The waiter disappeared, leaving them with fresh coffee and dessert. Across the table Annabelle was hissing at St. Louis’s preeminent heart surgeon, who’d twisted a lock of her hair around his finger and announced he wouldn’t let go until she told everyone about the time she wet her pants at Laurie somebody’s birthday party.

Heath rose to his feet. Adam dropped Annabelle’s hair, and she kicked him under the table. “Ouch!” Adam rubbed his leg. “That hurt!”

“Good.”

“Children…”

Heath smiled. He loved this. “I hope nobody minds, but I have a couple of things to say. First, you’re terrific people. Thanks for letting me be a part of this evening.”

A chorus of “Here, here” followed, accompanied by the clink of wineglasses. Only Annabelle remained silent and suspicious, but what he was about to say should wipe that frown right off her face.

“I wasn’t fortunate enough to grow up with a family like yours. I think all of you know how lucky you are to have one another.” He gazed at Annabelle, but she was trying to find her napkin, which Adam had passed under the table to Doug. He waited until her head came back up.

“It’s been almost five months since you barged into my office wearing that awful yellow suit, Annabelle. In that time, you’ve turned my life upside down.”

Kate’s hand shot out, bracelets jangling. “If you’ll just be patient, I’m sure she’ll do her very best to make things right. Annabelle is an extremely hard worker. Granted, her professional methods might not be what you’re accustomed to, but her heart’s in the right place.”

Doug snapped a pen from his pocket. “I’m planning to go over all her records before I leave. With a little reorganization, a firmer hand on the reins, her operation should be stabilized in no time.”

Annabelle set her chin in her hand and sighed.

“This isn’t about Perfect for You,” Heath said.

They regarded him blankly.

“She renamed her company,” he said patiently. “It’s no longer Marriages by Myrna. She calls it Perfect for You.”

Adam gazed at her in puzzlement. “Is that true?”

Candace adjusted an earring. “Couldn’t you have found something catchier?”

“I don’t remember hearing about this,” Doug said.

“Neither do I.” Chet set down his coffee cup. “Nobody tells me anything.”

“I told you,” Kate replied tartly. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have it announced on the Golf Channel.”

“What kind of company?” Lucille said.

While Adam explained that his sister was a matchmaker, Doug pulled out his BlackBerry. “I’m sure it didn’t occur to you to investigate trademark protection.”

Heath realized he was losing them, and he turned up the volume. “The point is…Until I met Annabelle, I thought I had my life figured out, but it didn’t take her long to point out that I’d made some serious errors in my calculations.”

Kate winced. “Oh, dear. I know she’s not always tactful, but she means well.”

Annabelle picked up Adam’s wrist and looked at his watch. Heath wished she had a little more trust. “I know everyone here recognizes how special Annabelle is,” he said, “but I haven’t known her as long, and it took me a while to figure it out.”