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Praise for the novels of New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods

“Sherryl Woods writes emotionally satisfying novels about family, friendship and home. Truly feel-great reads!”

—#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

“Sherryl Woods gives her characters depth, intensity and the right amount of humor.”

—RT Book Reviews

“A sweet read perfect to enjoy again and again.”

—RT Book Reviews on A Chesapeake Shores Christmas

“Infused with the warmth and magic of the season, Woods’s fourth addition to her popular, small-town series once again unites the unruly, outspoken, enduring O’Brien clan in a touching, triumphant tale of forgiveness and love reclaimed.”

—Library Journal on A Chesapeake Shores Christmas

“Timely in terms of plot and deeply emotional, the third Chesapeake Shores book is quite absorbing. The characters are handled well and have real chemistry—as well as a way with one-liners.”

—RT Book Reviews on Harbor Lights

“Sparks fly in a lively tale that is overflowing with family conflict and warmth and the possibility of rekindled love.”

—Library Journal on Flowers on Main

“Launching the Chesapeake Shores series, Woods creates an engrossing…family drama.”

—Publishers Weekly on The Inn at Eagle Point

Moonlight Cove
Sherryl Woods

www.mirabooks.co.uk

Dear Friends,

Ever since Jess O’Brien first appeared in The Inn at Eagle Point, you’ve been asking me to tell the story of this complicated woman. Here it is at last in Moonlight Cove.

As a woman who has struggled since early childhood against the feelings of abandonment caused when her mother, Megan, walked out on the family, as well as with her long-undiagnosed attention deficit disorder, Jess has had a tough time getting her life together. Now, at long last, she has a career she loves as the owner of the Inn at Eagle Point, but so far love has eluded her.

No longer. Will Lincoln has been in love with Jess most of their lives. As a psychologist, he understands her flaws better than most and loves her unconditionally despite them. But it’s the fact that he understands her so well that scares Jess. She fears he views her only as some sort of psychological case study.

It’s going to take a lot for Will to convince Jess that he’s the man of her dreams, and on a romantic night at Moonlight Cove, he finally does just that. I hope the moment will make you sigh, just as it took Jess’s breath away.

And next month, I hope you’ll be eagerly awaiting Susie and Mack’s story in Beach Lane. This romance has been a very long time coming, but I think this touching story of the healing power of love is well worth the wait. I hope you’ll agree.

All the best,

Sherryl

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Discussion Guide

1

“We have an idea,” Laila Riley announced when she and Connie Collins turned up in Jess O’Brien’s office at The Inn at Eagle Point on a Saturday night.

There was a twinkle in her eye that immediately made Jess nervous about what her friends had in mind. “Is it going to get us arrested?” she inquired suspiciously. Not that she was unwilling to take the risk, but she would like to know about the possibility in advance, calculate the odds and have a backup plan.

Laila grinned. “If there were anyone interesting working for the sheriff’s department, we’d consider it, but no. This is just doing something outside the box, something none of us would ever consider unless we all decided to do it together.”

“Do I dare ask?” Jess wondered.

“Online dating,” Connie revealed. The lack of enthusiasm in her voice suggested that this had been Laila’s idea and that Connie had only agreed because of the same boredom that had been affecting Jess’s mood recently.

Jess, however, wasn’t quite that desperate. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, but we are,” Laila confirmed.

Jess studied the two women who’d invaded her office on a night of the week when most attractive, intelligent women should have been out on dates. Connie and Laila were related to her indirectly by the marriages of their siblings to hers. They were friends by choice despite the differences in their ages.

Connie was the forty-one-year-old single mother of a teen who’d recently left for college. Her younger brother, Jake, was married to Jess’s sister, Bree. Laila was the thirty-six-year-old manager of the local bank and younger sister of Trace, who was married to Abby, Jess’s oldest sister. Jess, at thirty, was the youngest. At times it seemed as if everyone in Chesapeake Shores was related to an O’Brien one way or another.

“Okay, now, let’s think about this,” Laila said, making herself at home by pouring a glass of tea from the ever-present pitcher on Jess’s desk. “What are you doing tonight? I mean, seriously, here you are in your office when you should be out on the town, right?”

Jess glanced at the ever-present mound of paperwork on her desk. It was the worst part of her job. She was beginning to see Laila’s point.

“And does that make one bit of sense to you?” Laila pressed. “What is wrong with the men in this town that the three of us are alone on a Saturday night? We obviously need to broaden our horizons. Put ourselves out there. Stir things up.”

“And find some geographically unsuitable men who’ll never be around?” Jess replied. “Seems counterproductive to me.”

“I thought the same thing at first,” Connie said, beckoning for her own glass of tea. Laila poured it and handed it to her. “But the sad truth is that boredom has made me more open-minded. For the longest time I couldn’t wait until my daughter was grown and off to college, but now that Jenny’s actually gone, the house feels so empty I can hardly stand it.”

“And I’ve been mind-numbingly bored ever since Dave and I broke up three years ago, which is saying something, since dating him was about as stimulating as watching grass grow,” Laila said. She sat up straighter. “Online dating is the perfect way to change the status quo. It’s trendy. It’ll be fun.”

Jess remained unconvinced. She turned to Connie, who was known for being sensible. “Are you really in favor of this?”

Connie shrugged. “I can see some advantages.”

“Geographically undesirable,” Jess repeated with emphasis.

“Not a problem,” Laila insisted. “It’s a new local service. These men are all right around here.”

Jess couldn’t quite wrap her mind around either the idea or the fact that Connie was willing, if not eager, to try online dating. Looking her in the eye, Jess began, “But I thought…” Her voice trailed off. She wasn’t supposed to know that sparks had been flying between Connie and Jess’s uncle, Thomas O’Brien. Her brothers Connor and Kevin both had sworn her to secrecy. She sighed. “Never mind.”

Connie studied her with suspicion, but since it was a kettle of fish she clearly didn’t want to dive into, she remained silent.

Laila, seemingly unaware of the undercurrents, jumped back in. “It’s perfect, don’t you think?” she asked excitedly.

“Are there any single men around here we don’t already know?” Jess asked, still skeptical. “Isn’t that precisely why we’re sitting here on a weekend without dates?”

“The region does extend beyond the town limits,” Connie conceded.

“It includes Annapolis,” Laila explained, pulling a brochure from her pocket and handing it to Jess. “See, Lunch by the Bay. Doesn’t that sound lovely? And that’s all we’d be committing to, an occasional lunch with someone new. It has to beat waiting around to be noticed in the bar at Brady’s. If I spend any more time in there, Dillon’s threatened to name a barstool after me.”

“At least you’d have a lasting legacy of your life in Chesapeake Shores,” Jess teased. “Much better than having your picture on the wall of that stodgy old bank your family owns and that you’re so attached to.”

“Make fun of me all you want, but I really think we should do this,” Laila insisted. “We’re intelligent, attractive women. We deserve to spend time with exciting, successful men who aren’t related to us.”

“And I for one am tired of the Saturday night pity dinners at Jake and Bree’s,” Connie added with a shudder. “Ever since Jenny left, they expect me to come there and coo over the new baby. She’s a cutie, but that is not how I see myself spending Saturday nights for the next who-knows-how-many years.”

“I’ve had my share of those dinners,” Jess agreed, “but at least I get passed off from Bree to Abby to Kevin and now even Connor.”

“I don’t even get the pity dinners,” Laila said. “Trace and Abby just count on me to babysit the twins. If I’m not married soon, they’ll probably move me in and make me a full-time nanny.”

“You have a career,” Jess reminded her. “I’m pretty sure you can maintain an independent lifestyle.”

“Independence sucks,” Laila declared.

“Amen,” Connie added. “Not that I want some man controlling what I do with my life,” she said emphatically, “but it would be nice to cuddle with someone in front of the fire at night.”

“Say what you really mean,” Jess said. “You want sex.”

Connie sighed. “Don’t we all?”

“So, are we going to do this?” Laila asked, tapping the brochure.

Though she was hardly known for her caution, Jess couldn’t seem to keep herself from asking, “But what do we know about this company?”

“Only what it says in the brochure,” Laila replied, glancing at the back page. “It promises discreet matches, handled by a psychologist who’s been working with single clients for years. He’s developed criteria for making sure that people have the same goals and values.” She set down the brochure and regarded them earnestly. “Come on, you guys. What do we have to lose? If the dates are awful, we can laugh about them later over drinks at Brady’s.”

“I’m in,” Connie said at once. “Jess?”

Jess glanced at the paperwork on her desk. It wasn’t going anywhere. “What the heck! I’m in.”

She turned and flipped on her computer, checked the link to the company’s website and found it. “Nice design,” she said approvingly.

“See, it looks perfectly respectable,” Connie noted.

“And I love the picture,” Laila said. “I’m pretty sure it was taken right on Shore Road. See, there’s the town fishing pier off to the left.”

“Aren’t you worried that we could wind up being paired off with someone we already know, even someone we used to date?” Jess asked. “That could be humiliating.”

“Or it could make us take another look at him,” Connie responded, her expression thoughtful. “After all, if an expert thought we’d be a match, maybe we were selling the other person short.”

“Or maybe the expert isn’t all that smart,” Jess countered.

Still, when the form for signing up appeared on the screen, she was the first one to fill it out. She considered the temptation to fake her replies just to see what might happen, but Connie and Laila forestalled her.

“You have to take this seriously,” Connie scolded.

“We’re expecting a computer and some so-called expert to do what we haven’t been able to do on our own,” Jess replied. “And you want me to take it seriously?”

“I do,” Connie said. “Because this could be my last chance.”

“It is not going to be your last chance,” Laila said fiercely. “If you’re going to look at it like that, Connie, then maybe you shouldn’t do it. Desperation is never smart when it comes to meeting men. We’re doing this for laughs and a few free lunches, that’s it. We need to keep our expectations low and just concentrate on having fun.”

Jess nodded. Connie didn’t look entirely convinced, but when Jess’s form was complete, Connie immediately nudged her aside and took her place in front of the computer. Laila followed.

When the last form had been sent in, they exchanged a look.

“I need a drink,” Jess said.

“I’m in,” Laila said.

Connie nodded agreement. “I think I’d better make mine a double.”

One of the few things that hadn’t changed since Jake had married Bree was that he, Mack Franklin and Will Lincoln continued to have lunch every day at Sally’s. The lunches had started when Jake needed support after he and Bree had split up a few years ago. Now that they were together again and happily married, the lunch tradition had become an occasion for the three men to keep their friendship grounded. Will counted on these two men more than either of them probably realized.

As a psychologist, Will spent his days listening to other people’s problems, but he didn’t really have anyone other than Jake and Mack to listen to his. Even though the three of them knew just about everything concerning each other’s lives, there was one thing Will had been keeping from them for a while now: his new business, Lunch by the Bay.

The dating service had been born out of frustration. He spent way too much of his time counseling singles on the relationships in their lives and way too little of his time nurturing any kind of relationship of his own. The name of the company, which had come to him in the middle of a lonely night, was meant to be ironic, if only to him. As much as he loved getting together with his buddies, he thought it was past time to start having lunch with people who wore dresses and perfume. Jake might occasionally smell like roses, but it was only after he’d spent a morning planting rose bushes for one of his many landscaping clients. It was hardly the same.

It was also, Will thought, way past time to stop carrying the torch for Jess O’Brien, youngest sister of his friends Kevin and Connor O’Brien. Over the years Jess had had ample opportunities to indicate even a whiff of interest in Will, but she mostly treated him like an especially annoying big brother.

Worse, since he’d become a psychologist, she regularly accused him of analyzing her because she had ADD. She didn’t trust his slightest bit of attention, fully expecting him to turn her into some professional case study. None of his denials had gotten her off that ridiculous tangent. Since they were thrown together a lot, her suspicion made most of their encounters awkward and testy.

Which meant it was time to move on once and for all, no easy task in a town with a population under five thousand except when tourists and weekenders filled it during the spring and summer. Lunch by the Bay had been created not only to fill a gap in the Chesapeake Shores social scene, but also to save him from growing old alone.

He explained all of this to Jake and Mack, who stared at him as if he’d suddenly sprouted antlers.

“You’re starting a dating website?” Mack repeated, as if checking the accuracy of his hearing.

“Exactly,” Will said. “If you weren’t so busy not dating Susie, I’d encourage you to sign up. You’re one of the town’s most eligible bachelors.”

“You intend to use this site yourself?” Jake said, looking puzzled. “I thought you were seeing some psychologist who bought a summer house here.”

“I was,” Will said. “Two years ago. It didn’t work out, which you would know if you ever paid attention to a thing I tell you.”

“But you’ve been dating,” Jake persisted. “I’m not imagining that. You’ve blown us off to go on dates.”

“What can I say?” Will said with a shrug. “None of them have amounted to anything.”

“I suppose it makes sense,” Mack said eventually. “Susie is always grumbling about the dearth of available men in town.”

Jake barely managed to swallow a chuckle.

Mack scowled at him. “What?”

“I thought she had you,” Jake responded.

“We’re not dating,” Mack repeated for the umpteenth unbelievable time.

“And yet neither of you seems to be looking for anyone else,” Will pointed out. “If I’m wrong and you are open to other possibilities, I can sign you right up on the new website. You’re an ex-jock and a semi-famous sports columnist. I’ll have you matched up with someone new by the end of the week.”

Jake regarded him incredulously. “You already have clients?”

“About thirty so far,” Will confirmed.

“Anyone we know?” Mack asked, then frowned. “Susie, for instance?” There was a discernible hitch in his voice when he asked, proving that there was more to that relationship than he wanted to acknowledge.

“I’m not at liberty to say,” Will told him.

“When did you start this company?” Jake asked.

“Three weeks ago officially, though I’d been working out the criteria for matching people for a while. I finally incorporated, then put out a few brochures around town. I had no idea what to expect, but when the clients started signing up, I figured I ought to tell you all about it before you heard about it from another source. Someone’s bound to figure out I’m the professional psychologist behind it. After all, there aren’t that many of us in the area.”

“So you’re doing this to make money?” Mack said, clearly still trying to grasp his motivation. Before Susie, Mack had had absolutely no difficulty attracting single women, so he didn’t understand Will’s frustration.

“It could be a gold mine, yes, but that wasn’t really my motivation,” Will insisted. “I think of it more as a community service.”

“Nice spin,” Jake commented wryly. “You’ve already admitted that you’re doing this so you can meet women. Couldn’t you just have hung out at Brady’s more often?”

Will shook his head. “That wasn’t really working for me.”

“What about church? I hear a lot of men meet women at church,” Mack said. “Come to think of it, if I’d known you were this desperate, I could have asked Susie to fix you up. She has a bunch of girlfriends.”

“I’m not desperate,” Will said, offended by the characterization. “I’m being proactive.”

Jake and Mack exchanged a glance. It was Jake who dared to ask, “What about Jess?”

Will stilled. “What about her?”

“You’ve always been crazy about her,” Jake said.

“But she’s not crazy about me,” Will said, not denying his feelings since he’d never been all that good at hiding them. “Leave her out of this. She has nothing to do with it.”

Neither of his friends looked convinced, but they backed off.

Mack regarded him with amusement. “So, are you going to hold mixers like they had in college? Have everyone wear cute little nametags? Or what about those sixty-second dating things? You know, the ones like musical chairs? I hear those can be lively.”

Will scowled at his flip tone. “Bite me.” He stood up. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to my office to play matchmaker.”

“You and Dolly Levi,” Mack said with an unrepentant grin.

Will stared at him blankly. “Who?”

“Hello, Dolly. It’s a musical. Susie and I saw the revival recently. She’s a matchmaker.”

Jake groaned. “Please do not tell a lot of people that you, once a Chesapeake Shores and college gridiron star, are going to girly musicals these days. It’ll destroy your fine reputation as one of the town’s all-time great bachelors. You’ll no longer be considered a player on the dating scene. In fact, it’s entirely likely you’ll never have another date.”

“He doesn’t need another date,” Will said. “He already has Susie.”

“Who is obviously a very bad influence,” Jake said.

Mack frowned at him. “Do I need to point out that your wife produces plays at her fancy new Chesapeake Shores Theater, including, I might add, the occasional musical? You planning to attend?”

Jake winced. “That’s spousal obligation, not choice. There’s a difference.”

“Will, do you buy that? Is it different?”

“I’m not mediating this one, guys,” Will declared emphatically. “You’re on your own.”

He was going back to his office to see if he could find the woman of his dreams. Maybe she was right around the corner, though if she was, he ought to have stumbled across her long before now.

For the first time since the previous Friday, Will opened his email Monday afternoon to check the new applications for membership in the Lunch by the Bay online dating service. There were a half dozen that had come in over the weekend. He’d input the data from three of them, when he spotted those submitted by Laila, Connie and Jess. His eyes widened. Laila and Connie were one thing, but Jess? What was he supposed to do about her?

Since she’d submitted her credit card payment with her application, professional integrity absolutely required that he put the data into the system and see if his criteria matched her with anyone. The churning in his gut, however, told him to delete the application as if he’d never seen it. He didn’t want to be the man who helped Jess walk off into the sunset with someone else. She might ultimately do that anyway, but he didn’t want to be the one who’d facilitated it.

He wrestled with his conscience for a full ten minutes before he reluctantly fed the data into his system. He deliberately left his own information out of the equation. When the computer came back with no immediate matches, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He told himself to send back her money and tell her to reapply at a later date, but when it came time to push the send key, he couldn’t do it. He knew it was because he was a little too eager to reject her for his own reasons. For anyone else, he’d take a fresh look at the data in a few days. Much as he might not like it, he owed that to Jess, too.

As for Laila and Connie, he had an easier time with their applications. Three potential matches turned up almost immediately for Connie. He sent all of them mutual contact information. There were four possibilities for Laila. Astonishingly, one of the best matches, the man with whom she had the most in common, seemed to be him.

“No way,” he muttered. He’d never once thought of dating Trace’s younger sister…and yet, why not? Maybe this would be the best possible test of the criteria he was using. It was the first match that had come back for him with so many connections.

He’d almost convinced himself to call Laila, when it occurred to him that it was no coincidence that the applications from her, Connie and Jess had come in within minutes of each other on Saturday night. Had they sent them in as some kind of dare? And how would Jess react if he went out with Laila? Would she be offended that her friends had gotten dates and she hadn’t? Would it bother her in the slightest if Laila’s first date was him? And why should he care, anyway, if he was truly moving on as he’d sworn to himself he was doing?

Before he could change his mind, he picked up the phone and called Laila at the bank.

“Hey, Will, what’s up?” she said, her tone friendly.

“You’re probably not going to believe this, but we’ve been matched up by an online dating service,” he told her, not explaining that it was his business. She’d learn that soon enough.

“Lunch by the Bay?” she said. “You’re kidding! I didn’t expect anything to happen this quickly.”

“I’m as surprised as you are, but I thought maybe we should give it a try. Would you like to have lunch tomorrow?”

“Why not?” she said, then hesitated. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked. “Obviously we’re both looking for new ways to meet people, and if a computer says we’re compatible, I think we should at least check it out.”

“At least we’ll have a few laughs, right?”

“Exactly. What do you say?”

“What time and where?” she asked.

“Panini Bistro at noon? Or is there somewhere else you’d rather go?”

“I thought you always ate with Mack and Jake at noon,” she said, proving that his rut had been widely noted.

“I decided it was past time to shake up my routine,” he told her.

“Then count me in, and Panini Bistro is fine. I’ll see you there. Should I wear a red carnation behind my ear so you can spot me?” she asked with a laugh.

“Unless you’ve changed dramatically since dinner at the O’Briens a couple of Sundays ago, I think I’ll recognize you,” he said. He hesitated, then added, “Maybe we should keep this just between us for now. What do you think?”

“Are you ashamed to be seen in public with me, Will Lincoln?” she asked, a teasing note in her voice.

“If I were, we wouldn’t be going to lunch on Shore Road,” he assured her. “I just thought maybe low-key might be best till we see how this goes. Our friends might have quite a lot to say if they hear about it.”

“You wouldn’t be thinking about one friend in particular, would you?” Laila asked knowingly. “Is it Jess you’d prefer to keep in the dark?”

“Of course not!” Will said emphatically. “Why would she care one way or the other?”

“I’m glad you feel that way, because I’m not all that great at keeping secrets, especially not from friends.”

“Okay, then,” Will said, resigned to the possibility that his lunch with Laila could stir up a commotion. “See you tomorrow.”

“Looking forward to it,” Laila said.

Will wished he could say the same. Instead, a feeling of dread had settled in his stomach. Any shrink worth his salt could have told him it was because he was playing with fire.

2

A few days after signing up for Lunch by the Bay, Jess checked her inbox online. “I don’t get this,” she muttered in frustration to Laila, who’d just dropped by the inn. “You and Connie both had responses almost immediately. I’ve had nothing, not even an acknowledgment that I’m signed up.”

“I’m sure that’s just an oversight,” Laila said, though Jess thought she looked oddly guilty when she said it.

“Do you know something I don’t?” Jess asked, studying her friend with a narrowed gaze.

“Of course not,” Laila responded a little too quickly. “Maybe the interests you wrote down were too narrow. The company promises someone with similar interests. It may be taking a little longer to find the right match. I’m sure not everyone hears right away. The important thing is that the person you’re eventually matched with is the right one.”

Jess shrugged it off. “It doesn’t really matter. I wasn’t counting on this anyway. How about running over to Sally’s and grabbing a bite to eat?”

Laila winced. “Sorry, I can’t. I have my first date.”

Jess stared at her, trying to judge the odd expression on her friend’s face. Laila looked more worried than excited. It wasn’t the reaction Jess had expected.

“Why didn’t you say something when you first walked in here?” she asked. “Who is he? Do you have a name? Where are you meeting him?”

“We’re meeting at Panini Bistro,” Laila said.

Again, Jess studied her intently. “It still feels as if you’re hiding something. Who is this man? Do I know him?”

Laila nodded, her expression sheepish. “Actually, you do. That’s the reason I came by, so I could run it past you in case you had objections.”

“Why on earth would I object to your date?” Jess asked. “There’s no one in this town with whom I’ve ever been serious, unless you count Stuart Charles in third grade. I went to a lot of Little League games to watch that boy play.”

Laila lost her train of thought. “I thought you went to those games to see Connor.”

“Do you think I wanted anyone to know about my crush on an older man?” Jess responded with a grin. “I believe Stuart was twelve. We were doomed from the start.” Her grin faded. “We’ve gotten off track. We were talking about this date of yours, and I was trying to make it clear there was nothing for you to worry about where I’m concerned.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Laila said. Not quite meeting Jess’s eyes, she admitted, “It’s Will.”

Jess went perfectly still. She could have sworn her heart even took an unexpected lurch. “You’re having lunch with Will?” she asked slowly. “You’re telling me the computer actually matched you with him?”

Laila nodded, then asked worriedly, “You’re not upset, are you? I wanted you to hear this from me in case someone spots the two of us out together. If it bothers you, I can still call it off.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I be upset?” Jess asked, managing to keep a carefree note in her voice, even though the news had been oddly disconcerting. “I’ve never dated Will.” She hesitated. “You don’t suppose…?”

“Suppose what?”

“That brochure said this company was being run by a psychologist. Do you think that could be Will?”

Laila shrugged. “Could be, but I don’t see why it matters.”

“You don’t think it’ll be weird dating a shrink?” Jess had certainly had enough difficulty just being in the same room with him. She’d never been able to stop feeling self-conscious, as if Will was seeing right through her, analyzing every word she uttered. Maybe under other circumstances that attentiveness would have been flattering, but it made her feel exposed. She’d had enough of those feelings when doctors had been trying to determine whether she had attention deficit disorder years ago. All that psychological probing and testing had made her feel like a lab specimen.

“Why would it be weird?” Laila asked with a shrug. “Hopefully, he’ll be more insightful than most of the men I’ve run across. It’s funny, but somehow I never even thought about dating Will before. We’re actually the same age, but we never hung around with the same crowd in school.”

“Because you were with the in crowd and he was a nerd.”

“Will was most definitely not a nerd,” Laila said, jumping to his defense in a way that took Jess aback. “Jake and Mack are his two best friends, and they were both jocks. He was always hanging out at your house with Kevin and Connor, too. If I remember correctly, Will even played varsity basketball.” Her expression brightened. “That’s another good thing. He’s taller than I am. I’m tired of having to wear flats when I go out so I don’t intimidate some guy who’s barely five-eight.”

Jess couldn’t explain why the idea of Laila going out with Will bothered her so much. Was it because she was more interested in him than she’d ever admitted to herself? Or was it because that stupid computer had confirmed what she’d always said, that they’d be a terrible match? Because she didn’t want her friend worrying about any of that, she forced a smile.

“I hope you have a great time,” she told Laila. “It really would be something if this whole matchmaking thing turns out to work.”

Laila grinned, clearly relieved to have Jess’s blessing, lukewarm though it might have been. “Fingers crossed. I’ll call later and let you know how it went.”

The minute she’d gone, Jess grabbed her keys and headed for Sally’s. She knew she’d find Jake and Mack there. Maybe they could fill her in on whether Will was behind Lunch by the Bay. If he was, once she got over the shock, she was never going to let him hear the end of it.

Will stood on the sidewalk in front of Panini Bistro waiting for Laila Riley. He’d felt a little odd matching himself up with someone he’d known for most of his life, but they’d exchanged a few emails since his phone call the day before and discovered several additional things they had in common, aside from all the people they both knew and the interests they’d both mentioned on their applications. At least they’d be able to spend the next hour catching up, with no real pressure on either of them. It made her the ideal Lunch by the Bay first date.

He saw her exit her car just up the road, then walk purposefully toward him with a stride that could easily keep up with his. She smiled when she saw him, started to hold out a hand, then shrugged and hugged him.

“This is weird, huh?” she said.

“I was just thinking how easy it should be,” he countered. “It’s not as if we haven’t known each other forever.”

“But not like this,” she said. “Not as a potential spouse.”

Will gave her a startled look that made her laugh.

“Sorry,” she said at once. “Computer compatibility notwithstanding, I’m not suggesting we call a minister quite yet. I just meant that this isn’t bumping into each other at a party or at Brady’s. It’s a real date, even if it is only lunch.”

Will grinned as the awkward moment passed. “Then I should be pulling out a chair and asking you to have a seat,” he said, doing just that before seating himself at the outside table. “Would you like a glass of wine with lunch?”

She shook her head. “One thing I’ve learned about banking is that I can’t stare at all those numbers without a clear head. You go ahead, if you want to.”

“Not me. My clients expect me to be giving them sober, thoughtful advice.”

They glanced at their menus, placed their orders, then sat back. Will couldn’t think of one single thing to say that hadn’t already been covered in their emails.

“I saw Jess before I came over here,” Laila said eventually.

To his annoyance, Will’s heart skipped a couple of beats. “Oh? How is she?”

“She seemed a little taken aback to hear that I was meeting you,” Laila told him. “I felt like I had to tell her.”

“Why?”

“You know, I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I suppose it’s because I’ve always thought the two of you had some kind of connection of your own. And, of course, she and I are friends. I warned you I was no good at keeping secrets from my friends.”

Will told himself that what she was saying about Jess’s reaction didn’t have to mean anything. It was probably no more of a shock to Jess than hearing, say, that he and Laila had crossed paths at the grocery store.

When he said nothing, Laila added, “Jess wondered if maybe this whole Lunch by the Bay thing isn’t your idea. Is it?”

Will hesitated, but saw no point in an evasive answer. “It is.” He explained his reasons for launching the company, then added, “So far, I’ve actually matched up about ten couples for first dates, though this is the first time I’ve gone out with anyone myself.”

“Really?” she said, looking impressed. “And you chose me? Why?”

“Truthfully?”

“Of course.”

“I wanted to check out my criteria for myself, and you seemed like the least threatening opportunity to do that,” he admitted. “Worst case scenario, if it turned out to be a total bust, I figured we could laugh about it.”

“I’m not sure if there’s a compliment buried in there somewhere or not,” she said.

“Probably pretty deeply,” Will said, chuckling.

“So, how about the other couples? Anything look as if it’s working out?”

“The early feedback has been very positive,” he said. “My criteria seem to be working, at least for strangers. Several people have told me they’re on their third—and, in one case, a fourth—date with the first person they were matched with.”

“So what was the criteria that made you match yourself up with me?” Laila asked, then studied him intently. “Instead of Jess, for instance? She applied the same day I did.”

Will couldn’t deny that he’d considered exactly that. After all, it was the perfect opportunity to nudge Jess into thinking of him in a different way. He just hadn’t been quite ready for the humiliation of having her laugh hysterically at the suggestion that they go on a date.

“Jess and I don’t really click,” he said carefully.

“According to these criteria of yours?” Laila pressed.

Will squirmed. “Not exactly. I left myself out of the mix when I ran her data through the computer.”

Laila looked surprised. “Why?”

“Like I said, I already knew we didn’t click.”

“But we do, according to the computer?” Laila repeated.

He nodded. “You and I had at least a half dozen or more things in common, similar interests, ambitions and so on.”

She gave him an amused look. “Sounds as if we’re a match made in heaven.”

“Who knows? We could be.” He held her gaze, hoping he’d feel something, even a hint of the chemistry he felt when he was in a room with Jess. There was nothing. It didn’t mean his criteria were off. It just meant he had no quantifiable way to measure attraction, and even he knew that was a key ingredient in any relationship.

After an awkward moment, he changed the subject, asking her opinion of a variety of economic and banking issues. Laila, he discovered, could hold her own when it came to such a debate. She was informed, opinionated and direct, all good traits to his way of thinking. They’d finished dessert before he realized that the time was late and he was due back at his office for his next appointment.

“This was fun,” he said, meaning it. “I’d love to have lunch again sometime.”

“So would I,” she said, “but next time it’s on me.”

Will saw the declaration for what it was, an offer of friendship. Since he’d been thinking along the same lines, he was relieved. “It’s a deal.”

“But not a date,” she responded. “Forget your stupid computer, Will. Ask Jess out. You know she’s the one you want. She always has been.”

He frowned at the statement. “We’re not suited.”

Laila waved off the comment. “Says who?”

“Mostly Jess,” he confessed.

“You’ve actually asked her out and she’s blown you off?”

“Well, no, but she’s made it abundantly clear that I make her uncomfortable.”

“That’s exactly what Jess needs, someone who can shake her up,” Laila said. “Stop wasting your time trying to find a replacement who’ll never measure up. Go for the real thing.” She gave him a hug. “That’s my advice to you.” She grinned. “And lucky for you, I don’t charge your hourly rates for it.”

She strode off down the street, leaving Will to stare after her and wonder why she couldn’t have been the one. Candid, no-nonsense Laila Riley was a whole lot less complicated than Jess O’Brien would ever be.

He sighed. That, of course, was the problem. He apparently liked complications. Unfortunately, that was probably going to be his downfall.

Connie’s first official blind date was with an accountant in Annapolis, a single father whose children, like Jenny, were away at college. On paper, he’d sounded great. Their email exchanges had revealed several other things they had in common, including a love of the water. She’d anticipated an enjoyable lunch, maybe some stimulating conversation, even if it didn’t go any further than that.

Since she’d agreed to drive to Annapolis, she’d decided to go early and stop by Thomas O’Brien’s foundation offices to touch base on their fundraising efforts to protect the Chesapeake Bay. Even though it was a Saturday morning, she knew she’d find Jess’s uncle at work. His workaholic reputation was widely recognized. When she tapped on his office door, he glanced up from the papers on his desk and beamed at her.

“Now, if you aren’t exactly what I needed on this dreary morning,” he said, removing his reading glasses and putting aside his pen. “What brings you to Annapolis?”

Connie’s pulse leapt at the enthusiasm in his voice, even though she’d told herself a thousand times that it was his gratitude for her efforts for the foundation and nothing more.

“I have a date,” she admitted, wrinkling her nose. “A blind date, at that.”

He sat back, a look of astonishment on his face. “Now tell me why a lovely woman like you would be going on a blind date?”

“I signed up for an online dating service,” she said sheepishly. “Jess and Laila did, too.”

“All three of you?” He gave a sad shake of his head. “I can’t imagine what the men of Chesapeake Shores are thinking if you’re resorting to an online dating service.” Still, he looked vaguely intrigued. “And is this your first date?”

Connie nodded. “To be honest, I’m a little nervous.”

“In this day and age, that’s perfectly understandable. Maybe you should reconsider.”

“I can’t just not show up,” she protested. “That would be rude.”

“Then I’ll come with you,” he said decisively. “Not on the date, of course, but just to be nearby in case there’s a problem.”

She studied him oddly. “You’d do that?”

“I feel obligated to, as a matter of fact. Someone needs to look out for you, and we’re practically family.”

She laughed at the serious note in his voice. “Do you know how old I am?”

“I have some idea. What’s your point?”

“That I’m old enough to look out for myself.”

“Not if this man turns out to be some kind of smooth-talking predator,” he insisted, his jaw set determinedly.

“Why am I starting to think that stopping by here was a bad idea?” she said, amused despite herself at his overly protective attitude. And maybe a little touched, if she were to be totally honest.

He smiled at her, the smile that always made her toes curl. “Since you obviously aren’t here for my protection, why did you stop by?”

To see that smile, for one thing, she thought but didn’t dare say. Her conflicted feelings for Thomas O’Brien were a constant source of dismay to her. She couldn’t imagine them ever going anywhere. At the same time, she couldn’t seem to stay away. She was drawn to his passion for his work, his caring personality, his wicked sense of humor…to him, for that matter.

“I haven’t seen you since the last of the summer events,” she said. “I wanted to catch up on how fundraising is going and see what I can do to help over the winter.”

“Now I’ve had a few ideas about that,” he said at once. “Why don’t we go a bit early to this lunch of yours and have coffee while we wait for your date to arrive? Once I’ve met him and seen for myself that he means no harm, I’ll fade into the woodwork,” he promised.

Connie could see all sorts of things potentially disastrous about that plan, but she couldn’t seem to tell him to forget it. Coffee with Thomas sounded a whole lot better, frankly, than lunch with a total stranger.

“That would be great,” she said.

They walked to the restaurant her date had suggested, chose a table overlooking the nearby Severn River and ordered coffee. Connie was so engrossed in what Thomas had to say, she barely noticed when another man approached the table and stood looking down at them with an irritated expression on his face.

“You’re Connie Collins?” he asked.

She jumped guiltily. “I am. Steve Lorton?”

He nodded, then scowled at Thomas. “Am I interrupting?”

“Of course not,” Connie said before Thomas could reply. He had an oddly territorial look on his face that she didn’t quite trust. She introduced the two men. “Thomas and I were just discussing the latest progress in his foundation’s efforts to protect the bay. I’ve been doing some volunteer work for him.”

Steve looked somewhat mollified by the explanation, but when Thomas made no move to leave, he was forced to drag a chair over from a nearby table. He sat down next to Connie, as if to claim her for his own. Connie couldn’t recall the last time she’d been caught in a turf war between two men, if ever, but she discovered she didn’t like it nearly as much as she’d always imagined she might.

“Thomas was just leaving,” she announced pointedly, though, to her dismay, he didn’t seem to be budging.

“I’m sure Steve won’t mind if I stick around a little longer,” Thomas said.

His jaw was set in a way Connie recognized. She’d seen it on other O’Brien men often enough.

She was about to push him to leave, anyway, when he added, “There are several more things we need to discuss, Connie.”

Connie stared at him in confusion. “What things?”

“Our plans for next weekend, in fact.”

Now she really was confused. “We have plans?”

“We do,” he said emphatically, staring down Steve as he said it.

Steve stood up so suddenly his chair fell over. “Look, I had no idea you were already involved with someone,” he said to Connie, his gaze accusing. “You should have told me.”

Before she could defend herself, he turned and left without another word.

She stared after him, then whirled on Thomas. “Why would you do that? Why would you deliberately chase him off?”

“I didn’t like him,” he said, without even a hint of remorse.

She stared at him incredulously. “I think the point of going on this date was to find out if I’d like him.”

“You wouldn’t have,” Thomas predicted. “He’s too self-absorbed.”

“You could tell that from the two minutes he was sitting here?”

“I could tell that when there wasn’t the slightest spark of interest in his eyes when you mentioned protecting the bay.”

She couldn’t deny that. Still, she felt compelled to say, “I think you might be a bit biased when it comes to the bay. Not everyone is as passionate about what you do as you are.”

He held her gaze. “You are,” he said quietly. “Can you honestly tell me you’d be seriously interested in a man who doesn’t care about his surroundings?”

“Probably not, but you don’t get to decide that,” she replied.

“I did you a favor,” he said stubbornly.

She sighed. She could tell she wasn’t going to win this argument. To be honest, she wasn’t all that unhappy about what he’d done, not if it gave the two of them more time together. She wasn’t sure she liked what that said about her state of mind, but there it was, the honest-to-God truth.

“Let’s say I accept that you thought you were doing me a favor,” she said. “I drove all this way to have lunch. Does that mean you’re treating me now?”

His expression brightened and his booming laugh drew smiles from those at nearby tables. “I think it’s the least I can do,” he agreed readily.

“And what about those plans we supposedly have for next weekend?” she asked, suddenly feeling daring in a way she hadn’t in a very long time.

“Dinner at Brady’s on Saturday night?” he suggested.

Despite the little zing of anticipation that rushed through her at the suggestion, Connie hesitated. “Brady’s? Are you sure about that?”

“O’Brien turf?” he asked, proving he understood exactly what her concerns were.

“Pretty much.”

“Well, I can’t very well ask you to drive back to Annapolis, can I? We’ll just have to find someplace down there that my family hasn’t discovered. Chesapeake Shores isn’t the only town with restaurants. Leave it to me.”

“Okay,” she said, her hands suddenly shaking so badly she had to set her menu back on the table. Just to be sure she wasn’t misinterpreting what was going on here, she forced herself to meet his gaze.

“Is this a date, Thomas? Or a business meeting? I want to be clear.”

He didn’t answer immediately. In fact, it looked as if he was struggling to decide. “The smart answer would be to call it a business meeting, wouldn’t it?” he said, regret in his voice.

“It would probably be wise,” she agreed, not even trying to disguise her own disappointment. Then she reminded herself that she was over forty, not some shy little teenage wallflower. Thomas O’Brien was the first man in years who’d captured her attention. Why shouldn’t she throw caution to the wind? She looked him directly in the eyes then, and added, “But I’d really hoped it was a date.”

His expression immediately lit up in a thoroughly gratifying way. “Then a date it is!” He hesitated, then said, “But—”

“You don’t have to say it, Thomas. The family doesn’t need to know about any of this.”

“Not that I think there’s anything wrong with the two of us going on a date,” he was quick to say.

Connie laughed. “Believe me, I get it. Once unleashed, the meddling O’Briens are hard to contain.”

“Exactly.” He picked up his menu. “Suddenly I’m starving. I think I’ll have the seafood platter. How about you?”

Connie was pretty sure she wasn’t going to be able to eat a single bite. “A small house salad for me.”

“Nonsense. You need some protein before you have to drive home. At least have the crabcakes. They’re excellent here.”

She gave in because it made no sense to fight him. She knew she’d be regretting that salad halfway home when her stomach started growling. Still, she couldn’t let him have his way about it entirely. It would set a bad precedent with a man as strong-willed as he obviously was.

“A crabcake sandwich, then,” she compromised.

“Excellent!”

She looked into his blue, blue eyes, sparkling with mirth, and thought she hadn’t been captivated by anyone like this as far back as she could remember, not even Jenny’s father. As much as she’d thought she loved Sam, he’d lacked strength, maturity, passion and compassion, all qualities Thomas personified.

She was smitten, all right. If only the situation didn’t have the potential for heartbreak written all over it.