Rosamund laughed. “As long as you keep bringing me cheesecake, I will gladly accept second place.”
Alexandra thought it was ridiculous that Talia treated Mar-ee like a person. She muttered “freak” every time she saw Talia talking to her. Right now, she was standing next to a wealthy client across the room, alternating between glaring at Talia and looking hungrily at Lukan.
Talia couldn’t blame her for that, she guessed. She’d learned to live with the ache of longing that she felt for Lukan ever since she’d met him, but it wasn’t easy. She’d dreamed about him every single night for the past year. Every. Night. Technically, she’d already had more sex with Lukan than most married couples had in their first ten years of marriage. It was just that he always vanished when the alarm clock went off at six a.m.
“There you guys are! Save some cheesecake for me, you oinkers.”
Cora Lee walked up to them with a grin. She was one of the few models who was always nice to Talia; Talia loved her to pieces. Cora Lee had been a plus-sized lingerie model, and after Talia had met her shopping at a plus-sized clothing store, she’d suggested that she sign up at Million Dollar Matches. She’d presented the idea directly to Lukan, who’d told her to go ahead. Alexandra had been furious when she’d heard about it.
Personally, Talia thought Alexandra put way too much emphasis on the female clientele’s looks and not enough effort into finding out about their personalities, what they would like and dislike in a man, and what the men would like in a woman. For that matter, she didn’t even really explore whether or not the men and women were genuinely looking for, and ready for, a relationship.
She did ask about superficial things like hobbies, favorite types of food, favorite movies, and that kind of thing, but that only ensured the couple would agree on things to do for the first few dates. A long-term relationship needed to go deeper than that. Alexandra just assumed that if a woman was a knock-out, men would fall all over her, and if a man was rich, women would drool all over him, and that would make a happy match.
“Wow, I’m not going to miss these meet markets,” Cora Lee said, grabbing a cheesecake square and popping it in her mouth. “Get it? M-E-E-T?”
“I do not get it,” Mar-ee said, her metallic eyebrows pinching together in a frown. It was amazing how she did that. It looked like she had metal skin.
Talia guffawed so loudly that several of the models looked over at her, their pretty lips curling back in scorn. Oops. She never had mastered the art of the ladylike laugh.
Then she looked at Cora Lee in puzzlement. “Wait. Are you going somewhere?”
“Er…yeah. I’ll miss you guys. I just wanted to let you know I met a great guy and I’m moving in with him, but he lives a long way from here. Overseas. I wanted to thank you for inviting me to join Million Dollar Matches, and just…I’ll miss you. Don’t let Alexandra treat you too badly, you’re way too good for her. Both of you.”
Talia felt a swell of happiness for her friend. Success! She’d been starting to worry that Cora Lee wouldn’t find anyone here at Million Dollar Matches – most of the men didn’t seem to be her type. “Oh, wow. Congratulations! What’s he like?”
“He’s…” Cora Lee’s lips quirked in a smile. “Different. Great. Handsome and charming.”
“Well, I’ll really miss you too. Please remember to write or email. Maybe even invite us to the wedding?”
Cora Lee looked faintly sad. “I wish I could. I don’t have any family, and I’d love to have you guys there.” And she walked off.
“Well, that was weird,” Rosamund said to Talia. “And a little worrying. What if he’s Bluebeard?”
Talia snorted. “What if you’re a crazy person with an overactive imagination? And what if you’re a crazy person who’s standing between me and the dessert tray?”
“What if I’m a crazy person who just finished the last piece of cheesecake?” Rosamund flashed her a wicked grin. Talia glanced at Mar-ee. It was true. Rosamund had eaten all the cheesecake bites from Mar-ee’s tray.
“Curse you!”
Talia hurried across the room to refill her plate. Lukan was there by the banquet table. Alexandra was standing next to him, but he had his back to her, as if deliberately shutting her out.
Lukan gave Talia an odd look. “Shouldn’t you be home with your family?” he asked. “It’s rather late.”
Her grandparents, whom she and her father had moved in with after her father was injured? Did he think they were senile? They weren’t, at all. Poor, and on a fixed income, but quite independent. They chopped their own firewood, caught their own fish, canned their own food from their garden, and volunteered at a food kitchen.
“They’ll be fine,” she said. “They’re pretty independent. They don’t need me there.”
He gave her an odd look and shook his head, with a frown of…disapproval? Why? As she walked away she heard Alexandra say, “You see what she’s like? And to think you stuck up for her.”
Now what had that all been about, and why was everyone acting weird tonight?
When she got back to Rosamund, she noticed something she hadn’t seen before. Rosamund was wearing a shawl, but it had slipped off her left arm.
“Is that a bruise on your arm, covered with makeup? It almost looks like fingerprints.” Talia looked closer as Rosamund flinched. “Like somebody grabbed you.”
Rosamund self-consciously pulled her shawl back over her arm. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
Talia’s eyes blazed with anger. “Don’t worry about it? The hell you say. Who did this?”
