Looking at his spreadsheets and trying to wrap his brain around how much beef he’d used and how much he needed to order for the next week, something he’d done a million times before, Torin was ready to rip his hair out.
When his cell phone rang, he nearly threw it through the wall.
He controlled the urge and pulled the phone out of his pocket. The screen read Mystical Matchmakers.
Shit, he’d completely forgotten about them. He’d asked Veronica to give him a few weeks after he returned from his trip before she called. It appeared she’d taken him at his word.
“Gallagher.”
“Good morning, Mr. Gallagher. This is Veronica with Mystical Matchmakers. How are you doing today?”
Her voice was low and soothing. Somehow, it seemed to come through the phone and calm him a little.
“I’ve been better, Veronica. And, please, call me Torin. Mr. Gallagher was my grandfather.”
“Very well, Torin. I’m sorry to hear that you’re having a difficult day. Would you prefer for me to call back another time to discuss possible matches for you?”
Torin hesitated, thinking maybe he could put Nova out of his mind if he went on a few dates with other women. But his stomach turned at the idea.
No, he didn’t want to date anyone.
“I don’t think I want any more matches, Veronica,” he said. “I, uh, well, I’m interested in someone and she doesn’t return my feelings, but I’m not quite ready to get back out there yet.”
“Oh.” She paused. “Well, would you like to suspend your membership for now?”
“I think that would be best,” Torin said with a sigh. He had a strong feeling that he wouldn’t be interested in anyone else as long as Nova was working with him on a near daily basis.
Or until he was able to get over his attraction to her.
“Is there…” Veronica paused for a moment before she continued. “Is there anything I can do to help you? Our job here at Mystical Matchmakers isn’t just to find appropriate matches but to provide a listening ear and perhaps advice if the client would like it.”
Torin’s kneejerk reaction was to refuse, but something stopped him. Maybe it was her tone of voice or the sincerity of her words. He’d heard enough fake offers to be able to hear an honest one.
“Actually, you might be able to give me some insight,” he said. “The woman I’m interested in is Nova Eckhart. You matched me with her before I went out of town a few weeks ago.”
Veronica was silent for a prolonged moment. So long that Torin checked his phone to be sure they hadn’t disconnected.
“You there?” he asked.
“Yes, yes, I’m here,” she answered. She cleared her throat. “It was my understanding that you and Ms. Eckhart didn’t quite…uh, hit it off during your first meeting.”
Torin’s face heated at her words. “No, not quite. But—” Now, he needed to clear his throat because it suddenly felt too tight. “You see, when I came back from my work trip, my restaurant manager had hired her as a hostess. I wasn’t exactly happy when I saw she was working for me. Especially since I’d formed an, uh, erroneous opinion of her during our first date.”
“Erroneous opinion?” Veronica echoed.
Torin sighed again. “I thought she was flaky.”
There was a cough from Veronica before she regained control. “Oh, my.”
“Yeah, I acted like a jerk. I wanted to fire her as soon as I realized what had happened but my restaurant manager threatened to quit if I did.”
“He did?”
“Yes, she did. And she was right about Nova. She works harder than any of my previous hostesses. She never complains if she has to pitch in on things that aren’t technically her job. She’s got enough work experience in the restaurant industry that she’s actually overqualified for the hostess position. In fact, with her resume, she’d be perfect as an assistant manager at the restaurant. Something my manager is already training her for, even though I haven’t exactly agreed to it yet.”
There was another cough over the phone, this time to disguise a laugh. Torin knew it but didn’t call Veronica on it.
“Okay, so you were incorrect in your thoughts about her at first and now you’ve realized that there’s a lot to admire about her, correct?”
