The Perfect Match. Debbie Macomber

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СКАЧАТЬ a table against the same wall, so close to Zach that she could practically read the menu over his shoulder. She was reading her own menu when Zach spoke. “Don’t you think we’re both being a little silly?”

      “Yes,” she admitted. “But earlier today we agreed that being thrown together like this could lead to trouble.”

      “I honestly don’t think it would hurt either of us to have dinner together, do you?”

      “No…I don’t think it would.” They’d spend the entire meal talking across the tables to each other, anyway.

      He stood up, grinning. “May I join you?”

      “Please.” She couldn’t help responding with a smile.

      He pulled out the other chair, his gaze appreciative. “Those colors look good on you.”

      “Thanks.” She had to admit he looked good—darkly vibrant and masculine—himself. She was about to return his compliment when it dawned on her how senselessly they were challenging fate.

      “It’s happening already,” she whispered, leaning toward him in order to avoid being overheard.

      “What?” Zach glanced around as though he expected ghostly clansmen to emerge from behind the drapes.

      “You’re telling me how good I look in blue and I was about to tell you how nice you look and we’re smiling at each other and forming a mutual admiration society. Next thing you know, we’ll be married.”

      “That’s ridiculous!”

      “Sure, you say that now, but I can see a real problem here.”

      “Does this mean you want me to go back to my table and eat alone?”

      “Of course not. I just think it would be best if we limited the compliments. All right?”

      “I’ll never say anything nice about you again.”

      Janine smiled. “Thank you.”

      “You might want to watch that, as well,” he warned with a roguish grin. “If we’re too formal and polite with each other, that could lead us straight to the jewelers. Before we know what’s happening, we’ll be choosing wedding bands.”

      Janine’s lips quivered with a barely restrained smile. “I hadn’t thought about that.” They glanced at each other and before either could hold it in, they were laughing, attracting the attention of everyone in the dining room. As abruptly as they’d started, they stopped, burying their faces in the menus.

      After they’d ordered, Janine shared her theory with Zach, a theory that had come to her on their drive back to the inn. “I think I know why Gramps arranged for us to meet in Scotland.”

      “I’m dying to hear this.”

      “Actually, I’m afraid I’m the one responsible.” She heaved a sigh of remorse. Every part of her seemed aware of Zach, which was exactly what she didn’t want. She sighed again. “When Gramps first mentioned the idea of an arranged marriage, I tried to make him understand that love wasn’t something one ordered like…like dinner from a menu. He genuinely didn’t seem to grasp what I was saying and asked me what a woman needed to fall in love.”

      “And you told him a trip to Scotland?” Zach’s eyes sparkled with the question.

      “Of course not. I told him a woman needed romance.”

      Zach leaned forward. “I hate to appear dense, but I seem to have missed something.”

      Pretending to be annoyed with him, Janine explained, “Well, Gramps asked me to define romance…”

      “I’d be interested in learning that myself.” Zach wiped the edges of his mouth with his napkin. Janine suspected he did it to cover a growing need to smile.

      “It isn’t all that easy to explain, you know,” Janine said. “And remember this was off the top of my head. I told Gramps romance was forbidden trysts on Scottish moors.”

      “With an enemy clan chieftain?”

      “No, with the man I loved.”

      “What else did you tell him?”

      “I don’t remember exactly. I think I said something about a moonlight stroll on the beach, and…and desperate passion.”

      “I wonder how he’ll arrange that?”

      “I don’t think I want to find out,” Janine murmured. Considering how seriously Gramps had taken her impromptu definition, she almost dreaded the thought of what he might do next.

      When they’d finished, their plates were removed by the attentive waiter and their coffee served. To complicate her feelings, she was actually a little sad their dinner was about to end.

      They left the dining room, and Zach escorted her up the stairs. “Thank you for being willing to take a risk and share dinner with me,” he said, his voice deadpan. “I enjoyed it, despite the, uh, danger.”

      “I did, too,” Janine said softly. More than she cared to admit. Against her better judgment, her mind spun with possible ways to delay their parting, but she decided against each one, not wanting to tempt fate any more than she already had.

      Zach walked her to her room, pausing outside her door. Janine found herself searching for the right words. She longed to tell him she’d enjoyed spending the evening with him, talking and laughing together, but she didn’t know how to say it without sounding like a woman in love.

      Zach appeared to be having the same problem. He raised one hand as though to touch her face, then apparently changed his mind, dropping his hand abruptly. She felt strangely disappointed.

      “Good night,” he said curtly, stepping back.

      “Good night,” she echoed, turning to walk into her room. She closed the door and leaned against it, feeling unsettled but at a loss to understand why.

      After ten restless minutes she ventured out again. The country garden was well lit, and a paved pathway led to rocky cliffs that fell off sharply. Even from where she stood, Janine could hear the sea roaring below. She could smell its salty tang, mixed with the scent of heath. Thrusting her hands into her blazer pockets, Janine strolled along a narrow path into the garden. The night air was cool and she had no intention of walking far, not more than a few hundred feet. She’d return in the morning when she planned to walk as far as the cliffs with their buffeting winds.

      The moon was full and so large it seemed to take up the entire sky, sending streaks of silvery light across the horizon. With her arms wrapped aroung her middle, she gazed up at it, certain she’d never felt more peaceful or serene. She closed her eyes, savoring the luxurious silence of the moment.

      Suddenly it was broken. “So we meet again,” Zach said from behind her.

      “This is getting ridiculous.” Janine turned to him and smiled, her heart beating fast. “Meeting on the moors…”

      “It isn’t exactly a tryst,” Zach said.

      “Not СКАЧАТЬ