The Invitation (Matchmaker Trilogy) Read Free

Caribbean coast of Costa Rica as designated by Samson VanBaar’s treasure map. Return by sail to Colombia and by plane to New York. Expect much sun, occasional rain. Dress accordingly.
    The instructions joined the letter and tickets on her lap. She couldn’t believe it! She’d known they had something up their sleeves when she’d returned to the table that night and seen smugness in their eyes.
    They’d been sly; she had to hand it to them. They’d waited until the arrangements were made before presenting her with the fait accompli. Oh, yes, she could graciously refuse, but they knew she wouldn’t. She knew she wouldn’t. She’d never gone in search of buried treasure before, and though she certainly had no need for treasure, the prospect of the search was too much to resist!
    Other things had been swirling around in those scheming minds of theirs as well. She knew because she’d been there herself. And because she’d been there, she knew it had something to do with Samson VanBaar. Were they actually fixing her up?
    She’d sent Deirdre and Neil to the island in Maine after receiving separate, desperate calls begging for a place of solitude. She’d sent Leah to New Hampshire, to a cabin that didn’t exist, knowing Leah would have no recourse but to seek out Garrick, her nearest neighbor on the mountain. What would Victoria find when she arrived in Colombia?
    If Samson VanBaar was one of Garrick’s professors, he had to be responsible. He might be wonderful. Or he might be forty years old and too young for her, or old and stuffy and too dry for her. One of Garrick’s professors. A Latin professor. Definitely old and stuffy and dry. Perhaps simply the organizer of the expedition. In which case the Herseys and the Rodenhisers had someone else in mind. Someone else in the group?
    There were many questions and far too few answers, but Victoria did know one thing. She had already blocked out the last two weeks in July for a treasure hunt. It was an opportunity, a challenge, an adventure. Regardless of her friends’ wily intentions, she knew she could handle herself.
    *   *   *
    A S THAT DAY ZIPPED BY and the next began, Victoria couldn’t help but think more and more about the trip. She had to admit that there was something irresistibly romantic about a sail through the Caribbean and a treasure hunt. Perhaps this Samson VanBaar would turn out to be a pirate at heart. Or perhaps one of the other group members would be the pirate.
    That night, unable to shake a particularly whimsical thought, she settled in the chintz-covered chaise in the sitting area of her bedroom and put through a call to her niece.
    “Hi there, Shaye!”
    “Victoria?” Shaye Burke hadn’t called Victoria “aunt” in years. Victoria was a dear friend with whom she’d weathered many a storm. “It’s so good to hear your voice!”
    “Yours, sweetheart, is sounding foreign. Do you have something against dialing the phone?”
    Duly chastised, Shaye sank onto the tall stool by the kitchen phone and spoke with a fair amount of contrition. “I’m sorry, Victoria. Work’s been hectic. By the time I get home my mind is addled.”
    “Did you just get in?”
    “Mmm. We’re in the process of installing a new system. It’s time consuming, not to mention energy consuming.” Shaye headed the computer department of a law firm in Philadelphia that specialized in corporate work. Victoria was familiar enough with such firms to know that computerization had become critical to their productivity.
    “And the bulk of the responsibility is on your shoulders, I’d guess.”
    Shaye nodded, too tired to realize that Victoria couldn’t see the gesture. “Not that I’m complaining. The new machines are incredible. Once we’re fully on-line, we’ll be able to do that much more that much more quickly.”
    “When will that be?”
    “Hopefully by the end of next week. I’ll have to work this weekend, but that’s nothing new.”
    “Ahh, Shaye,