PROLOGUE

THE MATCHMAKERS

“How goes the matchmaking?” Roberta asks, easing herself into the padded chair beside Margot at the round table and letting out a soft exhale when she’s seated.

Margot’s eyes dart around. Her voice is barely above a whisper as she leans closer to her friend and fellow matchmaker. “It hasn’t exactly started yet.”

“What?!” Roberta booms.

Wincing, Margot groans as all eyes in the room zero in on them.

Elliot’s dark penciled-in eyebrows arch up her heavily lined forehead as she peers over. Despite being retired for well over fifteen years from her position as a district attorney, Elliot’s voice is still strong and commanding. “Is there a problem, ladies?”

Margot’s spine snaps straight as she bolts upright in her seat with her heels clicking primly together under the table. “Only a very slight snag,” she hedges.

Letting out a low snort, Roberta’s dark eyes narrow. “Sounds like more than a simple snag to me.”

Brooke sweeps her ash blonde hair to the side. Though her movie star days are long behind her, there’s something about Brooke that draws the eye. “Is there a problem with the latest couple?” she inquires politely.

To be honest, now that her granddaughter Alice has successfully been matched up, some of Brooke’s excitement for matchmaking has waned. In truth, it might also be because none of the matchmakers have a personal stake in this current couple. Even Margot has never met her granddaughter Yvonne’s friend who they are trying to get set up with some tattoo artist friend of theirs.

In her mind Brooke has tried to picture this man. Visions of heavily tattooed bad boy bikers keep filling her head. Perhaps she should ask for pictures of these young people to get a better feeling for them, she muses.

Margot opens her mouth to reply when Charlotte comes bustling in, her round cheeks a bright pink.

The room goes silent, making the harsh scrape of Charlotte’s chair as she pulls it out from the table extra loud in the room where the matchmakers are holding their weekly meeting.

Sandra peers around Deborah to grin at a clearly flustered Charlotte. “Hot date?” she asks with a wink.

The pink in Charlotte’s cheeks spreads until her entire face is rosy with embarrassment.

Relief that the pressure is momentarily off her, Margot melts back into the seat’s comfortable padding.

“Sorry to be late. Did I miss the update?” Charlotte asks, patting her mussed hair into place while hoping her lipstick isn’t too smeared. It was hard to part from Fred, even though she knew she was running behind for the matchmakers’ meeting.

From her spot in the front of the room, Agnes, their unofficial leader, grins. “Oh, we hadn’t gotten around to official business yet. Besides, I believe we need an update on the match happening right here at Honeysuckle Senior Center between you and a certain gentleman before we start talking about Sadie and Mack.”

Chuckles fill the room and even Charlotte can’t keep the small smile from her face. The friendship between herself and Fred Jacobs has been going wonderfully. He’s a spry seventy and having a younger man chasing her has invigorated Charlotte in ways she didn’t think possible.

While never having been one to kiss and tell before, Charlotte can’t help but let her beloved friends in on her happiness. “Things are going quite well. I suppose you can say we’re going steady at this point.”

“How utterly romantic,” Linda sighs.

Roberta plucks a biscuit from the tin that her granddaughter Tracy and her boyfriend Dylan sent over. She has tried telling them there’s no need, but the happy couple keeps showing up with tins of biscuits and other goodies anyway. Not that she protests too hard. If it makes those two kids happy she’s all for it. Love looks good on her granddaughter.

Munching on the tasty biscuit, she nudges the shiny tin over to Margot and whispers, “You’re not off the hook yet.”

Margot knows that all too well. She hopes the other matchmakers will understand why this current match has stalled. She’s only one woman and is only doing this as a favor for her granddaughter, Yvonne. Ugh, the things she does for her grandchildren.

“How did you two meet?” Deborah asks.

Elliot’s laughter rings out. “Really Deborah? Did you not see the way Mr. Jacobs was eyeing our Charlotte up at Bingo a few weeks ago? She called bingo, and he called out, ‘dibs!’”

Charlotte groans at that while the other ladies laugh. She went to lunch with Fred for the first time that fateful afternoon and while things had gone well, she hadn’t been expecting him to make such a spectacle at bingo that night. Though it had certainly been a way to get her attention. Dibs indeed.

Nodding, Linda lets out another sigh. She doesn’t care what others think. To her this is all simply adorable. Her great-nephew Henry finding love had been heavy on her mind for years, so when Agnes first approached her months ago about a matchmaking club here at the senior center she was all for it. Now she doesn’t want the fun to end. This is better than any of the daytime soap operas she used to watch back in the 80s.

“Okay, forget the meeting. Does he have any brothers?” Deborah asks, waggling her bushy gray eyebrows.

All the ladies in the group are widows or have never been married. And while the idea of romance for their younger family members has been fun, many are yearning for another chance at love for themselves.

Not to replace the memories of their departed husbands, because that would never happen, but more for another chance to experience the warm comfort that comes from spending time with someone you care about. They may be in their so-called twilight years, but that doesn’t mean that they’ve stopped living. Seeing Charlotte experience a blooming romance is akin to the pleasure that comes from champagne bubbles tickling your nose. You can’t help but smile.

And so the nine matchmakers smile and tease Charlotte for a while. Just as Margot is relaxing and thinking that everyone has forgotten all about Sadie and Mack, Sandra brings everyone back around to the main reason for their afternoon meeting.

“Keep us updated, Charlotte,” Sandra says with a cheeky grin. “Agnes, did you want to officially start the meeting now?”

Agnes rises to her feet once again. “I suppose we ought to.” She turns her attention to Margot. “Have the two been on a date yet?”

Swallowing hard, Margot licks her lips and falls back on the motto that served her well during her many years of teaching. Never let them scent your fear.

“Actually they haven’t.”

Stunned silence greets that. Margot pushes on. “I don’t have either Sadie or Mack’s numbers. I’m relying on my granddaughter Yvonne to do the actual setting up and, well, she’s been on vacation for the past ten days.”

“Oh,” Agnes says, wishing once again for her trusty papers to give her hands something to do. With this being an informal set-up they didn’t bother gathering data on the soon-to-be couple.

Linda deflates. She was so looking forward to another happy couple.

Her friends’ disappointment is plain, and Margot hates to be the one to cause it, even if it was outside of her control. “Yvonne and Henry should be back tomorrow, and I’ll get right on her to get the ball rolling with setting up Sadie and Mack.”

“Fair enough,” Agnes says. “And while you’re at it, get new pictures of Yvonne and Henry.”

“Yes!” Linda’s squeal draws wide-eyed gazes her way. Her shoulders inch up around her fiery red cheeks. “What? I love seeing my great-nephew happy. You ladies have no idea what a real witch his ex-wife was.”

Linda shudders just remembering that detestable woman and her ill-mannered kids. Holidays with them were brutal. Thankfully, this year will be much different and maybe even an engagement will be announced. She sighs blissfully.

The worry eases out of Margot at everyone’s acceptance of the delay and she manages to smile. “Absolutely. Next meeting I should have plenty to report.”

Clapping her hands Elliot sets off the fierce clanging of the charms on the multitude of bracelets she wears. Her grandson Reed and his fiancée Winnie gifted her a new one recently and it adds to the noise. “Excellent,” she declares with satisfaction.

Agnes nods. “I think we can declare this meeting over. Unless anyone has anything else they want to add.” Looking around she sees nobody raising their hand and gives another nod. “Nope. Okay, until next week ladies.”

Everyone is standing and getting ready to leave when Agnes suddenly calls out. “Oh! But please take more chocolates. Seth is coming tomorrow and he always brings a new box for me.”

Charlotte laughs. Her granddaughter Ember is dating Seth, and she knows all about those fancy pink boxes of chocolates that Seth enjoys bringing to his beloved grandmother.

Dutifully, she takes a piece of chocolate, as do several of the other ladies, and soon the box is empty.

Agnes breathes a sigh of relief as she tosses the empty box into the trash. She adores her grandson and would never want to hurt his feelings, but she simply cannot eat all the candy that he brings.

Satisfied that none went to waste, she can now head back to her room with a clear conscience and can look forward to the visit from her favorite grandchild. Not that she would admit that to anyone, it’s her little secret.

Just like Sadie will never find out that the matchmakers didn’t officially set her up with Mack.