Page 24 of Married at Midnight

Olivia waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Not a problem. I’ll get two more. You’re supposed to dress as your favorite movie couple. Please say you’ll come.”

“Am I invited, too?” Jordan interrupted.

Olivia leaned toward Jordan. “Sure.”

Jordan reached for her phone and opened her calendar. A moment later she sighed. “Damn, I have to work.”

Jordan worked long hours at the hospital. Ellie wasn’t always sure if it was because she had to or because she wanted to, as an excuse. “Can’t someone cover your shift?”

Jordan shook her head. “With it being the week of Halloween and a full moon, the emergency room will be busier than ever. This time of year we always have to staff up, not down.”

“Next time,” Olivia said with a reassuring smile.

“That sounds nice,” Jordan replied with a hint of longing in her voice.

Ernie kept his head buried in the newspaper for so long he thought his nose might be covered with black ink.

“Finally,” Lenny nearly growled, setting his own newspaper aside as the three women left The Lucky Club. “I thought they’d never leave.”

“Do you think Ellie recognized us?” Aaron asked.

Ernie folded his paper, grateful he no longer had to read the same page of the newspaper as he’d been doing for the past hour. “I don’t think so, but I was nervous when her one friend studied us so closely. It made me want to get back into costume again. I can be invisible when I’m Elvis.”

“In Vegas, yes,” George admitted with a laugh. “In Seattle, not likely.”

Aaron gave him a pinched look. “What are we doing sneaking around spying on the poor girl?”

George frowned at the man in the booth beside him. “What’s wrong with you? You look like you just swallowed a lemon.”

Aaron’s sour look increased. “This isn’t our style—”

“Boys,” Ernie interrupted, his amusement fading. “We’re making lemonade. Look what we discovered tonight by following Ellie here.” He held up one finger. “She didn’t talk to her friends about a divorce. If she was seriously considering that alternative, she would have told them.” A second finger joined the first. “And she’s going to a costume party on Friday. A costume party, boys.”

All three of his friends’ faces lit up, and George started to laugh. “It’s not like the four of us don’t have the perfect costumes to wear.”

They all started to laugh.

“That’s how we do our best work,” Lenny managed to say.

“We learned something else as well,” Ernie said, trying to bring the conversation back to a more serious tone.

“What’s that?” George said, trying to keep his amusement in check.

“That pretty friend of hers with the dark hair . . . she needs a date.”

George straightened, his laughter fading as he stared at Ernie. “Are you offering your services?”

“No,” Ernie snorted. “I’m far too old for her. But who says we can’t help her along that path? A pretty young woman like her ought to have lots of young men vying for her hand.” Ernie frowned. “Do the young men still compete for a woman’s attentions?”

Aaron looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, “Most of the couples who come to our chapel are well past the competition stage of their relationship. They are ready to commit to each other, however briefly.”

“I’d be happy to help Jordan find the man of her dreams,” George said with a grin.

“Just like we helped Ellie find hers,” Lenny agreed with conviction.

Ernie couldn’t help but smile. “Now that’s more like it. No better way for the four of us to make ourselves useful than to not only help Ellie and Connor find their way, but help that pretty little Jordan polish some of her rough edges.”

“Who says we have to change her?” Aaron asked.

“I like her fiery temper,” George agreed.

“Boys,” Ernie interrupted with a wave of his hands, “at least we are united in our purpose. Let’s wait and see what opportunities present themselves. Okay?”

His friends nodded.

Ernie stood and withdrew a twenty from his wallet, tossing it on the table to cover the cost of four cups of coffee. As the accountant of the group, it was always up to him to see that the bills were paid. The expense of coming to Seattle seemed as though it would pay off in more than one way—as entertainers, friends, and now matchmakers to the lovelorn.

He’d worried that seeing Viola might churn up old memories that may have been better left undisturbed for them all. Instead, he could tell by the renewed spring in all their steps that the old excitement from years ago had returned.

For four single old men, it didn’t get much better than that.