Dateline Matrimony (Hot off the Press! 3)

“Yeah. He’s a great guy. Have you had a chance to meet him yet?”

“Not in his professional capacity. He’s been to the diner a couple of times for breakfast and lunch. I started calling him Dr. Purtle, but he said everyone around here calls him Dr. Frank.”

“That’s because his older brother used to practice here, too. Two Dr. Purtles got confusing, so they became known as Dr. Fred and Dr. Frank.”

“Dr. Fred retired?”

“He died a few years ago. He was ten or twelve years older than Dr. Frank. I think they had a couple of sisters between them.”

The country club was in sight, and they joined a long line of cars waiting to enter the parking lot. “It looks like a big crowd turned out,” Teresa commented, sounding a bit nervous.

“Yeah. You’ve probably met most of them at the diner at some point. Almost everyone in Edstown eats breakfast or lunch at the Rainbow Café occasionally.”

“Yes, but it’s a little different serving them and dining with them.”

“We’ll have fun,” Riley assured her. Then he felt compelled to add, “Well, as much as possible at one of these things, anyway.”

“You don’t think anyone will find it odd—that we’re here together, I mean?”

“Teresa, people around here find nearly everything I do odd. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “You know what I mean.”

He parked the car, turned off the engine, then twisted in his seat to face her. “I think everyone will simply assume I brought my friend and neighbor, a relative newcomer to our town, to meet and mingle with some of the prominent members of our community.”

He watched as she drew a deep breath, possibly for courage. He’d be willing to bet that she had no idea what the inhale did for the seemingly modest scoop neckline of her top.

Dragging his gaze away before she noticed that he was staring at the creamy, smooth skin of her upper breasts, he reached hastily for his door handle. Friends didn’t sit around staring at their friends’ busts, he reminded himself. This friend would probably tear off a nice-size strip of his hide if she caught him doing so.

He noticed signs of nervousness in her again as they approached the entrance. Looping her arm through his, he spoke bracingly. “Ready to turn this place upside down?”

“Do not do anything to embarrass me,” she said through clenched teeth as she pasted on a smile for the people who were already starting to head their way.

“I could never resist a challenge.”

“Riley…”

Laughing, he pulled her into the crowd, thinking maybe the evening wouldn’t be quite so dull, after all.

Although she hadn’t expected to, Teresa enjoyed the dinner. The other guests, a surprising number of whom she recognized from the diner and other places around town, were quite pleasant to her. The food wasn’t bad—not nearly as bland as Riley had predicted. The entertainment wasn’t completely boring. She enjoyed hearing speakers telling funny anecdotes about their beloved Dr. Frank. The high school audition choir sang during dinner, and they were very good.

All in all, it was the most grown-up evening she’d spent in a very long time.

Riley, of course, was thoroughly amusing. He kept everyone at their table, including Teresa, laughing at his droll observations concerning the festivities. Though his wit could often be described as biting, he was never cruel, merely blunt. She imagined he made more than his share of people angry, but it wouldn’t surprise her to learn that those same people usually ended up forgiving him and then laughing with him at his next barb.

She detected no real surprise that she and Riley had attended the event together. Maybe he was right; maybe everyone assumed that they were attending as casual friends. Knowing Riley as well as they all did, they had to be aware that she wasn’t the type of woman with whom he would get intimately involved. She came with way too many responsibilities, something Riley had made a lifelong hobby of evading.

He hadn’t even wanted to take care of a puppy.

Funny how often she had to remind herself of things like that. Something about Riley’s attractive face and seductive smile seemed to periodically erase her more rational thoughts.

The only person at the dinner who seemed to eye them with any speculation was Marjorie Schaffer. Marjorie, who had been less than subtly trying to fix Teresa up with nearly every single man in town, despite Teresa’s repeated assertions that she wasn’t interested. Surely Marjorie wouldn’t turn her attention to trying to set her up with Riley. Even a confirmed, compulsive matchmaker like Marjorie wouldn’t be foolish enough to try that match.

She and Riley were standing in the elegantly decorated lobby of the country club after the dinner, chatting with Marjorie, Serena and Cameron, when they were approached by an older couple Teresa had seen only one time before, when they’d lunched at the diner. The woman’s steel-gray hair was lacquered into a helmet of curls, and several splashy pieces of jewelry adorned her heavy bosom, thick wrists and stubby but perfectly manicured, fingers. The man was potbellied, balding and nondescript in comparison to his wife. Teresa recognized them immediately.

Even had she not noticed the very faint chill in Marjorie’s eyes, Teresa knew Marjorie didn’t care for Beatrice Herter because she had told her so. Beatrice was one of the most difficult and demanding customers Teresa had encountered at the diner, but she’d managed to hold on to her poise until the couple left—leaving behind a meager tip.

Marjorie had complimented Teresa on her patience. “You wouldn’t have been the first of my employees to tell her off,” she’d added.