CHAPTER ONE
“What are you smiling about, Henry?” Cade Armstrong Waters, an attorney turned child advocate, sat across from him in the red vinyl booth. “Hole-in-the-wall cafés are more my style than yours.”
Henry Davenport stared at the nubile blond server. “Not with her working here.”
“She’s attractive, but a little young for my tastes,” Cade said. “Age has never stopped you before.”
It hadn’t. Henry had gone out with younger women, but lately he’d dated closer to his age or older women.
Still, he wanted her. Take away the pink knee-length skirt, the white shirt, the stained apron, the ugly white shoes, and the nude-colored support hose not even Mrs. Zimmer, his middle-aged housekeeper, would be caught dead wearing, and she’d be perfect.
Barely dressed, which would make her all the more perfect.
He grinned at the thought. Perhaps it was too much to imagine she wore short skirts and stilettos when she wasn’t at work, but hey, this was his daydream, and the server had to spend her tips on something. What better than sexy clothes and shoes?
“Thank you, Cynthia, for suggesting we stop here,” Henry said. “I’m certain the food will be delicious. The view is tres magnifique.”
“I only wanted to eat before we went wine tasting.” Cade’s bride-to-be, Cynthia Sterling, pursed her glossed lips. “Do you plan on asking her out?”
“Why not?” Henry asked. “I’ve dated actresses, models, dancers, and socialites. Even you, darling.”
“Only once. Thank goodness.”
Cade placed a protective arm around his fiancée. “Lucky for me, the two of you were more like brother and sister than boyfriend and girlfriend.”
She leaned against him. “Lucky for me, I met you.” The tenderness of Cynthia’s smile touched Henry’s heart.
Once again, his matchmaking skills had been perfect.
No fine-tuning or adjustment needed. Henry truly enjoyed few things, but seeing his friends find true love was at the top of the list. And no one could argue with his success.
He thought about the birth of his godchild Brecken last month and grinned.
“Well, it’s not like Henry’s interested in having a relationship with any woman,” Cynthia added.
Henry nodded. “Everyone knows I don’t do relationships.”
“You could always hire her.” Cade raised a brow. “Have her wear one of those little black French maid outfits and help out your housekeeper.”
Henry grinned at the image forming in his mind. “I like that idea.”
Cynthia rolled her eyes. “You’d probably want her to carry one of those feather dusters.”
Cade laughed and patted Cynthia’s hand. As her engagement ring sparkled, Henry noticed her French manicure. “Your fingernails have grown back nicely.”
“Finally,” Cynthia said, flexing her fingers. “After your deserted-island adventure, I thought my hands would never look the same. Though I still have a few calluses.”
Cade kissed the top of her hand. “Just a reminder of what we had to go through to find each other.”
Henry grinned. “A small price to pay for happily ever after.”
“A small price?” Cynthia frowned. “I ended up with a bamboo pole stuck in my foot and had surgery.”
“I’m sorry about your foot.” Henry had covered her medical bills and still sent her a bouquet each week to make up for her injury. “But that was a freak accident. No one else has ever gotten hurt.”
“Accidents do happen, I suppose.” Cynthia narrowed her eyes. “Who knows what will happen during your next birthday adventure?”
“Two people will fall in love.” Henry rubbed his palms together. “Just like you did. And Brett and Laurel Matthews, too. Not to mention all the other happy couples, now that I no longer limit my matchmaking prowess to my birthday.”
She shook her head. “We know.”
He laughed. “Admit it, darling. I’ve become an accomplished matchmaker.”
“You’ve let success go to your head.” Cynthia sighed. “Next you’ll want us to call you Cupid.”
“That has a nice ring,” he admitted. “But Henry will do.”
Cynthia leaned forward. “You know, Henry, it isn’t right to play around with people’s lives this way.”
“It is right, darling.” Henry flashed her his most dazzling smile.
Of course, she was immune to the effect, but perhaps the server caught a glimpse.
He loved flirting and the nuances that went with it.
“In fact, matchmaking is my duty to those I care most about. If not for me, you wouldn’t be engaged. ”
Cade nodded. “He’s got a point, Sterling.”
“I’m grateful to you for introducing me to Cade, but there has to be another way to find love than having you play puppet master.” She spoke with tenderness, and Henry knew she wasn’t trying to offend him. “Someone could get hurt. Not just an injured foot but a broken heart. Or worse.”
Henry drew back. “Don’t tell me you want me to stop!”
“I won’t tell you,” Cynthia said. “But I do.”
Little Noelle and Brecken popped into his head. He loved his godchildren so much. Besides… “My friends would be too disappointed if I stopped.”
“Not all your friends,” Cade admitted. “You do enough for your friends by planning trips and parties and all sorts of other fun things. The matchmaking isn’t necessary.”
Cynthia nodded. “Neither are your adventures.”
“Both are very necessary,” Henry countered, feeling defensive. “I’m not stopping.”
“It’s time you entered the real world, Henry,” Cynthia said. “If you knew what being sent on an adventure was like, you would change your tune.”
“I would love to be sent on an adventure.”
“You would?” Cynthia asked.
“Be careful how you answer,” Cade cautioned.
“Of course. It would be fun,” Henry said without any hesitation. No one would ever go to the effort to create an adventure for him. It was too much work. No one had that kind of free time or money. Not the way he did.
Cynthia straightened. “I’m so happy to hear you say that.”
The beautiful young server stepped from the kitchen and walked his way. The sway of her hips hypnotized him. He focused on her heart-shaped face. A pair of blue eyes met his. Clear and bright, her gaze made Henry straighten.
“Welcome to the Berry Bistro.” She greeted him with a wide smile, and he sucked in a breath. “I’m Elisabeth. May I take your order?”
Her soft voice was perfect for whispering sweet and not-so-sweet words into his ear. “Do you have any specials that could possibly compare to your dazzling smile, Lizzie?”
He expected her to flirt back. Women always did with him.
Instead, she pressed her lips together. “No specials this morning, and it’s Elisabeth with an S.”
Not just a pretty face. Charm alone was not going to win her over. He liked that. Most women simply fell at his feet. And wallet. “My mistake, Elisabeth with an S.”
She readied her pencil. “Your order?”
The only thing Henry wanted was her. Nothing else mattered at that moment. Not food, water, oxygen—strike that. He never gave up oxygen. The powerful urge to win her over took him aback. It must be the challenge he found so appealing.
“Would you like to order?” Elisabeth asked again.
“Give us a minute, please,” Cade said.
“I’d love some bottled water,” Cynthia said. “Do you have Pellegrino?”
Elisabeth bit her lower lip as if to keep herself from making a sassy reply. “I’m sorry, we don’t.”
“That’s okay,” Cynthia said with a reassuring tone. “Just bring whatever you have and lemon wedges, too.”
As Elisabeth walked away, Henry felt an urge to follow her, even if it meant stepping into what was no doubt a greasy, smelly kitchen. He leaned back against the booth.
A challenge was one thing. This was…different.
The strength of his attraction took him by surprise. Lately, it seemed to take something extravagant or someone larger than life to work up his interest. Not that anything appealed to him for long.
Cynthia stared at him. “She doesn’t seem like your usual type.”
“Nothing wrong with a natural, girl-next-door type,” Cade replied before Henry had the chance.
The words earned him a good-hearted elbow from Cynthia. “I’m the only natural girl for you.”
“Of course you are,” Cade said. “But a man can look.”
And I’m enjoying the view, Henry thought.
Elisabeth picked up mason jars used as vases from the empty tables on her way to the kitchen.
She looked like a bride in her crisp white shirt with her hands full of flowers.
Henry got a flash of her wearing a wedding gown made from the finest white silk, with a flowing veil held in place by an intricately woven floral wreath and a coordinating bouquet in her hands.
He wasn’t simply imagining her as any bride. He envisioned Elisabeth as his bride.
The tenderness of the image surprised him. The reality of the thought terrified him. He didn’t do brides.
Henry shook the thought from his mind. He had no interest in a relationship or anything that inspired thoughts of a bride, especially his. Time to put all this behind him before it got bad.
But bad didn’t begin to explain how a server from a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town on the edge of Oregon’s Yamhill wine country had left Henry speechless and shaking in his Church’s. The only thing left to do was leave. “Let’s find another restaurant.”
Two small lines formed above Cynthia’s nose. “What’s wrong with this one?”
“The service,” he said without any hesitation.
“I’m the one who asked her to give us a minute,” Cade said.
“It can’t be Elisabeth,” Cynthia added. “You said she was lovely.”
“No, I mean, yes, she is lovely. But I didn’t say it. Well, I just did, but not before.” Henry shifted in his seat. “Can we just go?”
“Well, well, well. This is an interesting turn of events.” A smug smile formed on Cynthia’s lips. “Of all the women in the world, a server from some Podunk town has finally spooked the world’s most confirmed bachelor.”
“I’m not spooked.” But even as Henry said the words, he knew he was more than spooked and wanted it to stop. Now.
“You’re pale,” Cade added.
Henry raised his chin. “I’m hungry.”
“Then we should stay and eat so we can leave your server a nice big tip.” Cynthia smirked.
“She’s not my server. And I’m not interested in her.”
“I’ve never seen a woman have an effect on you like this.” Mischief gleamed in Cynthia’s eyes. “You really like her.”
“I like the look of her. I don’t know her. And I won’t be getting to know her.” Henry glanced toward the kitchen and hoped her shift was over. “Elisabeth’s a small-town server. I’m a… I’m me. What would we talk about?”
Cade laughed. “You want to talk to her?”
He had a point, but Henry didn’t want to think about that. He didn’t want to think about the things they could do together. He didn’t want to think about her at all.
“I don’t want to talk to her,” Henry said. “I don’t want anything to do with her. Can we go?”
“Oh, knock it off.” Cynthia nudged Cade. “Excuse me, honey, I need to powder my nose.”
Henry fiddled with his paper napkin as she slid out of the booth. “Elisabeth seems…sweet. Innocent.”
“That’s never stopped you before,” Cynthia said before walking away.
It hadn’t. Her comeback made the situation clearer.
The sooner Henry put Elisabeth with an S and this two-bit little town behind him, the better.