Chapter Four

CHARLOTTE HAD FORGOTTENwhat it felt like to be self-conscious about her age. Ever since Land...went away, she had secretly looked forward to getting old, and had seen every birthday she celebrated as one step closer to seeing him again in Heaven.

But now that Land had come back to her in a younger man"s body, her age was once again a liability, and all she could think about was how she was the only one in the room in her thirties while everyone else, her own husband included, was in their twenties.

Sano kept his arm around her waist as he introduced the others to her one by one. Yuki Himura, the half-Russian, half-Japanese entrepreneur she had already spoken to on the phone, while his American wife KC was someone Charlotte was quite familiar with, since she was a huge fan of KC"s shoujo manga.

The second couple, Charlotte also recognized by virtue of their names and faces. Silver was the younger son of Senator Samuel March while his fiancée Lace was widely considered as the face of today"s generation of women in sports.

And finally, there was Vassi and Seri Grachyov, whose romance had once created quite a stir because the two had been step-siblings at first. Since her friend Fredericka had married Vassi"s oldest brother Sergei, Charlotte was personally acquainted with the last couple, and it was their curious gazes that had her internally squirming the most.

"It"s nice to see you again." Vassi was the first one to speak as soon as Sano finished with his introductions, but the very smoothness of his tone told Charlotte that the model-turned-actor was not to be trusted.

"You"re intending to tell Freddie about this, aren"t you?" Charlotte grumbled.

Vassi"s lips slowly curved into a smile that could only be described as sly. "Is there something to tell? Sano only said you two were childhood friends."

Charlotte dearly wished at that moment she was the type to curse up a storm. Vassi totally had her there, and Sano just made it all the more obvious when he gave the other guy a thumbs up.

The conversation eventually turned to business as they moved to the lounge"s private dining area, and Charlotte was grateful for the change of subject. Her heart might already be convinced about Sano being Land, but her mind remained resistant, and it continued to view anything linked to Sano as adultery.

A pair of kimono-clad women began serving tea as Yuki summarized the main points of his company"s joint venture with the national government, which was a luxury train cruise that offered anything from overnight to week-long getaways.

Charlotte was increasingly impressed as she read up on the proposal Yuki had emailed to everyone. She had no idea that the posh lounge they were in right now was exclusive to Yume passengers. She had simply assumed that every facility in train stations had to be public property.

"If you guys flip to the Events section," KC began, "you"ll see that we have permanently blocked-out dates. These are the days when Yume will be offering omiai cruises."

"That"s basically matchmaking in Japanese, right?" Lace asked.

KC nodded. "It"s a lot smilar to what Charlotte does with her agency, Heart"s Match. And unlike in Western countries, matchmaking is standard practice here in Japan, but it also isn"t a love match per se. More emphasis is placed on the business and practical side of things, and that"s where I want the Yume cruise train to differ. Several times each year, I want the Yume to be like Heart"s Match on wheels—-" KC looked at Charlotte hopefully. "—-but only with your approval, of course."

The closet romantic inside of Charlotte wanted to say yes right away, but her other and more pragmatic side couldn"t help weighing the pros and cons. "How exactly is it going to work?"

"Our local team will be responsible for the initial screening of candidates," Yuki illustrated, "and we"ll let you know if there are certain aspects unique to Japanese culture that you"d have to consider. Other than that, you"ll have carte blanche when it comes to selecting marriage partners."

"Can you give me an example of what those "aspects" are?" Charlotte asked.

"I can think of one," Seri volunteered. "When Vassi and I were here to promote KC"s work, one of our assistants was a single mother. It angered and frustrated us seeing how the others treated her."

A grimace crossed over Charlotte"s face. "I wish I could say we"re better than that in America, but I think there are just people like that all over the world. From my experience—-" She saw Sano raise a brow while others looked at her in shock, and Charlotte, realizing she had been misunderstood, said hastily, "Not that kind of experience. I used to have a client who was a single mother," Charlotte explained, "and it took me the longest time to find her the ideal match."

"Was she your most difficult case?" Lace asked curiously.

"I"d have to say yes—-" Memories came back to her, and Charlotte"s expression turned wry. "—-for more reasons than one." She considered leaving it at that, but then she thought about how all of the people here were potential business partners, and Charlotte decided to elaborate. "The partner I chose for her was someone I personally knew. He had been recently diagnosed as infertile—-"

KC"s face softened. "That"s a perfect match."

"It should"ve been," Charlotte acknowledged, "but unfortunately, the guy already had someone else in mind."

Lace couldn"t help blinking at this. "I don"t get it." Stuff about romance always made her feel dumber than most other girls, and she wondered if she was missing something here that was obvious to everyone else. "If he already had a girl in mind, then what did he still need your help for?"

"Well, uh..." Charlotte realized too late she had said more than she should.

"Well, what, Charles?" Sano"s drawl was a little too lazy, and the way his blue eyes were glittering reminded her so much of how Landon used to look at her...when they both knew she had done something he was certain to dislike.

"Um..."

"Or perhaps I should take a guess." Sano"s tone had noticeably cooled, and the change had the others in the room looking back and forth between Sano and her.

"Could it be that this woman he had in mind—-"

Charlotte couldn"t help wincing at Sano"s unmistakable emphasis.

"—-happened to be yourself?"

Charlotte"s shoulders drooped. Knew it, she thought gloomily. Sano here might no longer be a CIA agent like he used to be, but she was absolutely certain he had still found a way to make use of his previous skills in any way he saw fit.

"Is it true?" Seri asked, wide-eyed. "You"re that someone?"

Charlotte seriously considered lying, but when she felt Sano"s gaze already boring through hers, she realized it was too late, and all she could do was nod.

"Holy—-"

Silver, realizing that his eternally tactless fiancée was about to blurt out an expletive, swiftly bent his head and sucked hard on her lower lip.

"Sheesh," a red-faced Lace ended up lamely instead. She had always believed in respecting local customs when traveling, and Silver had warned her from the start that women who swore loudly and violently like she typically did in public wasn"t a thing here.

As the others laughed at Lace"s faux pas, Charlotte herself was about to smile when she noticed Sano"s gaze narrowed at her. Uh oh. He leaned close, and Charlotte instinctively leaned back.

"That man is Lukas, isn"t it?" Charlotte didn"t have the chance to answer, with Sano saying darkly, "I"ve always thought he"d make a move on you sooner or later."

"It"s not like that," she protested. "He only thought I was ideal because he knew I"d never want to have kids with anyone else—-"

But you.

Charlotte caught the words in time, and a quick look around her showed that the others had assumed she was about to mention her husband"s name.

"I"m so sorry, Charlotte." KC"s tone was soft with compassion. "I know it"s been years since your husband passed, but I can totally understand why you feel that way."

Charlotte was about to answer when Sano suddenly grabbed her hand, and she found herself being pulled to her feet.

"Excuse us." Sano"s tone was polite but firm. "I need to speak with Charles for a moment."