The Random Acts of Cupid (Christian Romance) (10 page)

Ryan started to say something, but Elise cut him off. “Before you start criticizing me, you should stop your own deception and go back on your side of the table. I never asked you to pretend to be interested in me romantically. Couldn’t you say that you were deceiving everyone in the diner?”

Ryan didn’t move a centimeter away from her. He stayed in the exact same position with his arm around her shoulders, holding her close. Instead he leaned over, his warm breath once again tickling her ear. “Who said I was pretending?”

Elise met Ryan’s hazel eyes and suddenly had difficulty swallowing. Every nerve in her body felt like it had been lit with an electric charge. She couldn’t read the emotions she found in Ryan’s gaze. Was he teasing?

She didn’t understand him. One minute he was throwing stones at her character the next he was actually . . . flirting with her?

Elise tried to find her voice. But it was as if she suddenly couldn’t remember how to speak. Ryan was returning her gaze with an assessing look himself, as if he was trying to gauge her response to his words.

Before Elise could wade through her emotions to make sense of anything, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Stella had just walked by their table. With a surge of excitement, Elise saw that the elderly lady was heading directly toward George. Seeing the direction of her attention, Ryan turned to watch Stella’s progress as well.

Looking around the diner, Elise had to work to control her laughter as she realized she and Ryan weren’t the only spectators. As Stella neared George, it seemed as if all sounds and movement in the diner paused. Waitresses stopped in their duties, customers silenced their conversations, and Elise was sure she could see Amber and the cook peeping through the slats in the door to the kitchen.

George turned to Stella, sliding off the barstool and standing to his feet as she shyly approached him. Everyone in the diner seemed to be collectively holding their breath.

Straining her ears in the sudden quiet, Elise could hear Stella speak. “It seems rather silly that we’re both dining alone. Won’t you bring your plate over and join me, George?”

“Stella, I’d be delighted. The only thing more enjoyable than good food is good company.”

With matching smiles that bordered on giddiness, they returned together to Stella’s table. While they normally should have noticed being the center of attention, they were so absorbed in each other that they seemed oblivious to everything around them.

“Congratulations, Cupid,” Ryan whispered beside her. “It looks like you just made another successful match.”

“I hope so,” Elise replied. “George and Stella deserve to be happy. But only time will tell.”

“Won’t they find out about the set up? Won’t Stella try to thank George and the whole thing unravel?”

“No, Stella won’t mention it. She knows George wished to remain anonymous. She’s a classy lady. She won’t draw attention to what she perceives as him being a gentleman. If she does happen to mention it at some point, they won’t be upset by it. They’d probably even get a kick out of the kids at the diner trying to set them up. Believe me, they’ve both been waiting for this day. They’ll seize this opportunity and be grateful for however means it was delivered.”

Ryan still didn’t look fully convinced, but Elise had a hard time regretting anything about what had just happened. George and Stella were happy, and that was what mattered to her.

Amber soon appeared with separate checks for their meals, as requested, and two decadent-looking hot fudge brownie sundaes.

“These are on the house and come with a big ‘Thank you,’ from the entire staff,” she announced with a big smile.

“I should be the one thanking you and Susie,” Elise replied.

“We were only too happy to help out. Now that you’ve made Valentine’s Day special for George and Stella, along with the entire diner, I hope you two can make yours special as well.” With a wink, Amber was gone.

“Why do I get the feeling you may just have created a bunch of monsters?” Ryan asked dryly. “Amber and Susie might have liked their task a little too much. I’m not sure Seattle can handle more than one Cupid. What am I saying? I’ve watched you all day, and I’m still not sure Seattle can handle even one Cupid. You were serious when you said Valentine’s Day was a busy Day for you. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

“Oh, we’re not done yet.”

“What do you mean?” he asked suspiciously.

“We have one more stop before I let you go for the night. Hurry and eat your dessert; we’re on a timeline.”

To Elise’s relief, Ryan didn’t object, and fifteen minutes later, their hot fudge brownie sundaes had been devoured, and with Elise’s brief wave at the happy couple, they were on their way.

The drive passed quickly, and Elise was soon pulling into a parking space at a destination she knew would be undoubtedly recognizable to Ryan even in the dark of this time of night.

“Oh, no,” Ryan groaned. “You set somebody up at the Space Needle, didn’t you? I really didn’t think you would be so cliché.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being cliché,” Elise said defensively. “I think it would be very romantic to be surprised by a date at the Space Needle. But no, that’s not why we’re here. Do you know how expensive it is just to go up in that thing? This Cupid does have her limits. I try to avoid fancy restaurants, expensive tourist attractions, and the pressure that would go along with both. ‘Warhorse’ was a definite splurge. Maybe someday I’ll be able to set up that kind of date, but not now, especially with needing resources for other matches as well.”

“Then why are we here?”

“You’ll see,” Elise said, once again wanting to keep her plans to herself as long as possible. The longer she waited to tell Ryan, the less time he’d have to object. “We need to hurry.”

Ryan followed her as she walked directly beneath the Space Needle and then kept going. Elise finally entered a small shopping mall-type building and took a stairway to the second floor. The building was arranged so that the stores and restaurants were positioned around a center open area with hardwood flooring. A railing on the second floor bordered the open area so that people standing there could look down on it, almost like in a courtyard or stadium.

Immediately after reaching the second floor, Elise walked to the railing and looked down, scanning the area.

“There he is,” she said under her breath.

She then took out her cell phone and dialed a number without a word of explanation to Ryan.

“Hi, Greg, this is Elise. I’m not going to make it tonight. I’m really sorry I didn’t let you know sooner, but I’ve had a change of plans.”

“Well, that stinks,” Greg said. “I guess I’ll just go home, and we can do it a different time.”

“Oh, are you already there?”

“Yeah, I guess I got here a little early.”

“No, please stay,” Elise urged. “In fact, would you do me a favor? My friend Chelsie needs a partner. We usually have to dance together for the class because there aren’t enough men to go around. I was going to share you tonight, but would you mind being Chelsie’s partner? She’s really nice, and I’d feel really bad if she didn’t have anyone for the class.”

“I guess I could do that. I’m already here. What does your friend look like?”

“Chelsie is taller than I am with long medium-brown hair and brown eyes. She usually wears a silver bracelet around her right wrist.

“Okay, I think I see her. I’d better go. The class is getting started, so I need to go introduce myself.”

“Thank you so much, Greg! I’ll owe you one.”

“Don’t worry about it, Elise. I’ve noticed you’re always doing stuff for others. This is the least I can do. I’ll talk to you later. Maybe I can come again next week and do the class with you.”

Elise signed off and pressed ‘end.’ She felt Ryan’s eyes on her.

“So that’s how it’s done?” he asked.

“We’ll see,” Elise responded. “Greg is the tall, blond guy with glasses down there. Chelsie is the pretty brunette sitting on the bench.”

They watched as Greg walked up to Chelsie and introduced himself, holding out his hand to shake hers. After a few brief moments of conversation, Chelsie rose from the bench, and they both walked to the center of the court area where the class was getting started. There were about ten others in the class. Soon the music was echoing a through the space and the couples were swirling over the hardwood floor, learning the steps to the waltz.

“I should have brought my opera glasses,” Elise muttered. The lighting in the building wasn’t great, and from their angle looking down from a distance, it was difficult to see the expressions on the faces of the dancers. It looked as if Greg and Chelsie were having a good time. Every once in a while she would catch a glimpse of their smiling faces.

“Oh, it’s hard to do any decent spying from afar?” Ryan asked.

Elise tried to ignore Ryan’s comment but realized it was probably time for her to give him an explanation. Maybe Ryan wouldn’t judge her so harshly if he knew the background to her actions. Because this was the first time Greg and Chelsie met, there probably wasn’t going to be much to see anyway. Somehow, though, a familiar, awful feeling still nagged her. No matter what she said, it wasn’t going to change Ryan’s impression of her. He would still find her guilty.

Though refusing to answer his sarcastic question about spying, Elise turned to Ryan and explained, “Greg is my dentist. Or, rather, he’s my dentist’s son. He took over the practice for his dad a few months ago. Since he just moved here recently, he’s been looking to find things to do here in the Seattle area. He’s come to our church singles group a few times, but he was also interested when I mentioned this dance class I’ve been attending. It’s just a casual thing. Whoever shows up on Thursday nights can participate. We’ve learned different types of ballroom dances and even swing and country line dancing. I met Chelsie here at class. She’s like me, though. She comes alone and just takes the class for fun.”

“So you decided to deceive Greg and set them up.”

Elise winced. “I don’t usually do blind set ups like this. The couples I match usually know each other, and I’ve had a chance to observe them interacting. I was originally just going to have Greg come with me and introduce him to Chelsie. But then I thought it might be better if I wasn’t there, so it would be more natural than a formal introduction. It’s always better if a couple doesn’t know they’re being set up. That way, there’s a lot less pressure and they feel more free to talk and get to know each other. It also helps that my absence kind of forces them together.”

“So what’s Chelsie’s story? Why did you feel that she needed your help?”

“Chelsie’s husband was in the military. About three years ago, he was killed in the line of duty. She and her son moved back here to Seattle to be close to her family. Her son Liam is five now. She is a physical therapist, and when she’s not working, she’s spending time with Liam. Her parents finally told her that she needed to get out and find some friends and a hobby. They watch Liam so that, one night a week, she gets a break and can come take this class. She’s been through so much working through the grieving process. I would love to see her happy with someone else to love.”

“I can see why you wanted to make a match for her. But I’m a little nervous about you matching her with Greg. Did you ever think that Greg may be interested in you? After all, you’re the one he agreed to come dancing with?”

“No. We’re just friends. I’ve mentioned to him the possibility of setting him up with one of my friends, and he was game.”

“I can’t imagine a single guy being interested in
just
being your friend,” Ryan said quietly.

Choosing to ignore the undercurrent of Ryan’s comment, Elise shrugged and replied, “I have a lot of guy friends, or maybe I should say guy acquaintances. I’ve been told I’m hard to get to know. I guess I still have the residual effects of being painfully shy. There’s no attraction between Greg and me, so he’s definitely in the friend category. He and Chelsie, on the other hand, are perfect for each other. They have a lot of similar interests, but she tends to be reserved, whereas he’s more outgoing and adventurous. Since they’ve never met, though, I can in no way guarantee that it will work out. I guess it’s just a hunch. I didn’t see the harm in helping them each have a date for Valentine’s Day, even if it is just one evening. I really think that they’ll at least develop a good friendship out of this. Even if that’s all that results, I’ll consider it a success.”