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professional obligation to my client.”
    “Terrific.” She went to the door, opened it abruptly, and held the relic out to him on the palm of her hand. “Good afternoon, Mr. Oakes. I won’t say it’s been a pleasure, but it has been interesting.”
    He picked up his briefcase and walked toward the door, halting directly in front of her. “Are you a good matchmaker, Miss Ingram?”
    “The best.”
    “I notice you’re not wearing a wedding ring. I take it that means you haven’t been able to find a match for yourself.”
    She knew she was turning red, but she managed to keep her composure. “Very observant of you.”
    He nodded. “Probably just as well. I got matched by a pro once.”
    “I can tell by your tone of voice that it did not work out.”
    “No,” he said. “Luckily for both of us, we found out shortly before the wedding that the match was a bad one.”
    “I see,” she said coolly. “I’m sorry you had such an unfortunate experience. All I can tell you is that what happened to you was an anomaly. Statistically speaking, the odds of making a good match are significantly improved when you employ a knowledgeable, reputable marriage consultant.”
    “Maybe.” He shrugged. “Personally, I’ve pretty much decided to skip the whole happily-ever-after thing.”
    She stared at him, startled. Very few people went around announcing that they planned to skip the happily-ever-after thing . Even if one were personally inclined to avoid marriage, family and social pressure proved too strong for most people. Folks who didn’t get serious about marriage after a certain point in life found that their careers stalled, invitations from one’s peers—all of whom were married—dried up, and people began to regard the unmarried individual as exceedingly odd.
    In spite of her annoyance, her consultant instincts kicked in immediately.
    “Never say never,” she said bracingly. “I’m sure the right person for you is out there somewhere.” She couldn’t believe that for a while there she had actually thought that person was her.
    “Yeah, sure.” He did not look convinced. “What about you?”
    “Me?” Good grief, was that her voice? The word had come out sounding like a squeak.
    “Are you involved with anyone at the moment?” he asked with an air of great patience.
    This was getting awkward. She cleared her throat and tried to appear nonchalant. “No, not at the moment. Life has been very busy lately. New job, you know.”
    “Care to go out to dinner and discuss something besides marriage and relics?”
    She went blank. “Huh?”
    He smiled a little. She could see the sexy heat in his eyes. Psi energy tingled in the atmosphere, hers as well as his. She was shocked to realize that her insides were starting to melt.
    “Got a feeling a date with you might be interesting.” He paused a beat. “Or am I picking up the wrong signals here? If so, my apologies.”
    He was daring her to take the leap with him, challenging her.
    “I usually don’t date—” she began.
    “Hunters. Yes, I got that impression. Let me make it clear that, while I come from a Guild family, I don’t make my living as a ghost hunter.”
    “I was going to say that I usually don’t date people I meet at work.”
    “I’m not a client.”
    She took a deep breath. In spite of his incredibly seductive psi patterns, they had nothing in common. Even if they got past that monumental hurdle, he had made it very clear that there was no long-term future for them together. Dating a man under these circumstances violated all the matchmaking rules, but she had never felt this way about any man in her entire life. She might never again meet someone who had this effect on her senses. Why shouldn’t she take the opportunity to experience a romantic fling?
    Once again she reached up to touch Araminta.
    It would have to be a terribly discreet fling, of course. Professional marriage consultants had to be exceedingly careful about their