His Love Match Read online

  “Checking out,” she told the woman at the hotel desk and then settled her bill.

  “I hope you enjoyed your stay and you’ll come back again.”

  Diana returned the young woman’s smile, although she felt more like crying than smiling. She never wanted to see this place again. The best and worst day of her life had been spent here. Scott had made love to her so sweetly and so tenderly that she felt as if nothing on earth could top it. She’d thought of happily-ever-after, of being the bride in her own wedding. And then the worst had happened.

  He’d left her.

  Alone.

  And without a word.

  * * *

  Princeton, New Jersey, was as much a tourist attraction as the Statue of Liberty. Droves of people flocked to see the university. Scott was among the many locals walking along the short stretch of land that comprised the center of town. He hoped to see Diana going into the coffee shop. He’d been back a day and she hadn’t answered her phone or returned any of his messages.

  She loved Edward’s coffee. Scott figured he’d run into her here sooner or later. Going through the door, he looked around, but she wasn’t among the patrons. He ordered a coffee and sat on one of the high chairs near the window that faced the university. If she came in he could talk to her. If she passed by he could go out and meet her.

  “Is this seat taken?” someone asked.

  “No.” Scott turned and spoke at the same time. Slipping into the empty chair next to him was Linda, the last person he wanted to see. And the one person he didn’t want Diana to find him with.

  “I was hoping to run into you.” Her voice was as soft as purring kitten.

  “Why is that?” Scott wanted to leave. His strategy for the day had been thwarted. He couldn’t leave now that she’d begun a conversation.

  “Well, I’m back in town, and since I haven’t been here for a while, I thought we might get together for old time’s sake. You could tell me what’s happening with the old crowd and we can catch up on each other’s lives.”

  “You know this is a small town, but I was never the one who had that information. You should contact one of the women you used to hang out with. A couple of them are still around. At least they were at the dinner. I’m out of town a lot.”

  “I know, but they don’t...” She moved closer to him.

  Scott recognized the move. He and Linda had once been a couple. He didn’t know what he’d seen in her.

  “Linda,” Scott began before she could go on. “We spent a lot of time together in the past.”

  “Yes,” she smiled.

  “Both of us have changed since then. You’ve been married and divorced. You’re putting down roots in Rocky Hill.”

  “And you’ve flown all over the world. We could—”

  “No,” Scott stopped her. “We had—”

  “I was only going to say that we had a great time at the dance, but don’t read anything into it.”

  Scott understood she knew where he was going and had interrupted him to save face.

  “Like you say, I’ve just moved back to the area. And I need to give myself some time since the divorce before I rush into anything.” She laughed. He knew she was attempting to lighten the mood, but it failed. “I wouldn’t want to make another mistake like the last one.”

  “Taking time to think things through is always a good decision.”

  She gave him a brilliant smile. “There is one thing I want to say.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Thank you.”

  Scott frowned. “For what?”

  “For being my friend. I don’t have many. I hope in the future I can continue to count you among them.’

  “You can.”

  She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. At that exact moment, Diana’s car stopped across the street to wait for the light. She looked directly at him, holding her gaze for a long moment.

  “Damn,” he cursed. Could things get any worse?

  “Anything wrong?” Linda asked. Her gaze went to the Porsche.

  The light turned green and Diana drove away.

  Scott had no doubt that she’d recognized Linda.

  “Is she the one?” Linda asked.

  Scott barely heard the question. He continued to stare through the glass, looking at the space where Diana had witnessed an innocent kiss, a friendship kiss, between him and a former girlfriend. He knew Linda could be a conniving individual, but he didn’t think she was insincere.

  “I have to go,” he said.

  He left the cup on the counter and moved toward the door.

  “Scott,” Linda called.

  He looked back at her.

  “Tell her,” she said.

  Chapter 10

  Diana knew she was acting like an idiot, but she didn’t care. It was childish not to answer a phone or respond to a text message. She could tell Scott she didn’t want to talk to him or she could listen to his explanation. Instead she’d taken the coward’s way out and just refused to confront the fear that he might want to be with Linda Engles and not with her.

  Diana had never called him and asked him to drop everything and come to her. She wondered it he would. Even if he was halfway across the country, would he fly to her the way he’d flown to Linda? She wasn’t sure. She’d never tested anything and had no will to do so now. She didn’t have the same history with him that Linda had. He and Linda had been lovers for three years. Diana barely had three months. But she thought the degree of intensity of their lovemaking made up for the shortness of time. It had for her.

  When she thought about it, she and Scott didn’t know each other that well. They knew the basics, like what it was like to make love, where they could touch each other to send their bodies into overdrive, but the mundane things—like what it was like growing up, when was his birthday, what was his favorite color—were things they hadn’t been together long enough to learn. And now it was likely they never would.

  Diana got out of the car feeling like stamping her feet. Instead, she slammed the car door, deciding it was time to chart her own life—without Scott. He preferred women like Linda. Diana would never be like her. And she’d make sure Scott didn’t figure into her plans. She knew the Lindas of the world, and if he wanted to spend his time or his life with someone of her character, he had her permission.

  And good riddance.

  * * *

  Diana entered the church. Seeing Scott and Linda in the window kissing had sent her nerves into burning jealousy. She hated to admit it to herself, but she wanted Scott and didn’t like knowing he preferred Linda.

  The quiet solitude of the sanctuary calmed her. She was backing Teddy up, but her partner was in control. Diana breathed slowly, allowing her heart to return to a normal beat, and smiled as the procession began.

  Her cell phone vibrated as the bride and groom joined hands. Slipping outside, Diana pulled the phone free and checked the display. Suddenly she went cold. On the small display was his MatchforLove.com email address. She hadn’t answered any of his calls. The message was a text. Diana stared at the small screen, unable to speak. She’d stopped listening to his messages. The sound of his voice sent her body into overdrive. She wanted to talk to him, but she wouldn’t, couldn’t. She couldn’t trust herself not to forgive him of everything just because that deep voice had whispered in her ear and driven her crazy with desire.

  Staring at the phone, she tried to decide if she should answer it. Should she open it and see what he had to say? Her finger was on the delete key. All she had to do was press it and the message would be gone. Her nerves would remain intact and she could return to the wedding. Finally, she opened the email. It said, Call Emergency Health Flight Services—NOW! The capital letters jumped off the screen. What happened? Why would she n
eed to call Emergency Health Services? Scott worked there, but she knew no one there, had no dealings with anyone except Scott who even knew of the service.

  A phone number accompanied the message, but it didn’t specify anyone in particular to ask for. The message was from Scott’s email address. Not a personal address, but the one he used for MatchforLove.com. Suddenly Diana panicked. Had anything happened to him? She leaned against the garden wall, her legs suddenly weak, her breath caught in her throat. She’d just seen him. The two of them.

  It could be a ruse, but Diana couldn’t take the chance. Maybe something had happened to Scott and he needed to reach her. She had to answer. She needed to know. If the message was from him, she could ignore it if she chose.

  Immediately, she dialed the number. A woman answered. “This is Diana Greer. I have a message to call this number. Is anything wrong?”

  “You need to come here right away,” the woman said.

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “Do you know where we are?”

  Diana knew. There was only one airfield in the Princeton area, and Emergency Health Flight Services had their office and planes there.

  “Please get here as soon as possible.”

  “Has something happened to Scott?” Diana’s heart was pounding so hard, she could barely hear. Her grip on the small instrument was tight enough to crush it. Her voice grew louder as she tried to get some information.

  “I have to go,” she said. “We have another emergency.”

  The woman on the phone would give her no other information, only that it involved Scott. Diana stopped. She slowed her breathing. She had not said that Scott was the emergency. She hadn’t said he wasn’t, either.

  Diana stepped back inside and signaled Teddy. Then she dialed Scott’s number. No answer. She called his landline. Again no answer. Diana had to get there. She gave Teddy a shortened version of what occurred and told her she was leaving. Teddy assured her everything was under control.

  Diana rushed to the car and sped through the zigzag streets of the township. Route 206 was only a one-lane road, and traffic stopped and started oblivious of her need to open the engine and run every stoplight to get to Scott. Finally she turned into the long driveway and sped down it. She parked in the first available space, not taking into account whether the space was legal or not.

  Diana yanked open the door to a cavernous building, then entered and found a long wooden desk with a fiftysomething woman behind it.

  “Hello, I’m Diana Greer. I talked to someone on the phone.”

  “That was me,” the woman said. “Catherine Manfred.” She offered her hand. Diana shook it.

  “Is Scott all right? Has he been hurt?” Diana didn’t recognize her own voice. She’d rushed from the wedding and could account for the out-of-breath sound, but the catch in her throat was unexpected.

  Instead of answering, Catherine Manfred handed Diana a folder. Diana opened it and found a report showing flight information from Montana to Los Angeles and a medical condition.

  “Scott had a heart attack?” Diana could hardly speak. Each word came out separately. Her legs went numb and she gripped the counter, unsure if she could remain standing. “Where is he?”

  “Hold on,” Catherine said. She rushed around the counter and supported Diana around the waist, leading her to a chair where she sat.

  “I’m sorry I frightened you. Scott is not here.”

  “Where is he?”

  “He went to get something to eat, but I saw him go into the hangar a few moments ago.”

  “But he texted me,” Diana said. “Said there was an emergency and I needed to come.”

  “Sorry, that was me. Scott was headed out. While he checked on something with the plane, I snagged his cell phone and left you the message. I needed to talk to you.”

  “Why?” Diana asked, looking at the stranger with wide eyes.

  “Because you need to talk to him. He’s a changed man since you stopped taking his calls. He’s irritable and angry and hard to get along with.”

  “That may not be because of me.”

  “Believe me,” Catherine said, “it’s because of you.”

  Somehow that made Diana feel better. She was glad to hear that he was having at least as much misery as she was.

  “If Scott didn’t have a heart attack, why did you give me this?” She indicated the folder in her hand.

  “It doesn’t say anyone had a heart attack. We’re not privy to medical details.”

  Diana looked inside again. She didn’t understand what Catherine was trying to say.

  “That’s why he left you in Montana,” she said. Diana looked up. The woman obviously knew more than Diana thought she should, but Diana was still confused.

  “If you look closer, you’ll see that he piloted a flight where he picked up a child in Waymon Valley, Montana, and flew out to Los Angeles on the day he left you.”

  Diana checked the dates. She was aware of the exact date and time he’d left her.

  “Because of him the lives of hundreds of children have been saved, including the one he brought to New York several days ago. It was all over the news.”

  Diana remembered the story. “But the call was from Linda.”

  “And you assumed it was Linda Engles, the vamp who’s been calling here for days trying to get Scott to give her some attention.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “Linda Tisdale is a scheduling and dispatch coordinator who works here. She called Scott that day. He was in Montana and convenient for getting the child to L.A. on time. Scott let us know he was going to Montana. Of course, he hadn’t told us about you at the time and we didn’t ask. When we got the call relayed from another emergency service that couldn’t respond, he was in a perfect location. As you could tell, he didn’t hesitate to answer.”

  “I feel like such an idiot. I wouldn’t talk to him, wouldn’t let him explain.”

  “All is not lost,” Catherine said. Her tone was that of a loving mother. “You have a chance to say you’re sorry.”

  “Thank you,” Diana said.

  “There’s just one thing I want you to do.”

  Diana nodded.

  “Don’t tell Scott I interfered. He hates that.”

  Diana laughed.

  “You know how men like to think they can handle their own problems,” the woman said.

  “Women, too.”

  * * *

  When Diana misjudged someone, she did it on a grand scale. She left the Emergency Health Flight Servies offices, her feet dragging as if she were trying to carry a weight three times her size. How could she have been so wrong? And how could Scott let her believe that he was going to see Linda when all along he was rushing away to save someone’s life? She’d told him once he was one of the good guys, yet she didn’t let that knowledge keep her from destroying his character when it came to Linda Engles.

  Right now Diana needed to talk to Scott. She needed to apologize for her comments, for what she thought of him. She pulled her cell out and dialed his number. She got his voice mail. Disconnecting without leaving a message, she wondered if he was ignoring her calls, since she’d ignored his. She wondered where he was. Where could she find him?

  She started into a fast walk, then ran toward the hangar where Scott kept the corporate jet he flew. The wind pulled the curl out of her hair. By the time she reached the edge of the building she was out of breath. The shaded interior temporarily blinded her. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust from the bright sunshine outside.

  “Scott,” she called. Her voice was weak, and in the cavernous space it could barely be heard. She looked around. The plane sat silently, like a giant white fly on the floor of a big house. “Scott,” she said a little louder, taking tentative steps toward the
plane.

  A man came out from behind the giant bird. “Who are you calling?” he asked. He wore coveralls and had white hair. He was wiping his hands on a shrimp-colored cloth.

  “Scott Thomas.”

  “Up there.” He indicated the plane and turned back to whatever he’d been doing before she came in.

  Diana looked at where up there was. She walked around the plane and saw the stairs against the fuselage. Scott was inside the plane. Diana took the steps one at a time. She went inside, standing in the middle of the floor and looking first in one direction, then in the other. She’d logged over a million miles in the last five years, been on countless types of aircrafts, DC-10s, crop dusters and 787s, but this plane, except for its scale, could rival Air Force One.

  Taking a few steps to her right, she came upon a lounge complete with curved seating, ambience lighting, big-screen television, a desk and chairs. The whole place looked like something out of Star Trek: futuristic, functional and designed for comfort. Her breath escaped, and she put a hand to her mouth to keep it from totally leaving her without air. She’d made a huge amount of money from her business enterprise, but she could not afford one engine of this superplane.

  She heard a noise behind her and jumped as if she’d been caught doing something wrong. Scott stood there. He wore a pilot’s uniform. Diana had never seen him in it. He looked strong and confident, as if he belonged in it.

  “Scott,” she said, her mouth dry. She wanted to apologize, but didn’t know where to begin. She hadn’t expected this environment. She expected to be on the ground. This was like being in some futuristic paradise.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Diana dropped her arms. “I came to apologize.”

  “For not returning my phone calls?” He came forward.

  She wanted to move back, but felt rooted to the floor. “Yes,” she said. “But not only that. I need to apologize for doubting you. I know about Linda Tisdale. I know she was the voice on the other end of the phone and not Linda Engles. You left me to go and save a life. I feel so guilty.”