“A boot to the ass is more like it,” Sylvie grumbled.
“Just look at their profiles. Talk to a few of them. There’s absolutely no rule that says you have to actually go out with anybody. But it won’t hurt you to dip a toe back in.”
The idea of having somebody screen dates was kind of appealing. And Lord knew she’d been working her butt off since Christmas. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to have a little fun. “Well okay,” said Sylvie. “Just remember, if something goes sideways and I end up with another Neal, this was all your idea.”
Brenna clapped in delight. “Excellent! Hurry up and finish your fajitas. I want to go home and check your profile.”
“Exactly why are you so pumped about this?”
“Apart from the fact that my stake in this is ultimately potential double date material, I’ll get vicarious thrills from watching you squirm.”
Sylvie’s lips curved in a wry smile. “You’re a real Saint.”
~*~
“I thought we were doing Mexican,” said Everett.
“The bride-to-be wanted hibachi,” explained Brandon as he wheeled into the parking lot of the local Japanese steakhouse. “When she surfaces from an edit, she eats like a stevedore. I’ve learned not to argue.”
From the passenger seat, Isabelle shot him an affectionate look. “You’re just weirded out by the fact that I can out eat you.”
“Well, you’re half my size,” he remarked. “I don’t know where you put it.”
The pair continued their teasing banter all the way inside. Everett followed, grinning. He liked the way they were together, liked what they brought out in each other.
Brandon asked for a table for three. As they followed the hostess, Everett’s gaze swept the restaurant, automatically checking for that blonde hair, as had become his habit over the past weeks. But she wasn’t here. Just as she hadn’t been anywhere else he’d been since she’d walked out of Vandevelde’s. He pocketed the ring box he’d been compulsively juggling in his palm and sat.
“Why are you still toting that thing around?” asked Brandon. “It’s been nearly two months. You ought to go sell it back or put it on consignment somewhere. Get some of your money back.”
“Money’s not the point,” said Everett. “This is a piece of her family history. She deserves to have it back.”
“Well, I think it’s sweet and romantic,” said Isabelle.
“You would,” Brandon said, tugging lightly at the end of her pony tail.
“Romance wasn’t what I had in mind when I did it,” insisted Everett. “I just wanted to do something nice for somebody in a bad spot.”
“You’ve made a career doing nice stuff for people in bad spots,” Brandon pointed out. “That would be the entire point of your non-profit, remember?”
Everett waved that off. “That’s different.”
“You’re probably lucky you haven’t found this woman. She’d probably take one look at you, recognize you for the blue blood with the biggest, squishiest heart in all of Colorado, and take you to the cleaners.”
Everett jerked a thumb at him and looked at Isabelle. “You sure you want to marry this cynic?”
“I’m making it my mission in life to convert him,” she said. “What have you done to track her down?”
“Well, Mr. Vandevelde was understandably reluctant to give me her information on the front end. Confidentiality and all that. And he was absolutely right. I went back later and had him call to try and set up a meeting at the store, but the number she’d given on her paperwork was no longer in service. Since then, I’ve been mostly back to square one.”
“With the number disconnected, she’s probably not even still here,” said Brandon.
Isabelle elbowed him in the ribs. “Ye of little faith. Is there anything you have to go on? Would he give you her name?”
Everett shook his head. “And that’s fair too. Somebody had taken awful advantage of her to put her in the position to sell the ring in the first place. He has no way of knowing I wouldn’t do the same. I’ve gotta respect that. But it makes things difficult.”
“I think you need to get out there and look for a real woman instead of holding out for some girl you’re never going to see again,” Brandon insisted.
“I’m not holding out for her,” Everett protested. “I didn’t do this with some motive of wrangling a date out of it. That would be unethical.”