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“Eleanor! Shake the man’s hand!” Winnie exclaimed. She sighed audibly. “My apologies, Mr. O’Rourke. My niece becomes a bit shy around other people.”

Colin merely lifted his brow again, waiting. Ellie gritted her teeth, and carefully placed her hand in his.

Yep. There it was.

Her entire arm tingled from the contact, and then he turned her hand over and gently kissed her knuckles. She quickly snatched her hand back, her face flaming.

“Miss Carberry, I promise this won’t hurt,” he said, his voice low. She heard the teasing in his tone, but when she dared to meet his eyes, she realized he wasn’t going to call her out.

In front of anyone, anyway. She gulped.

Winnie patted her hand. “If I may be frank, dear, this is just what you need. Shake things up a little, step out of your comfort zone. ”

Ellie didn’t bother to attempt a smile. Colin’s face—truly, why did so much beauty exist in a single face?—remained pleasant, but his eyes told a different story. He wanted answers.

She chewed her lip. Sure, she’d lied to him a little about her name.

Rose was, in fact, her middle name, although that wasn’t a well-known fact.

And being that she hadn’t ever expected to see him again, she hadn’t seen the point in being plain old Ellie.

She’d promised herself she would practice being her true self, and she’d lived up to that promise… as Rose.

Baby steps. Although, that night a week ago, while she stared at the ceiling, trying to sleep after the most incredible kiss of her life, Ellie realized that perhaps she could be that person she’d pretended to be with Colin. Perhaps she could be funny, and sarcastic, and maybe a little daring.

She slid a glance to him and jumped when she realized his eyes had never left hers. She swallowed again.

He turned to her aunt, but her heart thundered in her ears, and she didn’t hear the words.

Colin took the seat opposite of her, and she was again struck by his good looks. She was suddenly back in the garden, kissing him as though her life depended on it, reveling in the feel of his hands tangled up in her hair—

“Miss Carberry,” he began.

— and she was again melting into that kiss, feeling alive and savored and just as a woman ought to feel when being kissed by a demigod—

He smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “I understand you’re looking for a husband.”

Eleanor’s blush was as immediate as it was fierce, and Colin didn’t have to wonder at what she’d been thinking .

“Well, that is the point of this exercise, is it not?” she asked, slightly defensive.

“Ellie!” Miss Emsworth admonished.

“Apologies. I am here to see what your company offers, and to humor my aunt,” Ellie stated without inflection. “What do we do first?”

“Well, first we welcome you to our Celtic Connections family,” Emma said with an easy smile. “You haven’t yet met our other employees, but you will probably the next time you come to the office. We’re still getting set up here.”

“Prematurely,” Miss Emsworth murmured.

Colin gritted his teeth and caught Emma’s eye. Medusa .

Emma’s smile grew. “We certainly hope not.”

“You’ll fill out a profile online, but let’s discuss your requirements.” Colin gave the women across from him as encouraging a smile as he could muster, though his heart was beating erratically.

Setting up his soul mate with someone else was going to be the most difficult thing he’d ever do, he was certain of it. He cursed the Fates again.

“We need to know what things you do and don’t like,” Emma advised.

“Such as…?” Ellie looked adorably confused.

Colin looked down at his notepad, berating himself.

She’s not adorable. She’s a client looking for a life partner, someone who will be there for her every night.

Not someone who disappears for days or weeks at a time without explanation.

Not someone who can’t tell her who and what he is.

Reilly’s hand on his shoulder brought Colin’s attention back.

“…smoker, already has children,” Emma was saying.

“That sort of thing. To start, just say whatever comes to mind, and remember that we are not going to judge you at all! In your online profile, you’ll be given a whole list of things you can check off.

We need you to be as honest as possible for this to work. ”

“No title.”

“No title?” Colin echoed.

“Yes. I don’t want anyone from the aristocracy.” She said, more to her aunt than them, “No earls, marquises, or baronets. None of it.”

“I’ve read too many historical romance novels,” Emma admitted with a little sigh. “We Americans do love your dukes.”

Ellie laughed, the sound pushing Colin’s heart into triple time.

He knew he couldn’t be the one to match her. It would damn near kill him.

“Sadly, young, good-looking dukes are hard to find in modern-day England.” She paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, “But I wouldn’t mind a prince. That is a title I could deal with.”

“I’m afraid the heir apparent is taken, but I’ll see what I can do to find a suitable spare,” Emma replied with a straight face. The two women burst into a fit of giggles.

Colin rolled his eyes. “Celtic Connections is good, but not that good, Miss Carberry. So no titles. What else?”

He didn’t miss the look her aunt was throwing him. He returned the look blandly; he knew her demands, the blackmailing witch, and refused to spend any more of his time on them.

“Well, don’t toss the idea of a title altogether,” Miss Emsworth advised. “What else?”

“I would like someone with intelligence,” she mused.

“How about profession?” Colin asked, regaining control.

She shrugged. “That doesn’t matter. Having a job is important, of course, but not so much what that job is.”

“What about a businessman who travels a lot?” Colin asked.

“Definitely not,” she replied pertly. “What’s the point of investing time and energy into a relationship just to have the other person leave all the time?”

“It’s why I asked,” Colin replied easily. “You initially think you would be all right with a businessman until the realities begin to set in. He’s only available on weekends, or he works the night shift, or a third shift. Are you prepared to change your schedule at your job to accommodate his?”

She scratched her neck uncomfortably. “Oh, I see what you mean. Probably not, at least not at first. I suppose a man with a steady job, who supports himself, works similar hours to my own. Very little business travel.”

“Reasonable,” Colin said calmly, but his mind was in turmoil. What if it were time travel instead of business travel? He forcibly unclenched his jaw.

“In a perfect world, he’d love to read. That’s all I can think of, though. With your stellar reputation, I believe I’m to trust in your superior matching skills.” The last she said with a slightly raised, challenging eyebrow towards Colin.

“We are far from a perfect world.” He loosened his still-tight jaw, then continued, “This isn’t magic. It’s understanding the client, and what the goals of the relationship will be.”

She listened as he went over what to expect, nodding where appropriate without hearing the words. When he took a breath, she took the opportunity to ask, “Who will be matching me?”

Emma had her publicity smile on. “Once we get to know you a little better, we’ll present you with your matchmaker.”

“Mr. O’Rourke matches her,” Miss Emsworth answered sharply.

She cut him a searing glance. “That is the deal, Mr. O’Rourke.

It’s well known that you launched this company with your cousin, and that the two of you were a formidable force.

Now, as it’s just you, your matches remain among the most successful in the company’s history. ”

He’d expected Miss Emsworth to have done her homework on him.

He simply hadn’t expected Eleanor.

“I will discuss it with my team,” he replied evenly.

“Absolutely not. You, or no one. That was the deal, and I’ll not have you reneging on it, Mr. O’Rourke.” She pulled her purse from the back of her chair and stood suddenly.

“Perhaps I might accompany you outside for a breath of fresh air,” Reilly said, standing with a slight bow. “I find myself eager to know what made your marriage such a strong one. Your late husband was a very respected man. Perhaps you can tell me about him? He was a scientist, correct?”

Miss Emsworth wasn’t immune to O’Malley’s charms; Colin could see her waver slightly in her defiant stance. She glanced at her niece. “Would you care to come outside, Ellie?”

The thoughtful look on her face worried Colin. She inclined her head. “No, thank you. I’ll stay and finish here, then we’ll meet up later?”

Reilly managed to get Miss Emsworth out of the room, and when the door clicked closed, Ellie rolled her eyes.

“She’s really looking to sink you,” she snorted.

“You seem to have a low opinion of yourself,” Colin observed. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.

He could almost see Ellie’s hackles rise.

“I do not! I’m realistic. She thinks I’m lonely, and I’m not.

Well, not really. Not most of the time.” She blushed, then hurried on, “But she also thinks I’m witty, and beautiful, and a stellar conversationalist. I’m not any of those things.

I’m just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill bookseller, happy with the way things are in my life.

I do exactly what I want, when I want to do it.

I have no obligations to anyone but myself and my customers, and I truly love my days. ”

Interesting how she said she loved her days. Colin wondered if she loved her nights, too .

“You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself,” he observed.

“Not at all,” she returned coolly.

“Your life sounds wonderful,” Emma said quickly, shooting Colin a warning look.

“It is! And I’m not looking to change it,” Ellie reassured her.

Emma shook her head. “We’re not either. We’re looking to help you enhance it. I get that it isn’t a man that will set you free, or make you happy, or make life worth living. But my question is: Why deny yourself any form of happiness, if it’s there for the taking?”

“Relationships have yet to offer me any form of happiness,” Ellie snorted. “Headache? Absolutely. Many, many forms of headaches. Tension headaches, cluster headaches, migraines—”

“We get the point,” Colin cut in. “Not all men are bad.”

She shrugged. “Probably not.”

Emma’s phone rang, and her eyes widened as she fumbled for it. “I’m so sorry, I meant to silence this before we started!”

“Answer it in reception.”

“No, no, I’ll just—”

“Answer it,” Colin interrupted firmly, “in reception.”

With a nod, Emma quickly exited.

“Do you always command your employees like that?” Ellie asked.

“She’s family.”

“That doesn’t make it any better.”

“Let’s focus on the task at hand, shall we… Rose ?”