Once Upon a Matchmaker by Marie Ferrarella Read Free Book Online Page A

continued standing where he was, blocking her way, she was forced to ask, “May I come in? Conducting initial interviews in doorways leaves a little something to be desired,” she quipped, surprising herself at the dry comment.
    “Oh, sorry.” Belatedly, Micah stepped to the side, allowing her in. “I guess I just didn’t realize you’d be this young—I mean, there’s nothing wrong with being young, but—”
    “I assure you that in this case youth isn’t synonymous with lack of experience,” she told him as she came inside.
    There was a warmth here, she thought, looking around. A charm. Love had been in this house—in place of a cleaning lady, she thought as she side-stepped a stuffed animal on the floor. Given a choice, she would have picked love every time—if it had been hers to pick. The house she’d briefly shared with Simon had been so neat, it all but sparkled on its own. And she couldn’t remember ever being in a colder place.
    “How’s your son?” she asked, passing both Micah and a very animated-looking little boy. He certainly didn’t appear sick to her. But then, she’d heard somewhere that children had a way of bouncing back almost immediately.
    Gary, who was shadowing his father step for step, took the question to mean him. “I’m okay,” he told her, speaking up immediately. “But my little brother’s not feeling so good. He’s sick,” he confided in what could have passed for a stage whisper.
    “So your dad told me.” She turned to look at Micah. “Have you called his pediatrician yet?” she asked. It seemed like the logical thing to do.
    “I thought I’d give the fever another thirty minutes before I start sounding like a panicky father.” Because she seemed to be interested and because she’d voiced the inquiry before diving into the reason for her drive-by visit, he found himself giving her a little more information. “This isn’t exactly the first time I’ve sat beside his bed, holding his hand and making bargains with God.”
    Bargains with God? Now, that surprised her. Turning, she took a closer look at him. A hint of a boyish smile met her, but then it was gone, replaced by the expression of an extremely worried-looking man.
    Her eyes slid over him, taking full measure of her potential client.
    “Funny,” she finally commented, “you just don’t seem like the type to bargain with God.”
    Micah laughed shortly. “Believe me, once a kid or two enters the picture, you’d be surprised how quickly you wind up changing and start bending all sorts of rules and regulations you’d never even thought to question or challenge before.”
    “You probably don’t want to admit that in exactly those words right off the bat when the other counsel questions you,” Tracy advised.
    Realizing what he’d just said, Micah nodded. He wasn’t accustomed to having to censor himself. “Yeah, right,” he agreed.
    Was that an embarrassed flush on his cheeks, or a reaction to the unseasonably warm weather they were having, she wondered. This was June, best known for June Gloom in Southern California, but rather than hiding behind clouds, the sun had been out every single morning, warming everything far beyond the customary cool, agreeable temperatures.
    Rules and regulations. The term echoed in Micah’s brain. He’d surprised himself, rebel that he’d once been, at how well he’d adapted to this secretive world he’d found himself in with its strict, strict rules. On the black programs that he’d been working for the past eighteen months—he was currently handling the bulk of seven different programs, complete with files that had pages where huge sections were blacked out with permanent laundry markers—every step of the process, every breath of the day was regulated to the extreme. And he had really surprised himself by doing his best to play the game and adhere to all the different stipulations because ultimately, he was working to defend not just his homeland but his