The Littlest Matchmaker Page 3

  “But you’re all alone,” her mother said.

  And she’d been achingly alone back when she’d been married, too, but the inner workings of her relationship with James weren’t something she chose to share with anyone. He was dead, and his memory deserved to be honored.

  “I’m almost twenty-six, Mom, and totally okay with being alone, if you can call it that. To me, it feels like I never have a moment to myself. But my business is doing well, and Jamie is doing all the things he should at his age. You have to know that I’d come home if I felt that his interests were being endangered in any way, but they’re not.”

  “Think about it, at least,” her father suggested.

  “Okay,” she said, but was fairly sure that her parents knew she didn’t mean it. And with that, Lisa called an end to Inquisition Night. She wondered, though, if Kevin had been correct. Would she be able to stave off Guilt and Self-recrimination Thursday?

  KEVIN, COURTNEY AND SCOTT sat at their usual table in the front window of East Davenport’s favorite gathering place, Malloy’s Pub. Conal Malloy, a man of many talents, drew the best pint of stout for miles, had a great ear for music and eye for darts, and was one of Kevin’s good friends, besides.

  Many of Kevin’s best nights had been spent in this comfortable place, with its dark wood paneling, glowing old schoolhouse pendant lights, and the sense that one had been sent back in time once inside its door. Tonight wasn’t among them. Scott was in a wretched mood after a day of prodding the drywallers to finish up at the Clinton project. Courtney kept looking at her watch, and Kevin was bone tired, too.

  He’d ended the day at the three small homes in slowly revitalizing Bucktown, just outside of Davenport’s downtown, that the family was rehabbing with the houses’ future owners as part of a community project. Working with amateurs was difficult. He needed to be everywhere at once, making sure that not only was the work being done right, but that everyone was safe.

  Kevin looked out the window, thinking it was time to walk home and put this particular day behind him. Just then he saw a little forest-green sedan go by. There were plenty in the area just like it. He knew, though, that this one was Lisa’s. The sun had nearly set, but he could still see her features in the dim light. She looked as tired as he felt, and that was saying a lot. He picked up his pint and drained the last of it, then reached for his wallet.

  “I need to get some sleep,” he said to his brother and sister while pulling out enough cash to more than cover their tab.

  “Hang around and listen to the next set with me,” Courtney said to Scott when it looked as though he was planning to leave, too.

  Scott pushed back his bentwood chair, anyway. “Nah, I really—”

  “You really want to hear the music,” Courtney insisted, using the same emphasis that their mom did when she wished to make it clear that her suggestion was actually a command.

  The ploy worked, and Scott sat.

  Kevin stood.

  “See you at home,” he said to his brother. He waved goodbye to Conal, who returned the farewell, and then he ruffled his kid sister’s hair just to toy with her a little.

  Once outside, he decided to take a moment and enjoy his surroundings. The streets were quiet, as it was both a weekday and after the full push of tourist season, when the Channel Cat ferried visitors across the Mississippi from the Illinois side to fill the village’s shops and restaurants. Kevin relished the evening’s peace.

  He knew what perceptive Court had done, buying him a little time alone before Scott came home. They were currently housemates in a restoration project. Like many of the houses that sat on the hillsides above the village, it was large. However, unlike the rest, they were currently down to two bedrooms, the kitchen, and one bathroom in the way of habitable space. Neither of them was accustomed to such tight quarters. Tonight they’d be like bears circling in the same cramped cave.

  Kevin walked uphill, past the old firehouse, and then into Lindsay Park, just the other side of it. Full darkness was beginning to overtake twilight. He sat on one of the park benches overlooking the river. Legs stretched out in front of him, he willed himself to empty his mind of the day’s stress and let night come.

  He wasn’t clear on how long he sat there, as he didn’t want to keep time. All he knew was it had been long enough that the lights on the opposite shore now twinkled brightly, and that the village behind him was growing quiet. Kevin rose and began to make his way home.

  While there were any number of routes that could have taken him back into the part of the neighborhood where he lived, the most direct was past Shortbread Cottage. Lisa’s place sat back on its lot, and she’d made it inviting to customers by putting in a small garden with a couple of café tables beyond the picket fence that James and he had installed just after James had gone to work for him.

  Kevin’s gaze was drawn to the cottage, but that was no big deal. It was only natural to glance at a place that had been a part of his life for so long. What was a big deal was to see Lisa sitting alone at one of the tables. The lights on either side of the front door and the small solar lights in the garden gave just enough illumination to be sure it was her, but he couldn’t gauge her mood.

  Kevin figured he could always pretend he hadn’t seen her, but that fell far outside of what he considered to be good character in a person. Instead, without slowing too much, he said hello. But he didn’t get a hello back.

  “Do I strike you as a weak person?” she asked.

  That stopped him.

  “No,” he replied.

  “As someone who doesn’t have the drive to make it on her own?”

  “No.”

  Even though she hadn’t exactly invited him to join her, Kevin did, pulling out the opposite chair. It felt intimate yet also oddly anonymous, sitting in the dark like this. But if dim light was what it would take to get her to talk to him again, he’d sit there until the sun rose.

  “So I take it Inquisition Night was a little rough?” he asked.

  “More so than normal. First they ambushed me with a man, and then they asked me to move home. My dad cast the move as being for Jamie’s sake, but it felt more personal than that.”

  Kevin put aside questions about the man ambush, the thought of which bugged him…as did any thought of Lisa dating someone other than him. Instead, he focused on her.

  “Jamie seems like one content little guy to me, and I give you huge credit for that. I give you credit for making this place the gathering spot that it is, too. I guess what I’m saying is, Lisa, you’re one of the strongest people I know.”

  She ducked her head, and her hair, which for once was down loose, shadowed her features even more.

  “Thank you,” she said as her face came back into the sparse light. “Maybe I’m just a little tired. Maybe that’s why I haven’t been able to just brush off their comments.”

  “Could be,” he said noncommittally. He knew if he told her what he really thought—that to him, she seemed more fragile by the day—she’d be in the house in a heartbeat. “Maybe you need to spoil yourself a little.”

  Her laugh didn’t carry its usual light ring. “I don’t think I even know how to spoil myself anymore.”

  “So, suppose you had a day off, with only yourself to think about, what would you do?”

  “Go to the grocery store,” she replied without any hesitation.

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Hardly. You have no idea what a luxury it would be to shop without a four-year-old in tow.”

  “So, not a day at the spa or the movies or a bookstore?”

  “Afraid not. I’m pretty low maintenance.”

  He pulled out his cell phone. “It’s time for an intervention.”

  “A what?”

  Instead of explaining, he did what he did best, and took action. He pushed Courtney’s speed-dial number and waited for her to answer. When she did, he said, “Hey, Court, I’ve got a favor to ask.”

  “I’d say I’d do
anything for you, but I’m afraid you’d ask me to have Scott move in with me. He’s a slob.”

  “Interesting suggestion, which I might take you up on sometime, but no. I was wondering if you would watch Jamie Kincaid tomorrow night? You know, just keep him after hours and give him dinner? I’ll pay, of course.”

  “If you’re taking Lisa out, I’ll do it for free.”

  He looked at the woman in question. “I don’t know if we’re going to have dinner or not. All I know is that I want the opportunity for that to happen.”

  “So it’s not a done deal? Do you even have Lisa’s permission for me to watch Jamie?”

  “If I don’t right now, I will by tomorrow night.”

  “That’s a novel approach, I’ll give you that much,” Courtney said. “Sure, I’ll watch him.”

  “Great. Love you,” he said, then hung up.

  He didn’t need light to catch Lisa’s glare.

  “What, exactly, was that about?” she asked.

  “It was about getting you to take a breath. I like you, and I don’t like what I’ve been seeing over the past few months. I can’t put my finger on it, but you haven’t been quite you.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He knew that she fully understood what he meant, but also saw no point in cornering her. It sounded as though she’d had enough man ambushes for one night. “Then humor me. You close up shop at five, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then tomorrow night at six, meet me in Malloy’s Pub for dinner. Nothing fancy, not a date…just some talk between two people who could both stand to get out more.”

  “No!”

  “Not so fast, okay?”

  “I don’t like being railroaded.”

  He held both hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I’m not railroading you, and mostly because I don’t think that’s possible.”

  The stiff set of her shoulders relaxed a little, which gave him hope she wasn’t going to walk off and leave him alone in the darkness.

  “All I’ve done is build a window of opportunity, okay?” he said. “Jamie will be happy with Courtney, and you can do whatever you want. Hell, if you want to go to the supermarket and leave me waiting for you at Malloy’s, that’s an option, too. I won’t like it, but I can deal with it.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  He could still catch an undercurrent of edginess in her voice. “Maybe because you need it. And don’t go looking for strings because there are none attached.” He stood. “I’ll be in Malloy’s at six. I really think you should be, too.”

  He was well past the picket fence when he heard her say good-night. Those words were far from a yes, but at least she was still speaking to him. Kevin felt better than he had in weeks. Now if he could just do the same for Lisa.

  Chapter Three

  At nearly six the following evening, as Lisa made her way from Shortbread Cottage to Malloy’s Pub, one question stuck in her mind: if this wasn’t a date, why were her palms clammy?

  Maybe she shouldn’t have heightened her expectations—and her anxiety level—by changing from her work clothes to a vividly colored sundress, thin cotton wrap and sandals that had a little heel to them. The outfit was undeniably datelike, as was the fact that she had actually put on makeup. While walking to the pub she’d already garnered a teasing comment from elderly Mr. Haughtman, the village’s bookstore owner, about being “all gussied up,” and a “totally hot” from one of her college-aged coffee customers.

  Before opening the door to Malloy’s, Lisa drew one last deep and fortifying breath. Maybe she hadn’t been out socially with a man other than James since meeting him over six years ago, but she knew she could do this. She just wasn’t sure she’d enjoy it.

  Lisa stepped into the pub. As always, the place was busy. The mingled scents of garlic and grilled steak wafted from the kitchen, and the chat and laughter of the patrons drifted over the background music. She had just begun to look around for Kevin when someone called her name. She followed the voice to its owner, Kathleen Malloy, sister of the pub’s owner, Conal. Kathleen waved her over to where she sat at the bar.

  Lisa had known the woman forever. Kathleen, who’d been a few years ahead of her in school and part of the “in” crowd, had become her unofficial big sister when Lisa entered high school. Though their paths had been distinctly different since those school days—Kathleen was now an attorney—they remained friendly.

  By the time Lisa had wound through the tables to the bar, Kathleen had stood. The women gave each other a hug.

  “I can’t believe you’re here!” she said. “Pull up a stool and have dinner with me.”

  “I’d love to, but I’m meeting someone,” Lisa replied, then quickly scanned the diners for Kevin. Sunshine streamed into the bar’s big front windows, leaving her just the patrons’ silhouettes to choose from.

  “Is it Courtney?” Kathleen asked. “I bumped into her last night, and she said she’s been angling to get you out into the world again.”

  Maybe it was just a symptom of Guilt and Self-recrimination Thursday, but those “Lisa is a hermit” comments were beginning to sting.

  “Hey, it’s not as though Shortbread Cottage is a cloistered convent. But, no, it’s not Courtney,” she said, still glancing around for Kevin.

  When she looked back at Kathleen, Lisa noted that she was being scrutinized more carefully.

  “I think I have it now,” Kathleen said. “You’re too dressed up for dinner with Courtney. It’s a date, right? But with who? You never get out…You must have tried one of those online dating services and now you have to pick out Mr. Lucky from the crowd!”

  Conal, who had just finished waiting on the customer next to his sister, joined in the conversation. “Lisa has a Mr. Lucky?”

  Lisa winced. “Ew. That sounds flat-out wrong.”

  “Lisa’s trying online dating,” Kathleen advised her brother.

  Lisa had seen this game before. The Malloys were like terriers. Once they got an idea clamped between their teeth, there it would stay, fiercely held for their own purposes. In this case, she feared she was the purpose.

  “I’m not doing online dating,” she said emphatically. “None. Zilch. Zip. Nada.”

  As she expected, the siblings disregarded her announcement.

  “And so we’re date-spotting?” Conal asked.

  Kathleen nodded her head.

  “I’ll bet it’s the old codger walking in,” Conal said as he inclined his head toward an eightyish man. “He’s carrying that newspaper so that she’ll recognize him. He’ll need it since in his profile he said that he’s twenty-eight instead of eighty-two.”

  Kathleen shook her head in mock dismay. “Damned dyslexia. It’ll get a girl every time.”

  She scanned the room, as did Lisa, though with a different intent. Lisa was pretty sure she’d spotted Kevin at one of the two window tables.

  “How about the pierced and tattooed guy at the far end of the bar?” Kathleen asked.

  “Nah, that’s Harley, and I’ve been saving him up for you, sis,” Conal replied.

  Now sixty percent sure she’d spotted Kevin and one hundred percent sure she’d taken enough teasing from the Malloys, Lisa readied herself to move on. “I hate to disappoint you guys, but I’m meeting Kevin Decker, and I think I see him at the windows.”

  Conal, who’d been quite the actor in high school, ratcheted his performance up a notch to utterly shocked. “You found Kevin on a dating service when he’s been beneath your nose all this time?”

  “Come on, Conal, you know I didn’t find him on a dating service,” Lisa said.

  Conal grinned. “But you’re not denying that you’re dating him? Or that you’re on one?”

  “I’ll let you make up your own tale, complete with Irish embellishments, which we all know you’ll do, anyway,” Lisa said. “See you two later.”

  “Enjoy,” Kathleen said in a cheery—and just a little teasing—voice.
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br />   “Take your time, lovebirds,” Conal called as Lisa headed toward Kevin. “I’ll hold the kitchen open as late as you need. Aren’t you glad to have friends in suspect places?”

  “Not to mention suspect friends,” Lisa replied over her shoulder. Sure as Conal Malloy was the village’s most popular bar owner, she and Kevin would now be grist for the village gossip mill.

  As Lisa neared Kevin’s table, he rose. The nondate had officially begun, and she smiled to mask her nervousness.

  “You look beautiful,” he said once she’d joined him.

  Thank you seemed the most appropriate answer, though she was tempted to add that he looked pretty darned good, too. Kevin always had a neat appearance, which she found surprising considering the rigorous physical nature of his job. Tonight, though, he looked smooth, perfectly dressed in nice jeans and a white shirt. Her fingers twitched with the impulse to touch his freshly shaven jaw. But touching would be even worse than looking, and she was sufficiently distracted already.

  “Did you have fun up at the bar?” Kevin asked. His grin rivaled the one Conal had worn.

  “I don’t suppose you considered coming over there to bail me out?” she asked.

  “I considered it, but rejected it. Better that Conal grills me like one of his porterhouse steaks when you’re not around to witness my humiliation.”

  “Somehow I don’t see Conal getting the better of you.”

  He laughed. “Which is why I’ll wait until you’re not here for my grilling,” he said as he held out a chair for her.

  Lisa couldn’t recall the last time someone had done something this chivalrous for her. In her marriage, chivalry seemed to have been left on Scotland’s rocky shore. Not that she was incapable of pulling out a chair or opening a door, but given all that she did for herself and others daily, it was nice to have someone offer to do it for her. Lisa settled in.

  “So, did you work up an appetite today?” Kevin asked, then shook his head. “That’s an odd question to ask someone who bakes all day, isn’t it?”