Ms. Match Read Free

ignore the dig. “She was there as someone’s guest.”
    “You can understand my confusion. She’s not exactly a charter member of the book of the month club.”
    He smiled, thinking Gwen was right. “She has other charms.”
    “Yes, I suppose she does.”
    “You two aren’t close?”
    “No. Her circles and mine seldom intersect.”
    “So tell me about your circles.”
    She turned a bit to look at him and he felt as if he should have brought his college diploma to show her. “I’m a headhunter for Rockland-Stewart. Mostly scientific positions.”
    “Really? I’ve used a headhunter once or twice.”
    “For…?”
    “Public relations. Primarily in the entertainment field.”
    She nodded. “That makes sense.”
    “Why?”
    She went back to staring at the road. “You seem the entertainment industry type.”
    “Do I hear a note of disdain?”
    “No, I’m sure it’s fascinating work.”
    “Actually, it is.”
    “Why PR?”
    “Why not? I’m good at it.”
    “That, I’m sure of. You were quite smooth stepping into this awkward position.”
    “So you would have preferred the original arrangement? Sam is a pretty interesting guy.”
    Gwen sighed. “I’m being horrible, I’m sorry. My sister believes she’s doing me a favor, setting me up like this. I’ve told her at least a dozen times, if I wanted a date, I’d bring a date.”
    “You like going stag? Even to something like this?” Paul got over to the right lane, ready for the interchange. The party was at the Marriott in Burbank. It wasn’t a long trip from her place in Pasadena, not by L.A. standards.
    “It depends.”
    “On?”
    She gave him a look that he couldn’t make out as most of her face was in shadow. “My sister and most of my family don’t have a clue about my life. Just as I don’t have much of a clue about theirs. It’s just easier to go to family gatherings alone.”
    “I see.”
    “There’s a chance you’ll enjoy yourself, though,” she said. “It’ll be packed. Aside from all my parents’ friends, there’s my incredibly gigantic family. You know there are eight of us kids. Five of them are married and Faith is engaged. That’s not counting their children.”
    “Whoa. I had no idea.”
    “All of them are more like Autumn than me. It was a joke my whole life that my mother had an affair with the postman.”
    “Unique is good.”
    “And there’s the PR maven at work.”
    Despite the fact that Gwen was right, he wasn’t liking this. Not even a little. Come on, he was doing a favor here. A rather large one. She could at least be gracious about it.
    “I’m sorry. There I go again. It’s nothing personal, I assure you,” Gwen said.
    “No problem.”
    “It is. You’re doing a nice thing, even if your motivation is less than pure.”
    “Okay, I’m not a saint, but I still think we could make the best of it. If it will make you more comfortable, I can drop you off and arrange for a car to take you home when you’re ready.”
    That seemed to startle her. She looked his way, although since he was exiting the freeway, he couldn’t spare her much of a glance. It wasn’t until they were at the first stoplight that she answered.
    “I’ll leave that to you. Have yourself a drink and something to eat. Leave when you feel like it. And you don’t have to worry about a car home. I can take care of that, myself.”
    “Fine. Let’s see how it goes.”
    Even though he couldn’t really see her, he felt her relax. His own shoulders loosened, as well. Now that he had a tidy out, he figured if he played his cards right, he might still be able to make his poker game. He smiled as he turned into the Marriott driveway.

    2
    THE MOMENT the elevator door opened, Gwen heard a swing orchestra and knew her parents were in their version of heaven. They were both in their early seventies, but they still loved a great bash. That’s why, in Gwen’s solitary opinion, they’d had so many kids. They lived for an audience and a