The Matchmakers by Jennifer Colgan Page B

the word,
and I’ll have Seamus O’Malley here before sunrise.Śhe used the remote to
gesture to the luxury suite she’d created in room five. `What else do I have to
do?´ His upper lip curled in a devilish smirk that served to remind Callie of
all the reasons Freya had chosen Nick Garrett as her punishment. She braced for
what she knew was coming.
      `Show me your wings,
Tinkerbell.Ćhapter Ten Callie’s big green eyes grew even wider at his
suggestion, and Nick had to ask himself why all this wasn’t enough to make him
believe. For heaven’s sake, the greater miracle would have been that the Minuteman
Motel raked in enough profit to remodel even one of its rooms into something that rivaled the VIP suites he’d
seen in Vegas or Atlantic City. There wasn’t a place east of the Poconos with
rooms this fabulous. `Ask me something else. Anything else.´ Was there a hint
of panic in her voice? `Why? Don’t all faeries have wings?´ `Yes. But I’m not
allowed to show anyone. That’s one of Freya’s strict rules. No wish granting
and no«wing-showing. Period. Now, how about that leprechaun? Or a pixie? I can
parade a herd of centaurs through your living room or maybe even a unicorn scratch
that. I can’t do a unicorn.´ He grinned, not sure why he was enjoying this so
much. `Why not? Maybe a unicorn would do it.´ `They’re only visible to virgins,
Nick. I venture I’m about fifteen years too late for you to see a unicorn.Śhe matched his self-satisfied smirk. `Fourteen
years, if you must know. How about you?´ Her jaw dropped, but she recovered her
shock and matched his smile. `Two hundred and seventy-seven. And that’s only
because I was a late bloomer.´ He laughed. `So you’re two hundred and
seventy-seven years old?Ánd she’d taken offense at his remark about not
thinking she was a runaway teenager? `That’s absurd. What kind of a Fae do you
think I am? I’m three hundred and twenty-nine.´ He looked at her. `Okay, three
thirty, but my birthday was last month. That’s the last time I grant a birthday
wish.´ Nick eyed the hot tub and the faux waterfall that trickled down from
mossy boulders into the frothy depths of contoured blue-green vinyl. `So you
got in trouble by granting yourself a birthday wish?´ `No. Not me. I granted
someone else my birthday wish.´ Her voice became distant. He turned and found
her perched on the arm of the sectional sofa, studying her fingernails. `Her
name was Felicia. My job was to help her find true love with Paul, her
childhood sweetheart.´ `Let me guess: Paul wasn’t interested.Śhe gave him
a shocked look and clucked her tongue. `Why do you assume it’s the man who has
to be convinced of these things? Paul was not the problem at all. He loved her,
always had loved her, but she didn’t believe it. Felicia was a bit of a Plain
Jane. She’d never really spread her«wings«and she wanted to. She needed to
before she could understand that what she had with Paul was the real thing.
      She couldn’t see that he was the man
of her dreams because her dreams involved another man, a man who naturally didn’t
have the time of day for her.´ `And we’re back to my theory.´ Nick took the
other end of the sofa and leaned back in the cushions. God, with a cold beer
and that popcorn she’d been talking about, heaven was only a click of the TV remote
away. `Please.´ `So what happened? You granted Plain Jane her wish, and she
caught the eye of the wrong guy.Ćallie nodded. `It wasn’t supposed to be
forever. I just wanted her to gain a little confidence. The other man Jack he
fell hard and Felicia was thrilled. I’m ashamed to say it made me feel good to
see her so happy.´ `Why should you be ashamed of that? Isn’t that your job?´ `No.
My job is to do what Freya tells me. Felicia and Paul. They were the job.
Felicia and Jack well, that was a disaster.´ `He hurt her?´ `Nope. She hurt him . Ripped out his lying, cheating, skirt-chasing heart and
showed it to him.´ Nick