The Perfect Match: First Comes Marriage / Yours and Mine

“Okay,” he said after a tense moment. He paused, shaking his head. “That idea’s obviously not going to work. I guess we’ll have to come up with something better.”

“Okay, then.” Janine gestured toward him. “It’s your turn.”

He glared at her, seeming to dislike her even more. In all honesty, Janine wasn’t too pleased with the way she was behaving, either. She’d been sarcastic and needlessly rude, but then, Zach had driven her to it. He could be the most unpleasant man.

Still, Janine was about to say something conciliatory when the sound of the front door opening distracted her. Her gaze flew to Zach and he nodded, reassuring her that he’d handle the situation.

They’d returned to their chairs and were seated by the time Gramps appeared in the library doorway.

“Zach, I’m sorry for the delay. I’m glad to see Janine entertained you.” Her grandfather smiled brightly as if to tell her he approved and hoped she’d taken advantage of this hour alone with Zach.

“We did manage to have a stimulating conversation,” Zach said, his eyes briefly meeting Janine’s.

“Good. Good.”

Zach stood and reached for his briefcase. “There were some figures you wanted to go over with me?”

“Yes.” Looking satisfied with himself, Gramps led the way out of the room. Zach followed him, with a glance back at Janine that said he’d get in touch with her later.

Later turned out to be almost a week. She was puttering around outside, trimming back the rosebushes and deciding where to plant the geraniums this year, when Mrs. McCormick came to tell her she was wanted on the phone.

“Hello,” Janine said cheerfully.

“We need to talk,” Zach said without preamble.

“Why?” she demanded. If he was going to keep her hanging for six anxious days, then she wasn’t going to give the impression that she was thrilled to hear from him.

“Your grandfather laid his cards on the table this afternoon. I thought you might be interested in hearing what he’s offering me to take you off his hands.”

Three (#uab479947-8cf6-5c98-87b3-57074eccf489)

“All right,” Janine said, bracing herself. “What’s he offering you? Huge bonuses?”

“No,” Zach said quickly.

“Cash? I want to know exactly how much.”

“He didn’t offer me money.”

Janine frowned. “What then?”

“I think we should meet and talk about it.”

If her grandfather had openly approached Zach with the arranged-marriage idea, Janine knew darn well that Gramps would’ve made it worth Zach’s while. Despite his claims to the contrary, it wouldn’t have surprised Janine to discover that the newly appointed chairman of the board of Hartman-Thomas Business Supply had taken the bait.

“You want us to meet?” she repeated in a faltering voice.

“There’s a restaurant on University Way—Italian 642. Have you heard of it?”

“No, but I’ll find it.”

“Meet me there at seven.” Zach paused, then added, “And listen, it might not be a good idea to tell your grandfather that we’re getting together. He might misunderstand.”

“I won’t say anything,” she promised.

Zach hesitated once more. “We have a lot to discuss.”

Janine’s heartbeat accelerated, and she felt the perspiration break out on her forehead. “Zach,” she began, “you haven’t changed your mind, have you? I mean, you’re not actually considering this ridiculous idea of his? You can’t…We agreed, remember?” She swiped at her forehead with the back of her free hand as she waited for him to answer.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” he finally said.

Replacing the receiver, Janine had the sudden horrible sensation of being completely at her grandfather’s mercy. He was an unshakably stubborn man who almost always got what he wanted. Faced with a mountain, Anton Hartman either climbed it, tunneled through it or forged a path around it; failing such active alternatives, he settled down in the foothills and waited for the mountain to dissolve. He claimed he won a majority of his battles by simply displaying patience. Janine called it not knowing when to pack up and go home.

She knew her grandfather’s methods, but then so did Zach. She hoped Anton’s candidate for her husband would at least be able to withstand a few bribes, however tempting. Apparently he did, because he’d told her she had nothing to worry about. On the other hand, he sounded downright eager to discuss the subject with her.

“He says he never wants to get married,” she muttered aloud in an effort to reassure herself. Indeed, Zachary Thomas was the last man who’d be humming “The Wedding March”—especially when someone else was directing the band.

Janine was waiting in the library, coat draped over her arm, when her grandfather got home at six-thirty. He kissed her dutifully on the cheek and reached for the evening paper, scanning the headlines as he settled into his big leather chair.

“Zach called,” she said without thinking. She hadn’t intended to mention that to Gramps.

Anton nodded. “I thought he might. You meeting him for dinner?”

“Dinner? Zach and me?” she squeaked. “No, of course not! Why would you even think I’d agree to a dinner date with…him?” Darn, she’d nearly forgotten her promise to keep their meeting a secret. She detested lying to her grandfather, but there was no help for it.

“But you are dining out?”

“Yes.” She couldn’t very well deny that, dressed as she was and carrying her coat.

“Then you’re seeing Peter Donahue again?”

“No. Not exactly,” Janine said uncomfortably, “I’m meeting a…friend.”

“I see.” The corners of Gramps’s mouth quirked into a knowing smile.

Janine could feel the telltale heat saturating her face. She was a terrible liar and always had been. Gramps knew as surely as if she’d spelled it out that she was meeting Zach. And when she told Zach she’d let it slip, he’d be furious with her, and rightly so.

“What did Zach want?”

“What makes you think he wanted anything?” Janine asked fervently. Her heart was thundering as she edged toward the door. The sooner she escaped, the better.

“You just said Zach phoned.”

“Oh. Yes, he did, earlier, but it wasn’t important. Something about…something.” Brilliant! She rushed out of the house before Gramps could question her further. What a fool she was. She’d blurted out the very thing she’d wanted to keep secret.

By the time Janine located the Italian restaurant in the University district and found a parking place, she was ten minutes late.

Zach was sitting in a booth in the farthest corner of the room. He frowned when he saw her and glanced at his watch, just so she’d know she’d kept him waiting.