The Matchmakers by Jennifer Colgan Page B

wings
aching with shame and her heart heavy, Callie trudged out of Farley’s at half past
noon convinced she faced nothing but a long, loveless existence.
    Chapter Twelve
                By
five PM, Nick had been all over town on his weekend errands. He’d run out of
ways to avoid going home and decided he’d worked up the stamina for another
dose of faerie. The apartment was dark when he arrived, which prolonged his
reprieve. With a small measure of guilt, he tackled the unfinished dishes and
had just assembled the ingredients for a world-class grilled cheese sandwich
when the phone rang. Though he refused to admit that he’d begun to worry about
Callie, the sound jangled his nerves. He jumped up and grabbed the phone before
the second ring. `Yeah?´ `Hello? Nick?´ `Tinkerbell? Is that you?´ Nick had no
trouble convincing himself hunger had caused the sudden lightness in his chest.
It couldn’t be relief at hearing her voice. `It’s me. I’m on a break. Can you
come and meet me at Farley’s?´ `A break? He hired you?´ Why didn’t that
surprise him? She laughed. `Of course. But Diane apparently quit last night. I’ve
been trying to get details from Hayden, but Farley keeps glaring at us. He won’t
talk about her. I have a plan, though.´ Nick leaned against the counter and ran
one hand through his hair. Not another plan. Hopefully this one would not
include vandalism of any kind. `Are you still there, Nick?´ `Yeah.´ `You know
where Diane lives, don’t you?´ `Yes.´ He’d installed a new screen door for her
one sultry afternoon in July. They’d shared a companionable silence in the
shade of her screened-in porch, drinking homemade iced tea. `Why do I already
think this is a bad idea?´ `It’s not a bad idea at all. Why don’t you drop by
her house tonight? Maybe you can find out what happened, and then we can figure
out a way to fix it.´ `What about Hayden? She’s friends with Diane. That would
make more sense.Ćallie sighed. `Hayden can’t go because she’s working. It
has to be you.´ `Did you ever think maybe Diane and Farley just weren’t meant
to be?´ `Nick, I’ve been doing this for three hundred years. There’s something
there. They just got off to a rocky start.´ Nick eyed the bread and cheese he’d
set on the counter and wished he could come up with a sterling excuse not to
butt into Diane’s business. `Tink, a rocky start is when you bump noses during
your first kiss. Quitting your job over a flat tire is«like the Titanic hitting
an iceberg. Maybe we should stay out of it.´ `We’re already in it, Nick. It’s
our iceberg.´ `µOur’ is kind of a broad term, sweetheart.´ `Come on, Nick. Help
me out here. Please? I’m sure Diane will open up to you.´ That’s just what he
was afraid of. `All right. All right.´ `Thank you! I’ve got to get back to
work. Will I see you here later?´ `I’ll pick you up. When does your shift end?´
`Farley said I could leave at midnight since I’ve been here all day.´ `All
right. I’ll be there. You ´ Nick hesitated. The words `be careful´ had gotten
stuck in his throat.
      `What?´ `Don’t get into any trouble,
okay?´ `I’ll try not to. Bye, Nick.Áfter Callie hung up, Nick stared at the
phone for a full minute. He’d just agreed to do exactly what he didn’t want to
do, butt into someone else’s personal life. How had she managed to talk him
into it? Just to be stubborn, he finished making his sandwich and ate it while
watching CNN before he left the apartment. He might be at the mercy of a
devilishly manipulative Fae, but the cause of true love would just have to wait
until he finished dinner. Callie hoped that sending Nick to check on Diane
would help rather than hinder their mission. She could have arranged to leave
the bar for a little while and made sure Farley never missed her, but with the Saturday
evening crowd tumbling in, Hayden could barely keep up. Callie had learned
quickly during her first shift that Diane did a