It's Just Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

there to visit
and now…
    He shook his head as the artist arrived back at his side and
dropped a few small pots and a brush on the table in front of him. “Funny,
you’re not red now. Are you all right?”
    “Oh, fine.” He held his head steady as she applied a light
coat of some kind of creamy makeup. She removed his smock and smiled at him.
    “I guess we’re all done then. Break a leg.”
    He frowned before he remembered the show biz phrase.
“Thanks. I am a little nervous.”
    She leaned close and patted his shoulder. “You have no
idea.”
    As he stared at her, startled, another t-shirted production
assistant, a pretty, young brunette this time, arrived and swept him away.
Despite his greater height, her speed had him puffing as she led him down one
hall then the next. At a door marked Green Room , he slowed, but she
called over her shoulder, “No time, we have to get you on set right away. You
were late, you know.” She sped up, disappearing around a corner. Her voice
floated back. “We were about to replace you with the dog breeder.”
    He kicked it up, his new loafers too smooth on the bottom to
get good traction, but afraid if he got too far behind he’d be lost and miss
the show. Replaced by a dog breeder—apparently they covered a variety of topics
on each show if they could make that work. He took a hard left and saw his PA
about a dozen yards ahead. He broke into a trot, dodging the others in the
hallway who all seemed to be heading toward him. Was nobody going to the set?
    The girl stopped at a set of double doors. She held one half
open, and he scooted through, nearly losing his balance on his slippery soles,
but managing to right himself as he approached a short, roundish man with a
black pompadour. Harry Montclief. On stage.
    “Please welcome my first guest, New York Times Book Review
and USA Today bestselling author, Gage Middleton. His Compatible Pair has made finding a perfect mate a lot easier, and his new book, The Factors ,
makes it a no brainer.”
    The audience clapped as Harry—who he now recognized from an internet
article on TV hosts who specialized in getting their guests to lose all dignity
and control—waved him to a seat. Gage smoothed his hair and gave the tiers of
smiling people a friendly wave. Aaron, you’re dead meat.
    * * * *
    Waiting outside the stage doors, under the gleaming red
light, Coral’s stomach flipped. Through the big windows in the portals, she
watched the byplay between the host and the three people already seated around
him: the Jag guy from the parking lot, an old style matchmaker, and a
representative from an online dating service. As the final guest to be
introduced, she had surmised the reason for her appearance.
    If Tom hadn’t left her to go about other duties, she might
have turned him into a toad if that was possible. She didn’t know anyone who’d
ever actually performed the spell, but it did sound entertaining. She grinned,
a little less antsy as she pictured Tom hopping about the stage, the object of
laughter and derision from everyone present.
    But a moment later, a push at the small of her back
propelled her through the doors. Hot, blinding lights made it hard to see where
she went. She squinted and moved forward.
    Harry Montclief met her and grasped her hand. He led her to
the front of the stage and introduced her to the audience, telling them a
little about her, from the bio she’d emailed over the weekend, while her heart
thrummed in her ears. She followed him to the semicircle and took the seat to
his right.
    The woman on her other side wore a conservative, pale-pink
skirt suit and low–heeled, beige pumps. Her hair smoothed in a neat bob, she
wore a tasteful amount of carnation pink lipstick and looked like anyone’s
stylish aunt. Esther Bornstien, matchmaker. Next to Esther sat a lean, black
man in his mid-thirties wearing hip designer threads. Martel Hughy represented
Soul Brothers Meets, a gay, online dating service. The guy from