Chapter 11

Noah was almost gratefulwhen his alarm went off at seven-thirty the next morning. He'd hardly slept, tossing and turning all night as he thought about the beautiful woman sleeping two doors away.

He knew he should have been thinking about Valentina and the dangerous men who seemed to be after all of them. But all he could think about was Maggie. How incredible and brave she was to be helping him like this. And how beautiful she'd looked last night in that little black dress. And later here, with her fresh face scrubbed clean of makeup, her soft rose-petal lips practically begging to be kissed. Not to mention what her curves did to that ordinary T-shirt and cotton boxers. It was criminal.

At first, he'd been frustrated that she'd ended their night together so abruptly. He'd wanted to spend more time with her in ways that didn't have anything to do with solving the mystery of Valentina's disappearance or running from a couple of dangerous thugs. But in retrospect, he realized it had been a blessing. He wasn't certain how much longer he could have resisted the overwhelming desire he'd had to pull her into his arms and kiss her last night.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his hands briskly over his face to wake up. He peeked out of his bedroom door, but he could see that Maggie's door was still shut. So, he padded into the bathroom, took a quick shower, and dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a short-sleeved button-down shirt that he'd nabbed from Wade's closet along with the other items last night. He and his two brothers had the same tall, lean, athletic build, making it easy for them to share clothing.

He cleared out of the bathroom, then tapped lightly on Maggie's door. "Hey, you alive in there?"

He heard a soft moan, then a muffled "No."

He laughed. "Can I come in?"

"As long as you don't frighten easily; I can look pretty scary in the morning."

"I can handle it." He pushed the door open and stepped into the dark room.

Maggie reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. She sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes while he soaked up a view of Maggie Milena in the morning. Far from scary, she looked lovelier than ever. Her sleep-warmed skin held a rosy golden color that made him long to caress it. And her hair was a tousled, curling cloud that cascaded about her shoulders.

"Is it late?" she asked, picking up her phone from the bedside table.

"It's eight." He sat down carefully on the foot of the bed, wanting to be near her but not wanting to make her uncomfortable. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," she said. But he noticed a warm flush color her cheeks. "You?"

"Fine," he lied.

"So," she said, setting her phone down. "Is it still our plan to head to the hospital this morning?"

"Yes, but maybe not right away."

"Huh?" She frowned, looking confused. "I thought we agreed we'd go first thing."

"Wouldn't you like to grab some breakfast before we tackle any new challenges? After all, if yesterday was any indication of what we might encounter today, we're going to need all the sustenance we can get."

She smiled at him. "Very true."

"I texted my brother Jake to let him know about everything that's happened so far. He and Alex are going to meet us at a restaurant in town and give us Boon back."

Maggie yawned and stretched. Her shape was highlighted to perfection inside the soft T-shirt and Noah blinked as he attempted to keep his focus on her face.

"That sounds like a plan," she said. "You know, I kind of miss that crazy dog."

"I do, too." Noah smiled.

"Will I be too overdressed if I wear what I wore last night?"

"We're not in that much of a hurry. How about if I take you back to your place? I can stay there to make sure you're safe so that you can shower and change."

She smiled gratefully. "That would be wonderful."

Together they cleaned up the dishes from tea the night before, then stripped and remade the beds.

They gathered their things and Maggie told Noah they could wash all the dirty sheets, towels, and clothes at her place.

Just after ten o'clock, Noah parked on the street in front of Chef David's in downtown Whispering Pines. The village was a popular tourist spot because of its massive state park, golden sand dunes, and location on the shores of stunning Lake Michigan. Throughout the summer and fall, tourists flocked there, filling the local shops and restaurants. But Chef David's—which only served breakfast and lunch—was tucked away on a side street off the main drag, and as a result, it catered primarily to locals. And just like Lakeside Latté, the establishment was dog friendly.

The outdoor seating area was an inviting oasis, with its bright umbrellas shading the outdoor table and chairs. Noah instantly spotted Jake waving him over to a table at the edge of the exterior dining section. The entire outdoor area was bordered with large potted planters filled with flowers in a profusion of colors.

Noah and Maggie started weaving their way among the full tables, but Noah stopped short when he heard someone nearby say his name. He glanced down at the table next to them and groaned inwardly. Not again. This is NOT happening.

"Noah, I thought that was you," said a young woman with a spiked pixie haircut featuring all the colors of the rainbow.

"Heeeey there, Christina! Good to see you again," Noah said, and then attempted to continue their path toward Jake through the crowded tables. But Christina reached out to grasp his arm, halting their progress. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

Christina's eyes were studying Maggie with interest.

"Uh, of course," he said. "Christina, this is my friend Maggie."

"Friend?" She tilted her head, one corner of her mouth lifting in a smirk. "Count yourself lucky," she said, directing her comment toward Maggie.

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked.

"Well, if you're only his friend, then you're most likely safe."

"Safe from what?"

"From dating him, of course."

"You dated him?"

"Once. But once was enough."

Noah interjected, "Maggie, we really need to—"

"Why was once enough?" Maggie asked, clearly ignoring him as she focused on Christina.

"Well, for starters, I arrived at the restaurant for our date and found him getting up close and personal with another woman," Christina said, her expression turning sour.

Noah sighed. "If you recall, I explained that I thought she was you."

Christina rolled her eyes. "Seriously, dude? She looked nothing like my online picture! I mean, have you ever seen anyone with hair like mine?" she asked, turning her attention back to Maggie. "Then, he insulted my profession."

"I apologized!" Noah said. "I didn't realize you were the artist of the piece in that shop!"

"Mhm," Christina said. "But the worst thing of all was that he completely forgot that I told him I had a food allergy. So, he invites me back to his place and serves me a homemade dessert with walnuts in it. I spent the rest of the night in the emergency room."

Christina looked quite satisfied at the impact she was having on Maggie, whose mouth was now hanging open. This was not good. Not good at all.

"Look, Christina, I told you before how sorry I was. My brother Wade made that dessert for me and I...just forgot about mentioning your food allergy to him. But I got you to the hospital quickly. And you're fine now, right? So, uh, as much as I'd love to stand here and relive even more of that disastrous night, Maggie and I really need to go." He firmly took hold of Maggie's hand and pulled her along to the table before she or Christina could say anything more.

When they reached the table, Noah saw that Jake and Alex weren't alone.

"Wow, the whole gang is here!" he said, scanning the crowded table before giving his brother Jake a one-armed hug and thump on the back in greeting.

"We went to an early church service and decided to meet y'all for a nice, big family breakfast," said an older man with a booming voice and handlebar mustache. He indicated the table of people with widespread arms before standing up to wrap Noah in a huge bear hug.

"Hi, Pops," Noah said, hugging him back. "Let me introduce my friend, Maggie."

Noah began working his way around the table. "This is my grandfather J.P., also known as Pops," he said of the older man. "And his wife Tilly." He indicated an elegant woman with a chic, snowy white bob and sparkling blue-gray eyes. "Of course, you remember Jake from high school." His brother gave a nod of acknowledgment. "And this lovely lady is his wife, Alex." The pretty, dark-haired woman sitting next to Jake smiled, her eyes were the same unique color as Tilly's.

"It's wonderful to meet you all!" Maggie said, then turned her attention to Alex. "You're the one who referred Noah to me, right? I haven't thanked you yet."

"It was my pleasure!" Alex said with a smile. "I had a friend who used your service and had a great result."

"That's nice to hear!" Maggie's face lit up.

"Hey, don't forget this old lady over here!" laughed a woman seated at the far end of the table. She had a distinctive Southern drawl and bright red hair teased into a fluffy mound on her head.

"You are not old, Rita," Noah said. "You're classic."

"Charmer! C'mere and gimme some sugars!" Rita rose to cradle Noah's face in her hands; her fingernails were tipped with bright pink fluorescent polish. She planted a loud kiss on his cheek.

Noah returned to Maggie's side. "Rita worked for my dad and Jake at Riley Development for years, but she's now semi-retired and working part-time for me, handling admin for my marketing business."

"It's a blast! A big change from construction and development," Rita said, then winked at Jake. "No offense, sugar."

"None taken." Jake grinned at her.

"Besides, Noah here is a lot less intense than your daddy," she said.

"I can believe that," Jake muttered. "Noah may have inherited Dad's entrepreneurial spirit, but at least he understands the importance of not letting his business consume his life the way Dad does."

"Okay, okay," Noah said. "Let's not overwhelm Maggie with all of our family drama right now."

Boon rose from where he'd been lying at Jake's feet to greet his old friends. He was closely followed by a friendly looking golden retriever and a small, fluffy white dog.

"Oops, forgot to introduce these guys! Maggie, this is Rex," Noah said, introducing the retriever. "And this little angel is Angel," he said, reaching down to pet the little white dog. "She belongs to our brother Wade and his wife. As you know they're off on their honeymoon, so Jake and Alex are dog sitting."

Maggie bent over to give the three dogs their due attention. "Hi there," she said, scratching Boon behind a flopped over ear with one hand, and Rex with the other, then she leaned further down to pat Angel on the head. The bigger dogs pressed against her in immense joy at the attention, and she started to stumble backward from their combined weight.

"Rex, nien! Hier! Jake commanded, and the retriever instantly backed away from Maggie and returned to his side.

"Wow, what a well-behaved dog," Maggie commented. "And...was that German?"

"Yeah!" Jake laughed. "He's a retired police dog, so I can't take the credit for his training."

"Have a seat! We haven't ordered yet," boomed J.P.

Noah held out an empty chair for Maggie and then sat down beside her.

They all looked over the menus. Then the waitress arrived with glasses of ice water and took their orders.

As soon as she left, Alex said, "Did I see you talking with Christina, Noah? She's an amazing artist. Works with metal. I didn't realize you were friends with her."

"It didn't exactly sound like they were friends," Maggie murmured, taking a small sip of her water.

"Oh no." Alex's face fell. "Not another one."

Maggie looked at Noah with suspicion. "Another one what?"

"Another one nothing. Can we talk about something else, please?" Noah said.

"Oh, but why would we want to talk about something else when your love life provides us all with such entertainment, bro," Jake said with a sly grin. "Plus, I'm sure your matchmaker here would love to know all about it if she doesn't already."

"Matchmaker!" Tilly said. "Is that what you do?"

"Yes, I'm a professional matchmaker," Maggie said.

"She's the one who fixed Noah up with the missing Valentina," Jake said.

"I thought everyone was doin' all that online now," J.P. said.

"A lot of people do, but online isn't always the best option for some people. An algorithm can't predict chemistry," Maggie said. "Or connect with you to create a more personalized experience. Plus, some people just don't like having their personal life out there for the entire world to see."

"I can understand that," Tilly said, looking thoughtful. "I suppose if I were dating, I'd prefer doing everything in real life."

"Dating?" J.P. laughed. "I sure hope you're not already bored of me after only a couple of years of marriage, darlin'!"

"Never," Tilly smiled, and J.P. dropped a kiss onto her cheek.

Noah loved seeing how happy Pops and Tilly were together. Pops had been so lonely after Nana died several years ago. She'd been the love of his life, and Noah and his brothers had assumed he'd remain a widower. But then he'd met Alex's grandmother Tilly when Alex and Jake had gotten involved a couple of years ago. He'd even figured out he wanted to marry Tilly before Jake ever realized he was in love with Alex.

So many happy couples. Noah sighed inwardly and glanced surreptitiously at the beautiful woman beside him. He wished there was some way she would see him as more than just a friend.

The waitress arrived with their meals, and Noah hoped that the distraction would shift the conversation from his love life to something else. But that hope was instantly dashed when Pops said, "So, Miss Maggie, you think you can help our boy here even with all the dating disasters he's had?"

Maggie put down her forkful of French toast and slid a glance toward Noah. "Well, J.P., I'm getting the feeling that Noah may have left some things out of the dating history profile he gave me."

Jake snorted. "You mean he didn't tell you about his epic pattern of FDFs?"

Maggie frowned. "FDFs?"

"First Date Fails," J.P. supplied.

"What exactly does that mean?" Maggie asked.

"It means that he's never gotten past the first date with a girl," Jake said bluntly.

"Ever?" Maggie looked shocked.

"Ever," Jake said.

Noah felt all the blood rushing to his head, along with the feeling that he was trapped on a runaway train with no way to escape. He could feel Maggie's eyes on him. But what could he say? It was all true.

"Now, let's be fair," Alex said. "It hasn't always been his fault."

God bless Alex!

"Yeah, but it usually is," Jake said without tact. "I mean, how many times did he mess up the day, time, or location of a date?" Jake said. "Too many to count! I wonder how many poor women he left sitting there wondering if he'd actually seen them but just ran away or something."

Noah narrowed his eyes at his brother. He was going to punch Jake at the next available opportunity.

"And don't forget all the freak accidents that seem to befall these poor women," J.P. added, shaking his head. "Remember when he had that poor girl trying to guide him out of a tough parking spot and he ran right over her toe."

"Oh yeah." Rita nodded.

"But what about that crazy woman?" said Alex. "The one who kept talking about how Hitler was the most misunderstood man in history? That wasn't Noah's fault."

"Oh, she was terrible!" Rita said. She took a sip of her coffee, then looked at Noah. "How'd you ever end up on a date with her anyway?"

"I don't know," Noah mumbled. "The online site I was using matched us up somehow."

"See!" Maggie said. "That's exactly what I'm talking about with algorithms. Also, with my vetting process, that woman wouldn't have even become one of my clients!"

Maggie returned her gaze to Noah. "This whole FDF thing doesn't make sense to me though, Noah. I mean, I know you dated in high school."

He nodded, but couldn't meet her eyes. "In college, too. Back then, they weren't ‘dating disasters' as Pops called them." His gaze flicked to his grandfather. "What used to happen is that I never got past a first date simply because we didn't click. Or I just didn't feel enough of a connection with any woman to go out with her again. Sometimes we'd just become friends. But after college, things just seemed to get worse. That's why I initially turned to online dating in the first place. I thought if I couldn't choose well, maybe software could do it for me."

"Well, we all know that was a big, fat fail!" Jake supplied after swallowing a mouthful of omelet. "And I hate to say this, bro, but this has to be your worst FDF ever. I mean, your date is literally missing, and hopefully she's not—"

"Don't say it!" Alex said, laying a hand on Jake's arm.

Noah ground his teeth. He'd just opened his mouth to let his brother have it when a voice behind him said, "Hey, Maggie, is that you?"

Noah swiveled in his chair to see Maggie's best friend from high school standing next to their table. A distinguished-looking older gentleman stood beside her.

"Jaime! George!" Maggie jumped out of her chair to give them both a hug before introducing them to everyone at the table. It turned out that George was Jaime's father.

"I invited her to brunch for a little father-daughter bonding time," said George. "We just finished."

"Why not join us for a cuppa and some conversation!" J.P. said with a welcoming grin. "The more the merrier!"

"Sure," said Jaime, after a nod from her father.

Everyone shuffled chairs around and squeezed together, and the waitress returned to take George and Jaime's coffee orders.

"I didn't realize you and Jaime were still in touch," Noah said to Maggie.

"Of course we are," Jaime said. "BFFs since elementary school." She threw an arm around Maggie and gave her a squeeze. "I was thrilled when she decided to move here from Grand Rapids and join me in living the sweet, small town life. It's been a blessing for Dad, too."

Noah was confused. "How so?"

"George is my unofficial business manager," Maggie explained. "He used to be a CFO for an automotive supplier, and he's much more knowledgeable than me in the financial aspects of running a business."

"One of the hottest-looking business managers I've ever seen," said Rita, openly batting her eyes at George. Somehow she'd finagled her seat to be right next to his, their shoulders brushing. George's face turned bright red.

"We were in the middle of discussing Noah's love life," Jake said, his eyes bright with mirth. "And we're all hoping that Maggie here can help him."

"She absolutely can!" Jaime said. "Maggie has a rare gift. She's helped so many people find true love, including a happy ending for me and my hubby, Jack.

"Really," Tilly said. "Tell us about it."

Jaime shared how Maggie had been the first one to recognize the potential between her and Jack, even though she initially hadn't given him a second glance. She explained how Maggie had masterminded their "accidental encounters" in college.

"Jack was so shy that Maggie even secretly helped him by providing conversation starters for him to use with me," Jaime laughed. "Before I knew it, I was head over heels for him."

"What a wonderful story!" Tilly clapped her hands together, her eyes twinkling.

"She has lots more," Jaime said, taking a sip of her coffee. Then she added with a sideways glance at her friend, "And someday soon, I hope to hear her own story."

J.P. put down his coffee mug and leaned forward in his chair. "Do you have a good story on how you found your own true love, Miss Maggie?"

Noah truly felt for Maggie as he watched her blush. But he didn't try coming to her rescue because he was too happy to finally have the attention off himself.

"I actually haven't found my own true love yet, J.P.," Maggie said lightly.

"Really?" Rita said. Even though she was responding to Maggie, she was resting her chin on her hand and staring straight at George, who seemed deeply occupied with stirring cream into his coffee.

Noah narrowed his eyes at Rita. He was certain that her blouse had been buttoned up higher only a moment ago.

Rita continued, her gaze still on George, "So, you haven't just...stumbled upon the perfect man yet?"

"Not yet," Maggie said with a tilt of her head.

"Maggie has such great success with her clients," Jaime said. "But when it comes to her own love life, well...let's just say that sometimes I think the matchmaker could use her own matchmaker."

"Jaime, I don't need a matchmaker!" Maggie objected. "Right now, I get all the satisfaction I need by helping my clients find their happily ever after's. And when the time is right, I'm sure I'll be just as successful at finding my own."

"Sweetheart, I think you should stop harassing your friend," George said to his daughter.

"Okay, okay," Jaime said, lifting up her hands. Then Noah heard her mutter quietly under her breath, "I just wish those losers hadn't messed her up so much."

He knew Maggie had to have heard her, but she gave no indication. Noah wondered who the losers were that Jaime was referring to. Old boyfriends? He wished he knew more about Maggie's own romantic history.

"So, George," Rita said. "You're retired, eh? I'm semi-retired myself. What do you like to do in your free time?"

"Spend time with my daughter and granddaughter Emma," George responded promptly.

"He also golfs quite a bit," Jaime said.

"Oooh, golf!" Rita gushed. "I've been thinking about learning. Do you ever give lessons?"

"Well, I...uh," George said.

"What a great idea, Dad!" Jaime said, seemingly oblivious to her father's discomfort with Rita's blatant attention. "He taught me and my brother how to play years ago. He's great at it."

"I bet you are, George," Rita said; somehow she seemed to have moved even closer to him.

Suddenly, George jumped in his seat. Then he scooted his chair away from Rita just as Noah noticed that one of Rita's hands was out of view. He flashed her a stern look. And barely looking contrite, she placed it back on the table.

Suddenly Boon, who had been lying quietly at Maggie's feet, got up and went over to George. He jumped up and put his two large front paws on George's lap. Then he laid his head on top of them.

"Oh!" George leaned away in surprise.

"No, Boon!" Noah said, rising from his chair. "Down, boy."

Boon's soft brown eyes shifted to Noah, but he remained where he was.

"It's actually okay," George said as he stroked the dog's silky back. "He just caught me by surprise, that's all. He seems very good natured."

"What a sweetheart!" Rita said, reaching over to pat Boon's furry head. Due to the dog's position, this caused George to flush red all over again.

"Aside from a few strange behaviors, like this," Maggie said, waving a hand in Boon's direction, "he does seem to be pretty well-behaved." Then she sighed. "Along with our search to find Valentina, we need to find Boon's owner as well."

"Right," Alex said, looking concerned. "I'm so sorry all this happened to you, Noah. We've been teasing you about your love life when you have a truly serious issue on your hands. Do you have any clues as to where Valentina may be?"

"Not yet," Noah said. "But we're still retracing my steps from Friday night. Apparently, after attempting to defend Valentina on the sunset cruise, I ended up in the hospital. We're heading there now to see if we can get any leads from that."

"Based on what you told me about yesterday, please be careful, bro." All joking had left Jake's face, and he looked at his brother with concern. "You don't have Wade and Cassie here to back you up. So, if you need me for anything..."

Jake didn't need to finish the sentence. Despite all his messing around, Noah knew that no matter what, his brother would always have his back.

"Don't worry," Noah said. "We're being extra careful. And I'll keep you posted."

He and Maggie rose to leave, but they paused when Jaime said, "Hey! Before you take off, I want to invite you all to a beach party Jack and I are hosting this afternoon. We're being spontaneous! The weather is just so gorgeous today; we want to enjoy it with friends by the lake. Just show up at the Village Park any time after two o'clock and bring a dish to pass. We're grilling brats and burgers and we'd love to have you join us!"

Everyone at the table thanked Jaime and promised to come.

But Maggie shook her head. "I don't know, Jaime. We really need to find Valentina."

"Come on, Mags," she pleaded. "You know Jack always says that taking breaks actually helps your brain work better. I think you and Noah could both use a little break from all your intense detective work."

Maggie held up her hands in protest. "All right! Far be it from me to contradict your brainiac husband. We'll stop by."

Noah and Maggie left the rest of them all chatting together and, accompanied by Boon, they made their way back to the Porsche.

Once inside, Noah started the engine and glanced at Maggie who was studying him with an odd expression on her face.

"What?"

"FDFs, huh?

"Yeah, yeah, can we forget about that for now?"

"I suppose...for now."