The Matchmakers (9 page)

 
Callie had, very long ago, overcome
the natural Fae fascination with humans as potential mates. Enough of her kind
had tried and failed to sustain relationships with mortal beings for her to
have learned a thing or two.

           
By all the gods! She hadn’t
been sent here to fall under the spell of Nick Garrett’s irrepressible charm. She’d
been sent here to learn a valuable lesson and to make recompense for her
mistakes. She refused to allow herself to be distracted from her task, even for
a minute. As she fluffed her hair and studied her reflection in the mirror, she
thought of the Minuteman Motel. Why had she felt such a sense of relief when
Nick returned for her? The magick she’d worked in room five had made it even
more comfortable than his tiny, sparsely furnished apartment. Why hadn’t she
stayed? Why had her Fae heart skipped a beat when he’d knocked on her door? `Stop
it!śhe admonished her rosy-cheeked reflection. `Stop it right there!´ `Sorry.
I wasn’t peeking. I just came to see if you needed something to
wear.Ćallie whirled around to find Nick standing in the bedroom doorway,
one hand shielding his eyes. She swore her hidden wings fluttered. Hadn’t he
figured out she possessed an endless and portable wardrobe any human woman
would kill for? `I’m dressed,śhe said when she’d recovered her composure.
The only thing she’d forgotten was her shoes. She hastily gave herself a pair
of tan work boots that complimented her suburban hiker chic. `I was wondering
if you were stealing another one of my shirts,´ he said with a smirk, dropping
his hand. He leaned against the door jamb, his coffee mug paused halfway to his
lips. Callie forced her gaze back to the mirror. `I put your shirt back.´ He
shrugged. `You could keep it if you want.´ `That’s okay. It was big on me
anyway.Śhe held her breath for a moment, wondering what to do next. The
best course of action, she decided, was to disappear for a while. So she did. `Callie!
Where’d you go now?´ Despite his decision to accept the outrageous things he’d
seen her do, it still left Nick strangely disconcerted to have her pop out of
existence right before his eyes. Magicians performed similar illusions with
mirrors, but the only mirror in the room showed just what he’d seen with his
own eyes. Once again, she simply ceased to be standing right in front of him. `Where
are you? Can you still hear me?´ The embarrassment of talking to an empty room
battled with his frustration at her departure and won. He left the bedroom,
shaking his head and muttering to himself. `What did I say to get her dander up
now? Never met a woman so touchy in my life.´ Back in the kitchen, he
confronted the remains of the meal she’d prepared for him. He decided to
surprise her by cleaning up, and halfway through the task, the irony of it
struck him like a freight train. He was cleaning up his own kitchen to impress
the crazy faerie who had essentially moved herself into his apartment. A
faerie, who, if her previous feats of prestidigitation were any indication,
could have snapped her fingers and done the job in less time than it took
to«well, snap her fingers. Maybe she had the right idea. Getting out of the
apartment and clearing his head seemed like a better idea than scrubbing a
frying pan, so he left everything half done, grabbed a shirt from his closet the
blue plaid which now carried a lingering scent of roses and left with no
intention of coming back for a good long time. Ted Farley stood behind the bar
with his massive hands wrapped around an industrial-sized can of salted
peanuts. With measured precision born of practice, he filled a dozen wooden
bowls with the snacks, all the while muttering to himself about the inequity of
life. Callie listened to him for a while, annoyance and empathy battling within
her. Farley’s monologue centered on Diane and what Callie guessed was the fight
they’d had the night before. Her plan to get them together over a romantic flat
tire had failed with disastrous results. When she finally knocked on the
oak-paneled wall to get his attention, she’d already banished her own disappointment.
`We’re closed,´ he said as he jammed the plastic lid back on the peanut can. `Happy
hour starts at four o’clock today, last call is at two AM.´ `I’m not here for a
drink. I’m here for a job.´ Farley plunked the heavy can down on the bar,
rattling the brimming bowls. A single peanut jumped ship and rolled an inch or
two away from its bowl. `I’m not hiring.Ćallie lowered her gaze. `Oh.Áll
she really needed to do was work a little magick and suddenly he’d not only want
to hire her, he’d want to sell her the bar and work for
her
. Considering the trouble she’d already caused in Freya’s
court, she decided this wasn’t the time to force things too much. The cranky
scowl creasing Farley’s ruddy forehead told her even her best befuddlement
might not work. This was a man who’d gotten up on the wrong side of the bed
this morning an empty bed
 
      
Callie decided. She’d seen enough
heartbroken mortals to deduce that Diane might be the reason for his pique. `Thank
you, anyway.Śhe turned to go, consoling herself with the statistics. She’d
only been officially on the job for one day so far. A little failure was to be
expected.

           
`Have you got experience?´
Farley’s booming voice reached her before she made it to the front door. Callie
only hesitated for a moment before doing an about face. `Two years at Pepe’s
Dockside Bar and Grill in Anaheim.´ Two weeks, actually, but the rest was true.
She’d filled in for Felicia during the girl’s whirlwind romance with Jack. Of
course, Felicia wouldn’t remember the faerie who took over her part time job,
and neither would anyone who’d worked at Pepe’s, but something told Callie
Farley wasn’t really interested in references right now.

 
`It’s a temporary position. My head
waitress«is on a leave of absence, but the minute she gets back, you’re out.
Got it?Ćallie nodded. She studied Farley while he swept up the errant
peanut and chucked it in the trash. What had happened to the jovial flirt she’d
met last night? `When do I start?´ The bartender sighed. `Start now. Put these
bowls out on the tables and sweep up the back room. I’ll give you a tour of the
place later, then you can run over to Best Mart and pick up a uniform. The
apron’s free, but the rest you gotta buy yourself. Don’t worry, you’ll make
enough in tips to cover it pretty quick if you’re any good. If you’re still
here a week from now, I’ll order you a t-shirt with our logo on it.Ćallie
grabbed two overflowing bowls and deposited them on nearby tables. `I’m
Calliope, by the way.´ `I remember you. Nick Garrett’s new girlfriend, right?´ `I’m
not his«yes.Ćallie told herself it just made more sense to let people
think she and Nick were a couple. That way he’d be less likely to get
distracted by other women while he was supposed to be concentrating on their
task. Assuming, of course, that he had any intention of concentrating on their
task. While Farley puttered in the office and behind the bar, Callie did as he
instructed. Her gentle attempts to pry some more information out of him about
Diane were met with grunts and grumbles but no concrete facts. By the time he
sent her on her way to Best Mart, she’d learned nothing about why her flat tire
plan seemed to have failed so miserably, except that the name Diane Martin was
not to be spoken in his presence on pain of dismissal. Demoralized, her wings
aching with shame and her heart heavy, Callie trudged out of Farley’s at half past
noon convinced she faced nothing but a long, loveless existence.

Chapter Twelve

 
         
By
five PM, Nick had been all over town on his weekend errands. He’d run out of
ways to avoid going home and decided he’d worked up the stamina for another
dose of faerie. The apartment was dark when he arrived, which prolonged his
reprieve. With a small measure of guilt, he tackled the unfinished dishes and
had just assembled the ingredients for a world-class grilled cheese sandwich
when the phone rang. Though he refused to admit that he’d begun to worry about
Callie, the sound jangled his nerves. He jumped up and grabbed the phone before
the second ring. `Yeah?´ `Hello? Nick?´ `Tinkerbell? Is that you?´ Nick had no
trouble convincing himself hunger had caused the sudden lightness in his chest.
It couldn’t be relief at hearing her voice. `It’s me. I’m on a break. Can you
come and meet me at Farley’s?´ `A break? He hired you?´ Why didn’t that
surprise him? She laughed. `Of course. But Diane apparently quit last night. I’ve
been trying to get details from Hayden, but Farley keeps glaring at us. He won’t
talk about her. I have a plan, though.´ Nick leaned against the counter and ran
one hand through his hair. Not another plan. Hopefully this one would not
include vandalism of any kind. `Are you still there, Nick?´ `Yeah.´ `You know
where Diane lives, don’t you?´ `Yes.´ He’d installed a new screen door for her
one sultry afternoon in July. They’d shared a companionable silence in the
shade of her screened-in porch, drinking homemade iced tea. `Why do I already
think this is a bad idea?´ `It’s not a bad idea at all. Why don’t you drop by
her house tonight? Maybe you can find out what happened, and then we can figure
out a way to fix it.´ `What about Hayden? She’s friends with Diane. That would
make more sense.Ćallie sighed. `Hayden can’t go because she’s working. It
has to be you.´ `Did you ever think maybe Diane and Farley just weren’t meant
to be?´ `Nick, I’ve been doing this for three hundred years. There’s something
there. They just got off to a rocky start.´ Nick eyed the bread and cheese he’d
set on the counter and wished he could come up with a sterling excuse not to
butt into Diane’s business. `Tink, a rocky start is when you bump noses during
your first kiss. Quitting your job over a flat tire is«like the Titanic hitting
an iceberg. Maybe we should stay out of it.´ `We’re already in it, Nick. It’s
our iceberg.´ `µOur’ is kind of a broad term, sweetheart.´ `Come on, Nick. Help
me out here. Please? I’m sure Diane will open up to you.´ That’s just what he
was afraid of. `All right. All right.´ `Thank you! I’ve got to get back to
work. Will I see you here later?´ `I’ll pick you up. When does your shift end?´
`Farley said I could leave at midnight since I’ve been here all day.´ `All
right. I’ll be there. You ´ Nick hesitated. The words `be careful´ had gotten
stuck in his throat.

 
`What?´ `Don’t get into any trouble,
okay?´ `I’ll try not to. Bye, Nick.Áfter Callie hung up, Nick stared at the
phone for a full minute. He’d just agreed to do exactly what he didn’t want to
do, butt into someone else’s personal life. How had she managed to talk him
into it? Just to be stubborn, he finished making his sandwich and ate it while
watching CNN before he left the apartment. He might be at the mercy of a
devilishly manipulative Fae, but the cause of true love would just have to wait
until he finished dinner. Callie hoped that sending Nick to check on Diane
would help rather than hinder their mission. She could have arranged to leave
the bar for a little while and made sure Farley never missed her, but with the Saturday
evening crowd tumbling in, Hayden could barely keep up. Callie had learned
quickly during her first shift that Diane did a lot more than take drink
orders. She kept the place on an even keel by helping Farley with inventory as
well. Many of the regular customers looked forward to seeing her and asked
about her when they realized she wasn’t around. That only served to irritate
Farley even more, and he’d taken to barking orders and scowling when he counted
out change. With him moping behind the bar and Hayden trotting from table to
table serving drinks and fielding inquiries about Diane, Callie had little
opportunity to think about Nick. Hopefully, he’d be able to find out what
happened last night. Callie couldn’t help but wonder though, if she’d sent a
fox into the chicken coop. What if Nick’s natural charm made Diane forget all
about Farley? `Go check on the back room,´ Farley said, bringing Callie out of
her thoughts. `And make sure Bud isn’t licking the cue chalk again.´ `Sure,
boss.Ćallie grabbed her cork-lined tray and scooted through the crowd,
nearly colliding with Hayden. The younger girl looked exhausted and a little
pale. `Are you all right?Ćallie whispered as they passed each other. `I
miss Diane. She always handles the jerks.´ Hayden’s voice trembled a bit. `Is
someone bothering you?´ Hayden nodded. `Back there. The guy standing next to
the jukebox. He’s not a regular. He tried to feel me up.Ćallie set her
analytical gaze on the man Hayden pointed out. His crisp white shirt and
clean-cut good looks clashed with the expression of utter disgust on his face.
This wasn’t his element, obviously. Her Fae intuition told her that he
considered himself above the patrons of Farley’s, yet there he was, his hard features
illuminated by the inner glow of the Wurlitzer.

 
Callie patted Hayden’s arm. `Why don’t
you take the back room? Keep an eye on Bud, and I’ll deal with Prince
Charming.´ `Would you?Śome color returned to Hayden’s cheeks. `No problem.
If he gives me trouble, the only thing he’ll be feeling for is broken bones.´ Hayden’s
pretty face glowed with relief, and she bounced away, her problems solved.
Callie took a deep breath and worked her way through the crowd, stopping to
take two drink orders before she reached Mr. Jukebox. `Hey, baby. What took you
so long? That little gal wouldn’t take my order.´ He greeted Callie with a salacious
leer that left her feeling tarnished. This was a man looking for trouble, and
he intended to find some anywhere he could. Callie avoided his dark gaze and
concentrated on her order pad. `What can I get you?´ `How about your phone
number?´ He snorted a laugh at his own clever entendre. Callie mustered a wan smile.
`I don’t have a number.´ He raised a pale eyebrow at her response. `No phone
number? What about your address then?´ `Would you believe I don’t have one of
those, either?´ `Come on, honey. Give a guy a break.´ `Sorry. The most I can do
is take your drink order.´ He snorted and shrugged a response, but his eyes
traveled up and down, assessing her in a way that she guessed was supposed to
be flattering. `All right. I’ll have«a Ball and Chain. Do you know how to make
one of those?´ `No, but my boss does.Ćallie wrote it down, and the man
slapped a twenty on her tray. The look in his eyes told her there was more to
his drink choice than a preference for schnapps. `If you want a big tip,
reconsider giving me your number.´ `Ooh, I’ll keep that in mind, Mister ?´ `You
can call me Daddy if you want to, babe.Ćallie laughed despite the queasy
feeling he caused. She waved the twenty at him. `A guy who wants to be called
Daddy pays with a fifty and says keep the change. You work on that, and I’ll be
back with your drink.Śhe turned away and eased through the crowd, glad to
be rid of him momentarily. She placed the order with Farley and leaned against
the bar, surveying the crowd until Hayden arrived. The younger girl cast a
scathing glance across the room. `How did it go with that guy?´ `He’s under
control,Ćallie replied. She watched Farley prepare the drink and, when he
placed it on her tray, gave it a little of her own special hocus-pocus. Unlike
Nick with his disappearing beer, Mr. Jukebox would find his glass perpetually
full this evening. Farley wouldn’t make much profit on the guy, but with a
never ending drink in his hand one that wouldn’t make him drunk he’d have no
need to bother her or Hayden again tonight. With several drinks balanced on her
tray, Callie headed back toward the jukebox. She delivered the Ball and Chain
last, along with his neatly folded change. She smiled sweetly as he took the
drink and the money from her tray. Before he could comment, she faded into the
crowd, leaving him staring after her. The rest of the evening went smoothly.
Mr. Ball and Chain spent most of it staring into his glass, his brow wrinkled
in consternation. Bud Wylie had agreed not to lick the cue chalk or anything
else in the back room, and by eleven no one was asking about Diane anymore. At
eleven-thirty, Callie started to worry about Nick and once again questioned her
decision to send him to Diane’s. Was he offering her comfort, Callie wondered,
or flirting to take her mind off whatever had happened with Farley? She
convinced herself her only concern was for the mission. After all, if Nick talked
Diane out of her interest in Farley, they’d be back to square one. Every moment
lost meant they were both one step closer to losing love forever. Diane Martin’s
little yellow house sat well back from the road under the shade of a
hundred-year-old oak tree. Twin rows of bright orange marigolds lined the
narrow front walk, and the porch light glowed an inviting shade of amber in the
crisp autumn darkness. Her car sat in the driveway, all four tires plump.
Someone must have fixed the flat. Nick would have bet it wasn’t Farley. The
excited yapping of Diane’s hyperactive Shih-Tzu greeted Nick as he climbed the
three front steps. He didn’t have to ring the bell. The newly installed screen
door swung open, and Diane appeared, the fluffy dust-mop of a dog cradled in
her arms. `Nick Garrett. What brings you out here?´ Though she smiled,
suspicion laced her greeting. On the way across town, Nick had worked on
excuses for dropping by, but now, faced with Diane’s hawk-like gaze and the dog’s
curious stare, he decided not to lie. `Rumor has it you quit Farley’s. I don’t
want to be nosy, but ´ `Did he send you over here?Śhe tucked the dog under
her arm and stepped out onto the porch. `No«I just wanted to make sure
everything was okay.´ The dog eyed him, its little nose vacuuming the air
between Nick and its mistress. `Is everything okay? Ha.Śhe set the dog
down, and it danced around Nick’s feet, yapping for attention. `Quiet, Roarke.´
`So what happened?´ Nick hated to ask, but something told him Diane wanted to
talk about it. She needed a sympathetic ear. He wasn’t sure how he knew that,
but he did.