Matchmaking by Moonlight

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Maybe she had been coming on to him, like an unconscious reflex or something … Some need to try out her newfound freedom or just … feel like a woman again.

“See, right there,” he said, not backing up an inch. “You’re doing it again. Teasing, trying to provoke me.”

“No, I’m not. If I was truly trying to provoke you, I’d tell you that the little old ladies who live here spent their afternoon teatime telling me that someone needed to loosen you up—”

He groaned.

“And I’m pretty sure they think the person to do that should be me, though I have no idea why. Maybe they think it would be amusing to watch me toy with you—”

“Lilah, I swear, if you don’t—”

“And if I really wanted to mess with your head a little bit, I’d tell you that Gladdy spent the afternoon telling me about the … frustrations of dating a man of a certain age—”

“What could that possibly have to do with me?” he asked.

“That they have certain … performance issues …”

He looked both angry and a little bit horrified.

“You’re telling me that you and an eighty-something-year-old woman have been speculating about what I can or can not do all on my own in the bedroom?”

“Not me,” she insisted. “Gladdy. It was all her.”

“Unbelievable,” he said, still right up in her face, so angry, so very handsome.

He was breathing hard, his breath warm with a hint of mint as it fanned over her face, her mouth. His body was also so warm, and it had been so long since she’d been this close to a man, one she truly found attractive, even if he was maddening.

Part of her just wanted to cuddle up against him and enjoy all the warmth, the strength and solid bulk of a man. She was swaying toward him, she feared, and maybe … just maybe, he was swaying toward her, as if there was some kind of invisible force field between them, drawing them together.

She wasn’t sure if he was the one who moved closer or if she was, but she caught her breath at the contact, at how deliciously sexual it felt and how much she found herself wanting him in that moment.

He felt it, too.

She knew he did.

No hiding from it.

He either got a little turned on, arguing with a woman, or he wanted her … Okay, more than a little bit turned on, from that momentary brush of his body against hers.

Because he was most definitely aroused.

Gladdy was right, no pharmaceutical help necessary.

Lilah had been staring at the pattern of his tie, avoiding his gaze at all cost, but she finally gave in and looked him in the eye.

“Well, now you know. Satisfied?” he growled at her as he eased away.

No, not nearly.

But for once, she managed to hold her tongue, as he turned and walked away.

Chapter Four

Ashe had a terrible case to handle on an emergency basis that Friday and Saturday, wrapping it up late that afternoon, and he had instructions to report to his boss, the administrative judge, on the outcome, as soon as the case was finished. As luck would have it, that judge was at a certain wedding that weekend, where his second wife’s niece was getting married.

A place where the most outrageous woman Ashe had ever met—no, the two most outrageous women, if he included Gladdy—also happened to be, making it the absolute last place Ashe wanted to be, except for the room at the hospital where he’d heard his latest case.

The reception sounded as if it was in full swing, as Ashe entered through the side door that led to the kitchen, where he’d found Lilah in her pajamas two nights ago.

He was relieved to see that she wasn’t there today.

The catering staff was clearing plates and cleaning up as he walked through the kitchen and followed the noise to the expansive stone patio where a number of guests still remained, drinking, eating and dancing.

“Judge, I thought you wouldn’t be able to join us today,” Eleanor said as she approached him.

“I’m not,” he said. “I just need to talk to Judge Walters for a moment. Court business. Do you know where he is?”

“I’ll find him. Why don’t you wait for him in the study? It’s nice and quiet there. I’ll take you.”

“Thank you,” he said, following her down the hall, down another one and then into a blessedly quiet private room.

“You look tired. And I imagine you’ve had a difficult couple of days,” Eleanor said. “Judge Walters and I are old friends. I believe I know the case he handed you.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not supposed to talk about it,” Ashe said.

“Of course not. Have you eaten? We have plenty of food. I’d be happy to send someone with a dinner plate for you,” she offered.

“I’m fine, Eleanor, thank you. I’m just going to talk to the judge and go home.”

“Well, I’ll send him right away.”

Lilah forced herself to watch the wedding and reception. She’d also stayed away from the wine, so her head was perfectly clear when Eleanor asked her to deliver a dinner tray to the study.

“Of course.” Then Lilah wondered why a server wasn’t handling this particular job. “Eleanor, who’s in the study?”

“A tired, hungry man who’s just finished a very difficult job. Be nice to him,” she instructed.

“I will, but why am I doing this?”

“Because when the man he’s with right now leaves, he’ll be all alone, and you’ll be able to apologize in private.”

“I can’t do it,” Lilah cried. She’d confessed some of what she’d said and done with the judge the night before to a delighted Eleanor that morning. “I can’t face him.”

“You can, and you will. He’s a judge, darling. He’s heard everything.”

“But I’m not one of his court cases. He’s not required to be fair, reasonable or impartial to me.”

“Lilah, dear, I told you, he’s tired, hungry and in need of a little comfort at the moment—”

“Comfort? What exactly do you mean, comfort?”

“I’m not asking you to walk in there and take your clothes off. Just be nice to the man. He had a bad day.”

“But I don’t think he finds anything about me comforting,” she said.

“Well, do your best, dear. It’s fine and good to challenge a man, to throw him off balance a bit, but sometimes a man needs a sympathetic ear and a soft touch.”

“Now, see … touching him is definitely not a good idea.”

“I’ve seldom found that putting one’s hands on a handsome man is a bad idea,” Eleanor claimed, as they got to the study door. “Don’t be a coward, dear. Tell the man you’re sorry, give him his dinner and let him tell you about his day. This silly misunderstanding will be forgotten in a moment. And reassure him that Gladdy’s not here. I sent her home with Kathleen.”

There was a plus. No Gladdy. Still …

“I didn’t tell you everything,” Lilah admitted. “He made it clear that he wants me to leave him alone.”

Eleanor dismissed that notion with a wave of her hand. “He’s a man. A very handsome man, and you’re a lovely woman. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

“He said it wouldn’t be wise to get involved with me,” she added.

Eleanor laughed. “My dear, surely you don’t believe men are always wise in their involvements with women.”

“He was absolutely clear,” Lilah said, trying again. “He said, ‘I am not a toy. Stop playing with me.’”

“Then stop playing,” Eleanor said.

Stop playing?

Lilah fell silent.

That was Eleanor’s advice?

She would have protested even more, but she heard the doorknob to the study turning. Eleanor looked positively triumphant for a moment, then hurried away. Which left Lilah just outside the door as it opened, and out came an elderly gentleman, who’d been in the midst of congratulating the judge on a difficult job done well.