The Perfect Christmas: The Perfect Christmas / Can This Be Christmas?

Simon says: I can find the right mate for everyone. Even you!

Simon kept Cassie waiting forty-five minutes on her next visit. His assistant, Ms. Snelling, had called the day after her first appointment. It was now Friday. Since she’d been on pins and needles for three whole days, an additional forty-five minutes didn’t bother her. Today would be when he’d announce whether he’d found her a match.

She couldn’t figure out how, based on their brief conversation, Simon would be able to match her up with the perfect man. Maybe, as Angie said, it really was all about his ability as a psychologist, his scientific study of her lengthy questionnaire.

For three nights now, she’d been like a kid at Christmas—only instead of sugar plums dancing around in her head she saw men’s faces. Men who were enthralled with her. Men who’d go through the same insulting rigmarole she had for the chance to meet her. Men who were just as eager for the very things she wanted—a home and family, security, a sense of belonging and a lifetime filled with love. And one of those men would be her perfect match.

“Dr. Dodson will see you now,” Ms. Snelling said in the same crisp tone she’d used on Cassie’s first visit.

Cassie bounded up from the chair as though she’d been ejected. Despite her eagerness, she tried to move slowly and calmly. When she entered his office, she found Simon sitting at his desk.

Without looking up, he gestured for her to sit, too.

Cassie did, perching on the very edge. She didn’t expect an apology for being kept waiting and wasn’t disappointed. When Simon eventually looked up, she noticed streaks of gray in his hair that had escaped her notice previously.

“What are your plans for Christmas?” he asked.

Of all the things Cassie had expected him to say, this wasn’t it. “Ah…I’m not sure yet.”

“Family plans?”

“Not really.” She hadn’t talked to her brother yet. Her mother and stepfather lived in Hawaii and it was unlikely that they’d fly in for the holidays. Her father…well, she hadn’t spent Christmas with him since she was five or six. “There’s just Shawn and me.”

“And Shawn is?”

“My brother. It’s on the questionnaire. He’s—”

“Ah, yes,” Simon broke in. “What did you do last Christmas?”

“Well, let me see…” She tried to remember where she’d been and with whom. Was it last year that Angie—

“This shouldn’t be so difficult,” he said.

“It was eleven months ago,” she snapped. His attitude irritated her. “As I recall, Shawn and I went out to eat. Angie, a friend of mine, was supposed to join us but at the last minute she couldn’t and we—”

“Yes, yes,” he said, interrupting her again.

“And what exactly were you doing?” she demanded.

His eyes widened. “I beg your pardon?”

“Where were you last Christmas?”

“As I indicated during our previous session, I’m the one asking the questions.”

Cassie made an effort to hold her temper. “I guess that slipped my mind. But I was allowed one question then, so I assume that’s the case today, and I’m asking it now.” She took a deep—and necessary—breath. “Where were you last Christmas?”

He exhaled slowly. “Right here in Seattle.”

“With friends and loved ones?”

“That’s more than one question.” He looked pointedly in her direction. “Shall we continue or not? The choice is yours.”

Knowing she was fighting a losing battle, Cassie tried to regain her equilibrium. “Yes, let’s continue, although I don’t understand what last Christmas has to do with anything.”

“That’s not your concern.”

“Are you always this dictatorial?” She realized she was asking yet another question, but she couldn’t stop herself.

“I am when I feel I can find the right match for a client. An exasperating one, I might add.”

“Really?” That was worth all the insults he could issue, Cassie decided. She slid so far to the edge of the chair that she was in danger of falling onto the carpet. “You actually have someone in mind?”

“I do.” This was said in a clipped, businesslike way.

She waited, but he wasn’t any more forthcoming than that.

“Before I introduce you, there are a few matters we need to attend to.”

“Fine.” Her heart felt as if it had moved into her throat.

“My fee is thirty thousand dollars.”

“Yes, I know… That’s a lot of money.”

Simon glanced up. “I thought you were aware of my fee. If you can’t afford me, then I suggest you leave now and save us both a lot of time and trouble.”

The money was safely tucked in Cassie’s savings account. “I put it aside for a wedding, but obviously there won’t be one without a groom. I’m willing to make the investment.”

“Good. Then I’ll introduce you to John.”

“His name is John?” John was a solid name, implying that he was a solid man; she liked him already.

“Before I introduce you—”

“There’s a money-back guarantee, right?”

“I’ll explain that in a moment.”

“Okay, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She wanted to capture every single detail of this meeting so she could repeat it all to Angie.

“I have three tasks I want you to complete first.”

“Excuse me?” She wondered if she’d misheard him. Cassie was waiting to hear about her perfect mate, and he was talking about tasks? What was this, homework?

“These are qualifying tasks,” he was saying. “I need to be sure you’re the woman for John.”

“But…no one said anything about needing to qualify.”