Chapter Four

I was stuck at a table with two immensely happy couples of my own design. As none of my “safe” male dates was available, I was the fifth wheel.

“So, Penny,” one of the wives, Bethany, began, and I knew that it wasn’t going to be good. “How is the fiancé?”

“Ex-fiancé.”

“Oh, no,” she looked aghast.

“He’s out of the full body cast,” I said. “But we ended up breaking it off.” I took a large gulp of my martini. The two couples looked around awkwardly, as though they were trying to find some thread of conversation. I stood up, deciding to give them some time without the fifth wheel.

“I have to run to the ladies’ room,” I said, noting the looks of relief on their faces. I would stay until enough time had passed for them to finish discussing the sad state of my affairs and move on to another topic of conversation.

There was a line to get in to the ladies’ room, so I stood outside in the hallway, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed. I glared at the floor, a neat parquet pattern.

“Hey,” I looked up to find myself face to face with Davey Allred. Despite the fact that he had been dodging my calls, he looked happy to see me.

“Please, can you do me a favor?” he asked me, his face solemn. “Just put it to your billable hours.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to meet my agent,” he said. “I don’t think she’d believe me otherwise.” I nodded, sighing deeply before following him through the restaurant. He led me to a table where a beautiful blonde woman sat. She looked regal, mid-forties, and was well-dressed in a cream-colored suit. She sipped a cup of tea elegantly. She looked at me questioningly as we walked up to the table.

“Penelope Harris,” Davey said. “This is my agent, Veronica Lane.”

“Pleased to meet you, Miss Harris,” the agent said. She shot Davey a look.

“Penelope runs a matchmaking agency,” Davey explained, and the woman’s eyebrow shot up. “She has agreed to help me find a fiancée.” The agent was clearly in a state of shock.

“A fiancée?”

“Yes.”

“You?” As this exchange was going on, I looked at the threads between Davey and Miss Lane. They were definitely intertwined—these two were close. But the threads were silver; not the colors of a love match. And the threads were thin…so it was clear that their relationship was business only.

“There’s an issue that you should probably know about,” Veronica said to me. “This one has invoked the ire of one of the executives at the studio that is running his current project.”

“I see.” I said, tenting my fingers in front of me on the table.

“He slept with the exec’s wife,” Veronica said in a dry tone, as though she had seen this far too often. I wondered if this was the reason that Davey suddenly required a fiancée.

“Clearly, he has been to see you. Why, I don’t know,” she said. “But he definitely needs good publicity right now.” I could feel my own rage at Davey in that moment.

“Publicity?” I snapped. “You’re doing this for good publicity?”

“Well—”

“No. I don’t do things like this. This is all wrong.” I put my face in my hands and sighed. A waiter passed by me, and I suddenly sensed the weft of threads between him and a restaurant customer. She was sitting a few tables down. The thread was pink, and it glowed with a warm light as it twisted together. I reached out toward the waiter. He looked at me.

“Can I help you, miss?”

“Ask for her number when she gets up,” I replied in an undertone. “She won’t say no.”

“How did you—”

“Trust me on this one.” He nodded, and went on his way, glancing over at the girl as he did so. She was watching our exchange. I looked down at my fingers and began to work the tiniest of spells, directing it in the direction of the woman. I could feel the shift in her thought pattern as she and the others at her table got up. She was going to forget her phone on their table. I watched as she reached the door, as she realized her phone was still on the table, and then her return in time to run into the waiter. I smiled. Magic managed.

“What did you tell him?” Davey asked. He was looking in the couple’s direction.

“Just to take a chance,” I said, being spitefully and intentionally vague. His agent sighed loudly, finishing her tea.

“I have to get going,” she said, collecting her things. “Miss Harris, it was a pleasure. Davey—keep it on a leash or in your pants.” She left, walking briskly out of the restaurant.

“I have to get back to my table,” I said. “I’m sure they’re wondering where the fifth wheel has gone off to.”

“Fifth wheel?”

“Yes. I’m having dinner with friends whom I have set up. They’re all happily married now.”

“If you’re so good at matchmaking, why are you single?”

“That’s a long story. I can’t tell you all of it.”

“Can I come with you?” he asked. “I want to see how the magic happens.” He had no idea how close he was to the truth.