Catnapped! (A Matchmaker Mystery Book 3) Read Online Free

cat and protect an old woman.
     

 

Chapter 4
     
    Pete watched Alyssa peel out of the parking lot, leaving a cloud of exhaust in her wake, with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
    He now had no doubt that, despite her refusal to have dinner with him, she felt the same attraction between them. What he’d experienced at the wedding, holding her in his arms, hadn’t been a result of too many drinks and the party atmosphere. He truly was hopelessly attracted to her, and she felt something in return. Something other than the icy revulsion she’d shown when he’d tried to compliment her about her blush.
    That knowledge should have made him ecstatic. Instead, his gut churned. He’d overplayed his hand, letting on that he knew her middle name.
    A woman as smart she was would know he’d researched her online. A woman as guarded as she was wouldn’t appreciate the invasion of her privacy.
    He frowned. He hadn’t looked any deeper into her history than the average Joe could with a basic search engine inquiry. He’d just wanted to know more about her.
    Now that he’d gotten to spend a little more time with her, he wanted to know everything about her.
    But she wouldn’t want that, so he decided to figure out how to help her instead. He’d find the cat.
    Mauricio was waiting for him when he re-entered the gym.
    His old friend studied him for a long moment before saying, “I have the distinct impression, I should be shouting, ‘Iceberg ahead’ at you.”
    Although he kept his tone light, Pete saw the concern on his friend’s face. “She’s not that bad.”
    Mauricio shook his head. “Not that bad?”
    “Stay out of it,” Juana interrupted, marching between them.
    “I thought you’d left,” her son griped.
    “He,” Juana said, pointing at Pete, “is not you. He’ll make his own mistakes, not yours.”
    “A ha!” Mauricio cried, like a detective in a third-rate movie. “So you agree that it’s a mistake.”
    Pete was about to tell them both to mind their own business when Juana shook her head.
    “Did you see the way she looked at him?” Juana asked.
    Mauricio shook his head.
    “How did she look at me?” Hope and curiosity warred in his voice.
    Juana smiled kindly at him. “The same way you looked at her.”
    Some of the trepidation coiled in his gut loosened. “I have to find a cat,” he announced, like it was the most important thing in the world.
    Mother and son stared at him like he’d lost his mind.
    “Does anyone know how to catch a cat?” he shouted, so that everyone in the gym could hear.
    Most people ignored him. A few shook their heads.
    “I might know someone who does,” a female voice said from behind him.
    He whirled around to find Armani Vasquez, the matchmaker who’d set up Tom and Jane, and by doing so, inadvertently brought Alyssa into his life, watching him. “Armani!”
    She blinked surprised. “Have we met?”
    “At the wedding. I’m Pete.”
    Her gaze flicked from him to Mauricio. “Sexy there, I remember,” she said, jutting her chin in Mauricio’s direction. “You? Not so much. But don’t take it personally. I had so many people there trying to get in on my whole matchmaking biz, that if you weren’t bothering me, I wouldn’t remember you.”
    “I didn’t bother you,” Mauricio interjected, incensed by the suggestion.
    “No, sexy. You didn’t.” She grinned at him naughtily.
    Pete watched with fascination as a muscle jumped in Mauricio’s clenched jaw. Other people found Armani oddly charming, but it was clear Mauricio wasn’t one of them.
    “You’re a matchmaker?” Juana inquired, not bothering to hide her curiosity.
    “A psychic matchmaker.” Armani tossed back her hair proudly. “And I have the successful track record to prove it.”
    Juana’s disbelief was evident.
    For a long moment, the two women stared at one another, each sizing the other up.
    Finally, Mauricio cleared his throat. “You said you know someone who can catch this cat