ENCORE PERFORMANCE (THE MATCHMAKER TRILOGY) Read Free Page A

eat.”
Thomas found himself seated between Hope and
Carissa at the dinner table. If he let himself look at Carissa,
he was sure he’d end up tripping over his tongue like a
lovesick puppy, so he made an effort to take an interest in
her younger sister. One look at Hope and he saw
similarities to Carissa, though Hope was fair and Carissa’s
complexion darker. The resemblance was amazing for an
adopted child.
Katie passed the salad bowl over the top of Hope, who
wrinkled her nose. With a nod from Katie, Thomas dropped
a small spoonful onto her plate, and Katie smiled. She
reminded him a little of his own grandmother.
“So, Thomas, you’re a pianist?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve been playing piano since I was
three.”
“That’s awfully young.”
“Well, my grandmother insisted and she taught me my
very first scales.” The memory was one of the few from his
childhood that could bring a smile to his face.
“Wise woman.”
David passed a plate of roast to Katie. “So are you sure
you’re up to helping these two with their school? They can
be awfully demanding.”
“I can’t tell you how excited I was to get Sophia’s call.
What’s happening with music programs in schools is
pitiful. It doesn’t make sense to take the arts away. When
you start doing that . . .” All eyes were on him and he
realized he was about to go on a rant. “Well, I think it’s
foolish, and bringing music to others is what I do best.”
He felt Carissa’s eyes on him and he turned to catch
her stare. Her cheeks flushed immediately and then she
turned away. He sucked in a breath and lifted his water
glass to his lips to try to cool off his racing mind.
    Carissa dipped her head down toward her plate and
buttered her roll. He believed in the cause. Yes, that was
what she’d wanted. She wasn’t sure he’d have understood
the mission. After all he was a down-and-out performer and
she was a teacher.
    And she’d been so conflicted with her mother’s idea of
bringing Thomas into their school. And now that he was
here all she could think about was him, not as a musician or
teacher, but as a man. A man whose passion for sharing the
gift of music she found more than attractive.
    She took a bite of her roast. Did Thomas feel the heat
between them or was that just her?
His hypnotic blue eyes and that disheveled sandy hair
that he kept running his fingers through had her heart
fluttering. Heat prickled her skin, and that mortified her.
She’d felt like this before, just not over someone she’d
barely met. And she’d been burned before. This time she
wasn’t going to jump straight into bed with a guy just
because he was hot.
“Don’t you think so, Carissa?” her father asked and
she darted her head up.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Don’t you think that school will be operational by the
time the schools return from their winter break?” he
repeated.
“Oh, yes.” She blew out a small breath. “We took
possession of the building two days ago. There is a lot of
work to be done and that should take us through
December.” Thomas’s eyes were on her and she took the
courage to look at him and finish, calm and professional—
the way their relationship would be. “We’ll start enrollment
in the first part of December. We’ve talked to the local
schools about passing out our information and doing some
assemblies for the students. I think we should be able to
reach a lot of kids.”
“You’ve already done a lot work to ensure your
success.” He shifted his eyes to her mother. “Sophia, I’m so
impressed.”
“Well, I’m just the silent partner. This was really all
Carissa’s doing. This is her dream.” Carissa smiled as her
mother laid a gentle hand on hers.
She leveled her eyes with Thomas’s as he turned back
to her. That intoxicating blue peered into her soul and she
felt her heart hitch. Against her will, the corners of her
mouth turned up into a smile. He grinned at her, melting
her resolve.
“Thank you for