The Matchbaker (A Romantic Comedy) Read Online Free

accompanied by their entire bridal party. I’m trying desperately not to get too close to any of them, but it’s pretty much impossible. A girl in a black bridesmaid dress bumps against me and turns around with a disgusted look on her face.
    I’m tempted to reach out and smack her—I mean seriously, she has no idea what I’ve been through today—but the elevator dings. Saved by the bell. She’s lucky.
    My room is five doors down, but it seems like a million miles away right now. I’m not sure I can make it. But then I glance at Luce. She’s not crying anymore, she just looks really, really sad. My heart aches for her.
    “I’m gonna take a quick shower,” I say as I reach my door. Lucy’s room is the next one over. “See you in twenty?”
    She nods and disappears into her room. I open my door and nearly collapse to the ground in gratitude. The first thing I have to do is get these damn shoes off. And then I’m going to burn them.
    I hobble down the little corridor and plop onto the bench at the foot of the bed. Okay, I have to prepare myself for what I’m about to see. I know it’s not going to be pretty.
    I gingerly remove the right shoe, starting with the heel and ending with the toes. Four of the five are now dripping blood onto the lovely white carpet. It looks like a podiatric massacre, and the other one isn’t any better. The worst part is that I’m giving a huge presentation in the morning and I can’t imagine having to put another pair of heels on. It’s going to be torture. But at least I have tonight to kick back and relax.
    Once I’ve made it to the bathroom, I turn the water on and get into the luxurious shower. God, it feels so good. Much better than the one I had in the port-a-potty outside the Metro station. As much as I want to stay in here forever, I know Lucy needs me. So I rush through the shampoo and conditioner and full-body soap-down, wincing as the soap runs into the open wounds on my feet.
    Lucy knocks on the door just as I’m getting out of the shower. “Just a sec!” I call, wondering if I can even be heard through the bathroom door and down the hallway.
    I wrap the towel around me and run to the door. My phone is sitting on the little table in the corridor and I see that it’s lit up with my mom’s name again. Great. I have to take it.
    “Hey, Mom,” I say. “Is everything okay?”
    “Candy, where have you been? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day!”
    Seeing as it’s only one o’clock in the afternoon where she is, it hardly constitutes as ‘all day.’ “Yeah, I know. Sorry. I meant to call you back, but…everyone’s okay, right?”
    Lucy knocks again. Crap. “Coming!”
    “Yes, of course, darling. I just have something important I need to talk to you about.”
    “You called me a hundred times. It must be pretty important.” Another knock. “But listen, Mom, someone’s knocking, and I’ve had a really long day. Can I call you tomorrow after my meeting?”
    “Candace,” she says, and I’m taken aback by her use of my full name. I stopped using Candy years ago, but my parents still insist on calling me that. It’s a rare occasion that my mom uses Candace. “This is really important. You have to call me back, okay?”
    “Of course!” I say, and I have to admit I’m a little offended.
    “You don’t have the best track record, darling. But you can’t blow me off this time.”
    “Mom, I get it.” Geez! Did she not hear me when I said there was someone was knocking? “I gotta go!”
    I hang up and run to the door, trying to keep the towel securely around me. But it’s made of really soft material that doesn’t stay up all that well.
    “Sorry, Luce,” I say. Only it’s not Lucy standing in the hallway. It’s my boss. “Celia! What are you doing here? I thought you were in New York.”
    “I was,” she says, pushing her way into the room. “But I decided to join you here in Paris, thinking you might need some help with the