into
Thomas, who was standing behind her. His arms came up.
He grabbed her with his hands on her hips, holding her
until she regained her balance, then sliding his palms up a
few inches till his fingers brushed her ribs.

“I didn’t know you were standing there.” Her voice
shook as her hands lingered on his shoulders and his on her
waist. The lean musculature, separated from her skin by a
thin layer of fabric, drew a soft gasp from her.

“Obviously.” He smiled and her knees went weak.
She’d hold on to him a moment until she felt more sturdy,
but not a second longer.

The porch light shimmered in them, making the warm
flecks of gold sparkle within his blue irises. “I want to get
to the school tomorrow and start cleaning it out before
contractors start working. The last tenants left behind a lot
of trash. I need to get a jump on it because I have students
on Saturday morning.”

Thomas nodded, his hands still sending tingles across
her skin. “Saturday morning? I’ll need coffee before that
first piercing note, but I could help you get started on the
cleaning if you’d like my help.”

She smiled and took the necessary step back so he’d
release her, though distance between them wasn’t what she
wanted at all.

“That would be wonderful. Would you mind if we start
out about eight thirty?”
“I’ll be ready with my cleaning clothes on.”
“Great. I’ll repay you Saturday morning with coffee
before that first squeaky note. I know a little diner.” Her
voice was airy, husky, and she realized a bit too seductive
for someone she’d just met, but she kept talking, not
wanting to leave his presence yet.
“Can’t pass that up.” He raked his fingers through his
hair and her eyes followed his long fingers from his hair
until he tucked them into his pockets. “What time do I need
to be up for that?”
“That depends. Do you run?”
“Run?”
She nodded with a smile. “Yes, do you run?”
“I should have understood the question better. After
all, you are Sophia’s daughter.” She smiled as he shook his
head and his perfect lips curled into a smirk. “Does she still
run all over the damn place?”
“Not so much anymore. She hurt her knee a few years
ago. But Saturday mornings I take a nice run before that
first squeaky note.” It was that first squeaky note, she
thought, that made everything she’d ever dreamed of worth
the effort. Her school would be full of squeaky notes and
they would progress into beautiful music someday. She
settled at glance at the man who shared her passion for
music. Would they too work through their squeaky notes
and make beautiful music together?
“Okay then. A run and the promise of good food, good
coffee, and good company Saturday in return for a Friday
full of cleaning.” His acceptance of her offer snapped her
back from her impromptu daydream. “I have a pair of
running shoes that haven’t been used for running in a long
time.”
“It’s a date then.”
“It’s a date.” He backed to the door and held open the
screen for her as she sauntered through.

Thomas paced the floor in his room. He hadn’t
returned to the States to find a woman, but one had landed,
literally, right on his doorstep, or at least he on hers. And
she was his friend’s daughter. He hissed out a breath. It was
going to take control he’d never had before to keep his
hands off Carissa Kendal.

He sat on the edge of the bed, interlaced his hands
together, and tapped them against his head. No matter what
he did the image of her wouldn’t fade and the desire for her
only grew. It wasn’t going to be any use to fight it. He’d
met her less than twelve hours earlier and never in his life
had he felt what he was feeling at that moment. When
Carissa looked at him, his skin was set into flames, his
stomach did flips, and he knew his heart rate had never
been so fast. He’d have kissed her right on that front porch,
if he were someone else.

Thomas rubbed his hands on his pants. He wasn’t
someone else. He had to think about his music and his
mission. He wasn’t here to seduce the daughter of his dear
friend. No, he was here to share music with others. That he
knew he could do. The question was could he do it with
Carissa next to him making him realize that he longed for
those things he’d refused himself. A career. A family. A
woman to love.

Carissa pulled out of the driveway Friday morning
feeling physically drained. Her night had been restless
because she was too aware of the man in the room down
the hall. And there was no doubt when she’d handed him
his cup of coffee in the kitchen that morning that he’d lost
some sleep too. He’d all but jumped and dropped the mug
when she’d touched his hand with hers. How could a man
as handsome as Thomas Samuel be so skittish around
women?

His too-long blond hair kept falling over his eyes, and
he’d brush it over the rim of his sunglasses.
“Why exactly are you cleaning the building before
construction? Doesn’t construction make a mess?”
She laughed. “Yes, but the previous owners left a
bigger one. You’ll see when we get there. We can’t do
construction until the junk is gone.”
He nodded and shifted in his seat.
“So when do contractors start?”
“Tomorrow afternoon.”
“So this
has
to be finished today.”
“At least the bulk of it. We’ve done some. The
electrician is the only one coming in tomorrow. Then when
the plumbing is done Dad can start on framing the walls.”
“Your dad is building the walls?” His voice carried an
element of surprise and she couldn’t help but smile. Just
one look at Thomas Samuel and one would assume he
wasn’t the handyman type of guy. Of course when she’d
seen him come into the kitchen that morning she knew he
wasn’t the kind of man to do manual labor. He’d worn a
pressed white T-shirt tucked into his dark, pristine jeans.
“My dad’s no carpenter. The fine trim work will have
to be contracted, but he can build a wall,” she said with
love and admiration for her father.
“When your mother called and asked me to come help,
I was under the impression that
she
was opening the school.
I didn’t realize she was just helping you.” He shook his
head and let out a slight grunt of a laugh.
Carissa tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
Would he have come if he’d known, she wondered.
Her jaw tightened. She’d thought Sophia was going to
be a bit more of a partner in the school too, but instead
she’d called someone else in. Carissa wasn’t yet sure if she
should be hurt or grateful. She slid a glance toward
Thomas. For the moment she’d give him the benefit and be
grateful.
“She’ll always be my partner. Everyone needs
someone to turn to.”
“What will she do at the school?”
She gave it a moment’s thought and shifted in her seat.
“She’ll be everywhere for a while. She has a lot of contacts
in the community and we’re hoping to draw off that for
enrollment. As for being active in the school, I don’t think
she’ll be able to help herself and she’ll be teaching more
than she thinks she will. One of the things I want to offer is
music class for homeschooled students. She’d be able to
teach in the daytime when Hope is in school.”
Thomas slapped his hands on his thighs and let out a
gasp of excitement.
“What a great idea. Homeschooled kids whose parents
can’t teach them music. That’s fantastic.”
His enthusiasm over her plan made her smile. It’s just
what she’d wanted. Someone else who believed in her
cause, believed in what she could do for the community.
Perhaps her mother was right and he’d have some good
ideas.
“Well someday down the road I’d like to have a band,
an orchestra, and even a choir just for homeschooled
students. There are more and more of them every year. I
alone teach seven homeschooled children.”
“You teach out of your house?”
“I learned to perfect my skill in that study and so did
my mother. It seemed the right place to teach others.
During the summer I teach during the day, but during the
school year I teach in the afternoons.”
“What do you do when you’re not teaching?”
“I practice. You never know when you’ll get the one
golden opportunity to perform at some venue that would
take your breath away.”
“Yeah, I understand that.” His voice trailed and she
heard the disappointment in it.
“The Vatican?”
“It would have topped them all.” He sighed. “It just
wasn’t meant to be.”
Carissa remembered Sophia’s quest for the Vatican.
She’d left Carissa and her dad to pursue the dream of the
ultimate venue. Sophia’s dream-come-true moment had
almost cost Carissa her own dream of having the perfect
family.
Guilt rose in her. She’d been happy when Pablo
DiAngelo had ruined Sophia’s chance at performing the
Vatican. It had sent Sophia back to them so they could be a
family. She’d never given thought, however, that it may
have ruined the careers of others. Like Thomas.
“Well this is it.” Carissa eased the car into the parking
space in front of the old building. The building was like a
child looking for a home. It needed to be nurtured and
groomed. She’d do just that. With brooms and dustpans,
walls and floors, and paint and trim. She’d give it a life and
in return it would welcome others inside and they would
make it their home, just as David had done for her so many
years ago. “It doesn’t look like much, but it will soon.”
“What was this?”
“I think it was a pharmacy.” She climbed from the car.
“I really never paid attention to it then.”
She unlocked the front door and pushed it open. It was
like opening the door to a magical world. She walked in.
The slightest sound of her sneakers echoed on the floor
through the building.
“Isn’t it wonderful?”
The lighting was bad. The linoleum tiles on the floor
were coming up and what paint remained on the walls was
peeling. It was one big open space with an office and a
bathroom in the back, but all Carissa saw were endless
possibilities.