Christina was sitting on the porch, enjoying a late spring
afternoon when Logan joined her.
“So how is Pemberton’s self appointed matchmaker?”
“Don’t you have anything else to do beside annoy me?”
He leaned against the door frame, his eyes intent on her.
“Whose life have you decided to meddle with this time?”
She glared at him. “I don’t meddle,” she retorted crossly. “I bring
people together.”
“Oh yes, you are Pemberton’s self-appointed matchmaker.”
“I have had great success in this venture. Why just recently
I had the pleasure of seeing my dear friend Lucinda marry
Robert McKinley. From the moment I saw him, I knew that he
would be a perfect match for her. I have had other such
victories. You cannot deny that I am good at this.”
“And you have never suffered defeat?” He sounded incredulous.
“Well,” she admitted grudgingly, “There was the matter of Olivia
and Miles.” She blushed as she remembered how Miles had
mistaken her solicitude toward him as romantic interest and how
angry he had become when she had intimated that she wanted
to secure him for her friend, Olivia. He was insulted, claiming
that Olivia was a nobody and unequal to him in every way. Then,
he had stormed out of the library never to be seen again. Poor
Olivia. It had taken a long time for her to get over the heartbreak.
“I must be the only unattached gentleman you have not tried to
find a match for,” Logan remarked, startling her. “Why is that?”
“You exaggerate,” she chided him. “There are several unattached
men and women whom I have not sought to find matches for.”
“I’m curious. Why haven’t you planned a match for me?”
She lowered her eyes, afraid that they might betray her
feelings. “Do you want me to?” she asked. She hoped he was
teasing her. He had a habit of doing so.
“As a matter of fact I do,” he announced. “There is a particular
lady I would like to become better acquainted with.”
Christina swallowed hard. “Do I know her?”
“Yes. You know her extremely well.”
Who could it be? The thought of him caring for another
devastated her. She couldn’t hide her agitation now.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you,” she said, avoiding his eyes and
getting up suddenly, she moved away and stood with her back to him.
She heard him come up behind her and then felt his hands on her
shoulders, turning her around to face him. She couldn’t
look at him so she concentrated on the front of his shirt.
“Christina,” he whispered. “Don’t you know by now that I’m in love
with you? You have been so caught up in trying to find love for others
that you failed to see the love that has always been yours.”
She looked up at him, her heart pounding wildly as she met
his gaze. “I have been in love with you since the first time we
met,” she confessed, hardly able to believe that this was really
happening. “I never dreamed of finding a match for you because
I had hoped that you would feel the same way about me.”
“I would not have allowed you to meddle in my life. As you
can see I am quite capable of finding love on my own.”
“My match-making days are over,” Christina promised him.
He smiled and taking her arm, he escorted her back to her
seat and they spent the rest of the afternoon most agreeably.
Sources: Wikipedia; Victorian Trading Co
One Reply to “The Match Maker”