The Perfect Christmas - Debbie Macomber [25]
Angie shook her head. “Oh, no! Nothing like that.”
“Good.” Cassie smiled, then glanced down at her feet. “Actually,” she said in a low voice, “I was hoping to chat with you last night. I had a couple of questions.”
“What kind of questions?”
“I wanted to ask you about Simon.”
“What about him?”
“Basically…I was curious. Other than the information on his Web site, what do you know?”
Angie shrugged. “Not much.”
“How did you hear about him?”
“He was a birthday gift—at least, the first consultation was.”
“Who from?”
“My mother. She wants grandchildren and knew how brokenhearted I was when…this other relationship ended. She heard about Simon when he did a radio interview.”
“Simon did a radio interview?”
“I don’t think he does them often. This was around Valentine’s Day a few years back.”
“Oh.”
Angie cocked her head to one side. “Why this interest in Dr. Dodson all of a sudden?”
Cassie didn’t want Angie or anyone to suspect how intrigued she was by the matchmaker. She found her thoughts drifting toward him far more often than was comfortable. She told herself that once her curiosity was satisfied, he’d drift into the background where he belonged.
While she’d gone on to his Web site—the address was noted on his business card—she hadn’t searched further.
That evening, she did. She logged on to the Internet and immediately typed his name into Google. There wasn’t a lot, but enough to answer some of her questions. He’d been a Rhodes scholar, attending Cambridge—after Harvard. He’d taught at a prestigious East Coast college. He’d written political articles for the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Just as she’d realized earlier, he had opinions about everything and didn’t mind sharing them…in unvarnished prose.
According to Wikipedia, Simon had never been married. She found that…interesting.
Intent as she was on reading her computer screen, the phone startled her. “Yes,” Cassie said, snatching it up. Her gaze stayed on the screen for fear she’d miss a single detail.
“Ms. Beaumont?” The female voice was vaguely familiar. “This is Dr. Dodson’s office.”
A chill raced down her spine. Simon knew she was online, reading about him! He was about to inform her that she’d forfeited her thirty thousand dollars. “I won’t do it again!” she blurted without thinking.
“Excuse me?”
“Were you phoning because—” Cassie stopped abruptly, aware of how absurd she’d been. How paranoid. “Can I help you?” she asked sweetly.
By now Ms. Snelling sounded utterly confused. “Would it be convenient for you to stop by tomorrow afternoon at four-thirty?” she asked.
“Ah, sure.” That meant leaving work a bit early, which wasn’t really a problem.
“Thank you. Dr. Dodson will see you then.”
Rattled as she was, Cassie had hung up before she thought to ask what the meeting was about. She assumed Simon would be giving her the information regarding her second task. But why not call? Maybe he had her elf costume, although that seemed unlikely.
She felt a sense of expectation. She had to admit that Simon fascinated her, although she didn’t especially like him—any more than he liked her. Perhaps he represented a challenge and she couldn’t resist trying to make him aware of her as a woman. Everyone needed to be liked and appreciated, even Simon. That was probably what had led him into the matchmaking business. Certainly the couples she’d spoken to had expressed their appreciation—if not liking—for him. So maybe he couldn’t achieve romantic satisfaction for himself but he could for others. It all seemed rather lonely.
On Tuesday, she kept checking her watch. Angie, who might otherwise have commented, was preoccupied, as well. Cassie had decided not to question her about this new, or rather resumed, relationship. When Angie was ready to tell her, she would. Cassie could only hope this man turned out to be everything Angie believed he was. Perhaps they could have a double wedding!
Because Simon had kept her waiting at their previous appointments, Cassie didn’t bother to show up until four forty-five. His assistant’s disapproval