âOh, Iâm so sorry!â Brianna automatically apologized, stepping back and trying to collect herself.
She felt slightly flustered, but did her best not to show it.
âNo, it was totally my fault,â Sebastian said, annoyed with himself. Drawing back, heâd automatically reached out to steady the woman heâd nearly sent sprawling. He caught her by her slender shoulders. The next moment, his vision clearing, enabling him to actually focus on the face of the woman before him, he dropped his hands from her shoulders, stunned.
At the same time, Sebastianâs jaw dropped.
The one person he hadnât wanted to run into at the reunion was standing less than five inches away from him.
Looking far more radiant than he ever remembered her looking.
âMaizie, may I speak with you?â
Maizie Sommer looked up from her desk and watched the approach of the sweet-faced, heavyset woman whoâd just entered her real estate office.
She knew that look. Sheâd seen it before, more than once. Not in her capacity as a remarkably successful Realtor with her own agency, but in her role as an even more successful matchmaker.
What had begun several years ago as a determined plan to get her own daughterâand the daughters of her two best friendsâmatched up and married to their soul mates had turned into a calling.
Since the first time she had gone down this path, Maizie, along with Theresa Manetti and Cecilia Parnell, all three best friends since the third grade, had never encountered failure. Strong gut instincts had guided the three women as they played matchmakers for friends and relatives, unerringly pairing up their targets, not for profit but for the sheer love of it.
As they amassed one triumphant pairing after another, their reputations grew. So much so that at times, their businesses were forced to take a temporary backseat to what Maizie liked to refer to as their âtrue mission.â
âCome in, Barbara,â Maizie said warmly. Rising, she turned the chair in front of her desk so that the visitor could easily take a seat. âSo tell me, what can I do for you?â
Barbara Hunter, whose fondness for rich, good food was evident, sank down into the proffered chair. The retired high school English teacher sighed wearily. This was something sheâd been wrestling with for a long time. Coming to Maizie for help amounted to a last-ditch effort before she completely gave up.
âYou can tell me how to light a fire under my stubborn son.â
Maizie looked at the other woman, puzzled. âIâm afraid I donâtââ
Anticipating her friendâs question, Barbara elaborated. âHe was supposed to come home for his high schoolâs ten-year reunion, but now he tells me that he doesnât have time for that ânonsense,ââhis word, not mineâand that he wants to save that time and put it toward his Christmas vacation so that when he does come out, we can have a nice, long visit.â
Soft brown eyes shifted imploringly toward Maizie. âOh, Maizie, I had such hopes for himâ¦.â Barbaraâs voice trailed off, lost in another deep sigh.
Maizie, meanwhile, was busy cataloging information. âRemind me, whereâs your son now?â
âSebastian is in Japan, teaching Japanese businessmen how to speak English. Heâs really very good at it,â she interjected with visible pride. âWhen he skipped his five-year reunion, he told me that heâd attend the next milestone reunion âfor sure.â His words,â she said again, more bleakly this time. She looked like a woman clinging to the last vestiges of hope and trying to make peace with the knowledge that it was slipping through her fingers. âI was hoping heâd go to this one and maybe even get together with Brianna.â
The name seemed to just wistfully hang there. âBrianna?â Maizie prodded.
Barbara nodded. âBrianna MacKenzie, the girl Sebastian went with during his senior year. I have this beautiful prom picture of the two of them,â she confided, then added with feeling, âA lovely, lovely girl. I really thought that theyâd wind up getting married, but Sebastian went off to college and Brianna stayed behind to take care of her father. The poor man was involved in a terrible car accident the night of the prom. She literally nursed him back to health and was so good at it, she went on to become an actual nurse.â
Barbara closed her eyes and shook her head as she felt the last nail being hammered into the coffin of her dreams.
âI had hopedâ¦â Her voice trailed off, but it wasnât hard to fill in the blanks. âNow Sebastianâs apparently changed his mind again. Iâm beginning to think that Iâm never going to see my son get married, much less hold a grandchild in my arms. Sebastianâs my only boy, Maizie. My only child. Iâve tried to be patient. Lord knows I havenât interfered in his life, but I donât have forever. Do you have