Sparks the Matchmaker (Aaron Sparks Series) by Russell Elkins Page B

is.”
    “You don’t have to accept my help, you know. I could go help someone else.”
    Ollie took a deep breath and then let it out as a rumble in his throat. “Ah. You’re probably right anyway. I like to find extra things to worry about, I guess. I’m sorry.”
    “I forgive you, Ollster.”
    “You sure you won’t, uh… come along this weekend?”
    “You won’t need me. You’re just getting to know each other, remember. And trust me: that boyfriend of hers isn’t going to be a problem.”
    “But why did you say Joy was harder to read than some people, though?” Ollie wondered what Sparks was setting him up for now. “That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”
    “Shouldn’t be. Some people are just harder.”
    Ollie sighed. “You’re cryptic, dude.” He zipped up his duffel bag, grabbed the backpack with his books inside, and headed down toward his car. “Well,” he said, “this is it. I guess I’ll see you on the flip side.”
    “Wait,” Sparks said, “One last thing.”
    “Yeah?” Ollie paused in the hallway outside his room.
    “Remember how I told you I’d be asking you to do a few things along the way?”
    “Yeeeeeeees.” Here we go. The other shoe was about to drop, but at least he would finally know.
    “The other girl who’s going to ride with you— Lynn— she’s going to offer you a job. You’re going to take it.”
    “What’s the job?”
    “You’ll see. Don’t worry about it.” He grinned. “Have a good weekend!” And with that, he slammed the door in his face.

Chapter 8

    With the majority of Joy’s luggage in Ollie’s arms, they walked together the short distance back to where Ollie’s car was parked in his driveway. Why is it girls think they need to bring so much stuff on a two day trip?
    “Do you know anything about this girl Lynn?” Ollie asked, as they drove a few blocks to pick her up.
    “Nope. Seemed nice enough on the phone, I suppose. Why do you ask?”
    “Oh, ya know. We’ll be spending the next chunk of time in the car with her. What if she’s weird or something?”
    “Yeah. What if she stinks?” Joy held her nose and puffed out her cheeks like she was about to run out of breath.
    “Well, did she stink over the phone?”
    Joy didn’t miss a beat with her retort. “Not any more than you do.”
    They continued to laugh as they parked the car and made their way to Lynn’s front door.
    Lynn couldn’t have been taller than five foot three, but even before she said a word Ollie could tell that where she lacked in size she made up for in spunk.
    “Let’s do this!” Lynn said with an enormous smile, rushing past them before Ollie could even offer to carry her bags.
    “See, Ollie? I told you,” Joy said as they approached the car.
    “What?” Ollie asked.
    “I told you Lynn doesn’t stink.”
    “I never said that! I just said—”
    “Relax, Ollie,” Lynn said. “You caught me on a good day. I happened to shower right before you came. And you’re lucky, too, because my next shower isn’t scheduled until Thanksgiving weekend.”
    The color that had left his face with Joy’s comment came back when he could see that Lynn had a sense of humor, something Joy must have already known by their phone conversations. Two things were apparent to him in his first impression of Lynn: she never slowed down and she never stopped smiling, a smile that brought out a dimple on her right cheek but not her left.
    It took a few minutes to arrange the car so that everybody’s bags could fit comfortably, but he enjoyed every second of it. Every time a car drove by, he smiled at the thought of how he must look. He didn’t usually care what other people thought of him, but maybe that was because he wasn’t usually seen hanging around with two gorgeous women. This is gonna be a great weekend.

    ***

    “So, your boyfriend decided not to come after all,” Ollie finally said. They’d been on the road now for at least a couple of hours, and he had been