Page 38 of Forbidden Whispers
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.”