Finally, she put the anger where it belonged, on her own shoulders. He wasn’t to blame for those sexual images that wanted to burn themselves into her brain when her guard was down. To him, this was business. She was the one who’d let it become personal, and if she forgot that again, she deserved the consequences.

On Thursday evening before she headed to Sienna’s for the next round of introductions, she met her newest client at Earwax. Ray Fiedler had been referred by a relative of one of Nana’s oldest friends, and Annabelle had sent him on his first date the night before with a Loyola faculty member she’d met during her campus cruising. “We had a nice time and everything,” Ray said after they’d settled around one of Earwax’s wooden tables, which was painted like the wheel of a circus wagon, “but Carole’s not really my physical type.”

“How do you mean?” Annabelle drew her eyes away from the ominous beginnings of his comb-over. She knew the answer, but she wanted to make him say it.

“She’s…I mean, she’s a really nice woman. A lot of people don’t get my jokes. It’s just that I like women who are…more fit.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“Carole’s a little overweight.”

She took a sip of her cappuccino and studied the red-and-gold wooden dragon on the wall rather than the extra twenty pounds that hung around what used to be Ray Fiedler’s waistline.

He wasn’t stupid. “I know I’m not exactly Mr. Buff myself, but I work out.”

Annabelle fought the urge to reach across the table and smack him in the head. Still, this type of challenge was part of what she liked about being a matchmaker. “You usually date thin women, then?”

“They don’t have to be beauty queens, but the women I’ve dated have been pretty nice looking.”

Annabelle pretended to look thoughtful. “I’m a little confused. When we first talked, you gave me the impression that you hadn’t dated in a long time.”

“Well, I haven’t, but…”

She let him squirm for a few moments. A kid with multiple piercings passed their table followed by a pair of soccer moms. “So this weight thing is really important to you? More important than personality or intelligence?”

He looked as if she’d asked a trick question. “I just had somebody a little …different in mind.”

And don’t we all? Annabelle thought. The Fourth of July weekend was coming up, and she had no date, no prospects for a date, and no plans beyond starting her exercise program again and trying not to brood about the Wind Lake book club retreat. Ray fiddled with his spoon, and her annoyance with him faded. He was a decent guy, just clueless.

“Maybe you’re not a love match,” she said, “but I’ll tell you the same thing I told Carole last night when she expressed a few misgivings. You have a common background, and you enjoyed each other’s company. I think that justifies another date, regardless of your current lack of physical attraction. If nothing else, you could end up with a friend.”