True Connections Read Online Free

faces, and you—”
    He threw his hands up and glared. “Okay! I’ll be at your office tomorrow.”

Chapter Three
    Clutching her coffee in one hand and her briefcase in the other, Lia proceeded up the stairs to her own domain. Max had left her with a sense of victory yesterday, but seeing him again drew forth the emotions she’d long suppressed—first to punch him in the face, then to curl up in his arms. But she held onto her anger instead. It was safer that way.
    The years apart had done him good, and made him more handsome. Why couldn’t he have been more flawed, with a scar on his face or something? She’d expected him to have aged a bit, maybe gained a beer belly from all the drinking he’d done back in the day. But no. He’d only become richer and more desirable.
    She’d returned to work, thinking about nothing but the warm press of his hand through her coat, as if his palm had burned her lower back when he’d opened the coffee house door for her to enter. That thought had done nothing but dredge up the old kiss—which had haunted her throughout the rest of the day, even when she’d gone home late and eaten a lonely microwave dinner.
    And instead of falling into the exhausted slumber she embraced each night after overworking herself, she’d laid in bed formulating ways to torture Max.
    Now that he’d agreed to sign up for her matchmaking services, there was nothing wrong with her having a little fun. And to think he couldn’t even remember much about Lindsay Forks. He could barely recall the women he dated, just like those guys who’d dumped her mother and moved onto the next piece of arm candy. She pitied the woman Max ended up taking to the party.
    Lost in thought, she set her coffee down on her desk.
    “Nice place.”
    Lia jumped. Her briefcase fell to the floor as her hands flew to her chest. Max grinned and closed the distance between them.
    “What the hell are you doing here?” Her heart pounded.
    “Um, hello? You told me to come here to fill out paperwork, remember?” He leaned in toward her, until his mouth was barely an inch from hers.
    Her eyes shot to his topaz blue ones, which darkened for the barest second. “What are you doing?”
    “You dropped your briefcase.” His eyebrow lifted in question as he picked up her briefcase and set it on her desk, next to her coffee, then moved away. “Why are you so jumpy? Let’s just get this over with so I can go back to work. I don’t have all day.”
    Neither did she. But she kept the retort to herself, hung her jacket on the coat rack, and smoothed her hand down her black skirt. She could feel his eyes on her, but she ignored the sensation. Maybe she was imagining things. When she’d first seen him yesterday, she’d noticed his look of appreciation…until he’d realized who she was. Not that she’d changed all that much over the years, besides maturing in her choice of wardrobe and learning what a dumbass she could be when it came to interpreting her own relationships and men.
    She could find any client a perfect match, but when it came to herself, she was hopeless. Not that she’d had such a great role model to mirror herself after. Her mother’s choice in men always left her with a broken heart. And it didn’t help that Lia’s ex-best friend stole her fiancé, either.
    Max sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk while she made a wide circle to get to her own seat. Her palms felt clammy as she turned on the computer.
    “So, where do we start?” he asked, casually crossing his knee over his leg.
    “Well, you have to fill out a few questionnaires, then the computer will match you up with a few candidates.”
    The screen came to life and Lia maneuvered the mouse over the True Connections database icon. The program opened and she clicked until she landed on the new client form.
    “Why a matchmaking service? Why couldn’t you have opened up a normal business like a drycleaner’s or clothing store or something?”
    “I love