Mismatched Under the Mistletoe - Jess Michaels Page 0,2

a constant companion, so had Cav.

She shook those thoughts aside as Cav got to his feet. He was a handsome man. Tall, broad shouldered, with dark blond curls that always looked just a bit mussed. Like he’d run his hands through them. Like someone else had done the same. Certainly plenty of someone else’s had. The man had a certain reputation with the ladies.

“Emily,” he said with a teasing arch of his brow and a quick flick of his head toward the clock on the mantel.

She laughed, pushing her thoughts away as she rushed to him and took his outstretched hands. “I know, I know!” she gasped. “I’m sorry to have kept you.”

His gaze flickered over her face. The smile remained but something darker entered his eyes. She found herself glancing away from it. He often had that expression when he looked at her. Something a little…forlorn. She supposed she reminded him of Andrew, just as he reminded her.

“I am freezing,” she said, releasing him and rushing to the sideboard to look at what had been brought for refreshments. “Did you pour yourself tea?”

He held up the cup from the table beside the settee. “And Cringle brought those cakes Mrs. Lisle makes this time of year. She must know I crave them.”

“Everyone knows you crave them,” she teased as she put sugar in her tea and then took a sip with a sigh of pleasure. “You make a very theatrical expression of it any time they are served.”

“I know my audience,” he said with a wink in her direction. “Mrs. Lisle loves my boisterous declarations, which allows me more cakes.”

She shook her head. “You are hopeless. I don’t even know why I invited you here.”

He laughed, but he set his cup aside and took a long step toward her. The warmth of him hit her, the spicy scent that always accompanied his arrival a comfort.

“I’m not sure why you invited me either,” he said. “But I’m sure I can ascertain the answer if you give me a moment to observe.” He pressed a finger to his lips and looked her up and down. “You are happy.”

She wrinkled her brow. “Don’t sound so surprised by that fact. I’m a happy person, am I not?”

“You are, indeed. Practically bottled sunshine,” he teased. “But today you are positively glowing. You are up to something.”

“You do know me so well.” Emily leaned closer. “Cav, I have had an idea. No, not just an idea, the best of ideas, and I need your help!”

Cav held her stare for a moment, then tilted his head back and laughed. The tendons in his neck flexed above his cravat as he did so. Emily blushed. She knew she was exuberant. She couldn’t help it. Emotions were something she had never been able to hide. If she was joyful or excited, she showed it.

“All right, Emily. You have intrigued me. What is this idea?” he asked.

“Although we…lost Andrew five years ago,” she began, and the smile on Cav’s face fell slightly. He was truly the only one who felt the loss as keenly as she did. He had practically been Andrew’s brother. She hastened to continue, “I have only returned to Society in the last eighteen months or so.”

“Yes,” he said, drawing out the word with a look of concern on his face. “And?”

“I’ve been doing something of a study of the gentleman and ladies of our acquaintance during that time,” she said.

“I see,” he said. “And what have you determined?”

“I have developed a few theories about matches that end up being successful to both partners.” She smiled. “Not just financially or by linking important families, but by the happiness and affection the couple ultimately develops.”

His mouth twitched. “Are you…in the market for happiness and affection in a match?”

She shook her head. “Gracious, no. I had both, you know I did. I am not in a position where I must marry, thanks to the financial protections Andrew put in place for me. I do not think I would ever be tempted to wed again.”

He turned away and paced to the sideboard, where he fiddled with the bottles of liquor lined up along the top. “Then why make a study?”

“For other people,” she burst out.

He stared at her, his expression utterly blank. “I don’t understand.”

She huffed out her breath. “I’m saying that I could successfully match couples who might not have ever thought of each other, if only I could seclude them together in the proper circumstances.”

Cav leaned back. “Play…matchmaker.”

Emily