Seeking Single Male

He hadn’t told Will for this very reason—he hadn’t wanted to give him false hope.

“Yes,” Greg said, unbuttoning his sleeves. “She attacked me and sprayed hair spray in my eyes.”

Will’s head jutted forward. “Why?”

“Because she’s—” At the wide-eyed innocence on his brother’s face, he stopped and nodded toward a leather club chair. “Have a seat while I wash up, huh, buddy?”

“Okay.”

Greg walked into the adjoining bathroom, stripped his shirt and flushed his eyes with handfuls of cool, soothing water. Sure enough, he’d gotten a shiner when he’d hit a wall—which wall, he wasn’t sure. Pressing a towel against his tender eyelids, he nearly groaned in blessed relief. Meanwhile his mind raced as he tried to decide how many details about the encounter he should divulge to Will. Guilt churned in his stomach when he realized that his promise to help Will meet a girl had fled his mind as soon as he set eyes on Lana Martina. In hindsight, he’d gotten exactly what he deserved for being so pettily distracted from his goal.

“Are you okay, Gregory?”

He walked back into the bedroom, drying his face with the towel. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“So why did Coffee Girl attack you?” Will sat on the edge of his seat, wringing his big hands.

Greg dropped onto the side of his bed and slipped off his shoes. “Will, Coffee Girl isn’t the woman for you.”

His face fell. “Why not?”

“She’s a…” A lovely, bubbly, bright light whose medication wore off mid-kiss. “She’s a…um…” The only woman who’d ever managed to kick up his libido and kick his ass. He sighed, fidgeting.

His brother stood abruptly. “You told her I was s-slow, and she doesn’t want to meet me.”

Feeling morose, Greg stood and held out his hand. “No, Will, that’s not it. In fact, I didn’t even get to the point of mentioning your name.”

He frowned. “Why not?”

“Trust me, buddy, this woman is…weird.”

“Most people think I’m weird, Gregory.”

Greg smiled. “No, I mean this lady is…” He floundered for words that would nip this whole singles ad business in the bud. “She’s mentally unstable.”

Will’s expression was one of near fright. “Coffee Girl is crazy?”

“As a bat.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Yeah, but I’m afraid that’s the kind of desperate person who places those ads.”

Will bit into his lip. “But I’m desperate, too.”

“You’re not desperate,” Greg said, putting his arm around Will. “You’re just impatient. Relax, okay?”

“Okay, Gregory. I know you’ll help me find the right girl.”

Greg pasted on a smile and bit his tongue to keep from saying such a girl didn’t exist—for either one of them.

Will jerked his thumb toward the door. “I have to go back to the farm. They’re bringing in Miner’s Nephew today.”

At last, something to really smile about. His brother loved his job, and the Keltys were good people to have given him the chance to prove himself.

“Can I look through your new telescope tonight, Gregory?”

He nodded, thinking now he had no choice but to buy a new telescope. And he gave quiet thanks that Will hadn’t dwelled on Coffee Girl. After Will left, Greg showered quickly and changed into more casual clothes. He only wished he were able to dismiss Lana Martina so easily. The bizarre encounter plagued him as he jogged downstairs, and as he drove toward the science museum gift shop.

One minute she’d been enjoying the kiss as much as he, then she’d gone completely berserk. Maybe he’d simply been too assertive, or maybe—oh, hell, he’d probably never know what had caused the woman to snap.

Finally, the idea of buying a new telescope pushed troubling thoughts of Lana Martina from his mind. He called Peg to let her know he’d be late returning from lunch. “Any messages?”

“Just two, sir. The closing on the Toler building has been moved to the twenty-third. And Art Payton called about the Friday rezoning meeting for the Hyde Parkland area. He can’t attend because of a family emergency, and his key managers are committed elsewhere. Wanted you to know so you could send someone else, perhaps Ms. Hughs or Mr. Weber, sir?”

He hadn’t been to a rezoning meeting in ages—usually they were routine and uncontested. But his future and Will’s rested on the outcome of this particular meeting, so he wanted to ensure their interests were represented. Vigorously.

“Add the meeting to my schedule, Peg. I’ll go.” He hung up the phone and tried on a smile. Finally, something to look forward to.

5

“THE DOCTOR WHO WRAPPED my ankle was dreamy,” Annette said as she slid the tray of cranberry Danishes into place. “But he was married, darn it, with four kids.”

Lana rolled her eyes at yet another chapter in Annette’s manhunt. The woman was a grown-up version of Little Orphan Annie, her petite figure overwhelmed by a helmet of wild red curls. Lana typically endured the woman’s nonstop chatter good-naturedly, but her own usual good mood had been compromised by an unexplainable preoccupation with the man who’d called himself Greg Healey. All last evening she’d been restless, fidgety and irritated. Even a formidable amount of cake icing eaten straight from the carton hadn’t helped.

Annette sighed dramatically. “I’ll never get to wear my wedding gown.”

Lana bit her tongue. Everyone who knew Annette had seen the wedding gown she’d been working on for going on ten years, because she carried it around in the back of her van on a mannequin.

“Mr. Right is out there somewhere, Lana, I just know it,” Annette continued. “And he’s looking for me, too.”

“Well, if he’s looking for you, I hope he likes coffee.”

“From your mouth to God’s ear. Hey, speaking of looking, have you found a roommate?”

Lana’s laugh was as dry as yesterday’s biscotti. “No, but I found a certified weirdo.”

The pastry chef’s eyes lit up curiously. “What happened?”

“A guy came in yesterday and said he was here about the ad. I asked him if he met all the requirements, meaning was he gay, and he said yes. He seemed all right, maybe a little stuffy, but definitely good-looking. But when I took him to see the apartment, he made a pass at me, right in the bedroom!”

Annette’s face had gone totally white.

Lana laughed. “Oh, don’t worry—I shot his eyes full of hair spray. But it was all very bizarre.”

“Was his name Greg something-or-other?”

A tiny alarm went off in Lana’s brain. “Do you know him?”