The Invitation (Matchmaker Trilogy) (3 page)

“I do. I live well.”

“You’re about to live better,” Victoria stated firmly. “Two weeks in July. As my companion.”

Shaye laughed. “Your companion? That’s a new one.”

“This trip is.”

“What trip?”

“We’re going to Colombia, you and I, and then on to Costa Rica.”

“You aren’t serious.”

“Very. We’re going on a treasure hunt.”

Shaye stared at the receiver before returning it to her ear. “Want to run that by me again?”

“A treasure hunt, Shaye. We’ll fly to Barranquilla, spend the night in a luxury hotel, drive to Puerto Colombia and then sail in style across the Caribbean. You can do all the sleeping you want on the boat. By the time we reach Costa Rica you’ll be refreshed and ready to dig for pirates’ gold.”

Shaye made no attempt to muffle her moan. “Oh, Victoria, where did you dream this one up?”

“I didn’t dream it up. It was handed to me on a silver platter. The expedition is being led by a friend of a friend, a professor from Dartmouth who even has a map.”

“Pirates’ gold?” Shaye echoed skeptically.

Victoria waved a negligent hand in the air. “Well, I don’t actually know what the treasure consists of, but it sounds like a fun time, don’t you think?”

“I think it sounds—”

“Absurd. I knew you would, but believe me, sweetheart, this is a guaranteed adventure.”

“For you. But why
me?
”

“Because I need you along for protection.”

“Come again?”

“I need you for protection.”

Shaye’s laugh was even fuller this time. “The day you need protection will be the day they put you in the ground, and even then, I suspect they’ll be preparing for outrageous happenings at the pearly gates. Try another one.”

Anticipating resistance, Victoria had thought of every possible argument. This one was her most powerful, so she repeated it a third time, adding a note of desperation to her voice. “I need your protection, Shaye. This trip was arranged for me by some friends, and I’m sure they have mischief in mind.”

“And you’d drag me along to suffer their mischief? No way, Victoria. I’m not in the market for mischief.”

“They’re trying to fix me up. I know they are. Their hearts are in the right place, but I don’t need fixing up. I don’t want it.” She lowered her voice. “You, of all people, ought to understand.”

Shaye understood all too well. Closing her eyes, she tried to recall the many times people had tried—the many times Victoria herself had tried—to fix her up with men who were sure to be the answer to her prayers. What they failed to realize was that Shaye’s prayers were different from most other people’s.

“All I’m asking,” Victoria went on in the same deliberately urgent tone, “is that you act as a buffer. If I have you with me, I won’t be quite so available to some aging lothario.”

“What if they’re fixing you up with a younger guy? It’s done all the time.”

Then he’s all yours, sweetheart.
“No. My friends wouldn’t do that. At least,” she added after sincere pause, “I don’t think they would.”

Shaye began, one by one, to remove the pins that had held her thick auburn hair in a twist since dawn. “I can’t believe you’re asking this of me,” she said.

Victoria wasn’t about to be touched by the weariness in her voice. “Have I ever asked much else?”

“No.”

“And think of what you’ll be getting out of the trip yourself. A luxurious sail through the Caribbean. Plenty of sun and clean air. We can spend a couple of extra days in Barranquilla if you want.”

“Victoria, I don’t even know if I can arrange for those two weeks, let alone a couple of extra days.”

“You can arrange it. I have faith.”

“You always have faith. That’s the trouble. Now your faith is directed at some pirate stash. For years and years people have been digging for pirate treasure. Do you honestly believe anything’s left to be found?”

“The point of the trip isn’t the treasure, it’s the hunt. And for you it will be the rest and the sun and—”

“The clean air. I know.”

“Then you’ll come?”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“You have to. I’ve already made the arrangements.” It was a little white lie, but Victoria felt it was justified. She’d simply call Samson VanBaar and tell him one more person would be joining them. What was another person? Shaye ate like a bird, and if there was a shortage of sleeping space, Victoria herself would scrunch up on the floor.

“You’re forcing me into this,” Shaye accused, but her voice held an inkling of surrender.

“That’s right.”

“If I say no, you’ll probably call the senior partner of my firm first thing tomorrow.”

“I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s not a bad idea.”

Shaye screwed up her face. “Isn’t there
anyone
else you can bring along in my place?”

“No one I’d rather be with.”

“That’s emotional blackmail.”

“So be it.”

“Oh, Victoria…”

“Is that a yes?”

For several minutes, Shaye said nothing. She didn’t want to traipse off in search of treasure. She didn’t want to take two weeks in July, rather than the two weeks she’d planned on in August. She didn’t want to have to spend her vacation acting as a buffer, when so much of her time at work was spent doing that.

But Victoria was near and dear to her. Victoria had stood by her, compassionate and forgiving when she’d nearly made a mess of her life. Victoria understood her, as precious few others did.

“Are we on?” came the gentle voice from New York.

From Philadelphia came a sigh, then a soft-spoken, if resigned, “We’re on.”

Later that night, as Shaye worked a brush through the thick fall of her hair, she realized that she’d given in for two basic reasons. The first was the she adored Victoria. Time spent with her never failed to be uplifting.

The second was that, in spite of all she might say to the contrary, the thought of spending two weeks in a rented cottage in the Berkshires had a vague air of loneliness to it.

*   *   *

V
ICTORIA, MEANWHILE
, basked in her triumph without the slightest twinge of guilt. Shaye needed rest, and she’d get it. She needed a change of scenery, and she’d get that too. Adventure was built into the itinerary, and along the way if a man materialized who could make her niece laugh the way she’d done once upon a time, so much the better.

A spunky doctoral candidate would do the trick. Or a fun-loving assistant professor. Samson VanBaar had to be bringing a few interesting people along on the trip, didn’t he?

She glanced at the temple clock atop a nearby chest. Was ten too late to call? Definitely not. One could learn a lot about a man by phoning him at night.

Without another thought, she contacted information for Hanover, New Hampshire, then punched out his home number. The phone rang twice before a rather bland, not terribly young female voice came on the line. “Hello,” it said. “You have reached the residence of Samson VanBaar. The professor is not in at the moment. If you’d care to leave a message, he will be glad to return your call. Please wait for the sound of the tone.”

Victoria thought quickly as she waited. Nothing learned here; the man could be asleep or he could be out. But perhaps it was for the best that she was dealing with a machine. She could leave her message without giving him a chance to refuse her request on the spot.

The tone sounded.

“This is Victoria Lesser calling from New York. Garrick Rodenhiser has arranged for me to join your expedition to Costa Rica, but there has been a minor change in my plans. My niece, Shaye Burke, will be accompanying me. She is twenty-nine, attractive, intelligent and hardworking. I’ll personally arrange for her flight to and from Colombia, and, of course, I’ll pay all additional costs. Assuming you have no problem with this plan, Shaye and I will see you in Barranquilla on the fourteenth of July.”

Pleased with herself, she hung up the phone.

Four days later, she received a cryptic note typed on a plain postcard. The postmark read, “Hanover, NH,” and the note read, very simply, “Received your message and have made appropriate arrangements. Until the fourteenth—VanBaar.”

Though it held no clue to the man himself, at least he hadn’t banned Shaye from the trip, and for that she was grateful. Shaye had called the night before to say she’d managed to clear the two weeks with her firm, and Victoria had already contacted both the Costa Rican Embassy in New York regarding visas and her travel agent regarding a second set of airline tickets.

They were going on a treasure hunt. No matter what resulted in the realm of romance, Victoria was sure of one thing: come hell or high water, she and Shaye were going to have a time to remember.

2

T
HE FOURTEENTH OF
J
ULY
was not one of Shaye’s better days. Having worked late at the office the night before to clear her desk, then rushing home to pack for the trip, she’d gotten only four hours’ sleep before rising to shower, dress and catch an early train into New York to meet Victoria. Their plane was forty-five minutes late leaving Kennedy and the flight was a turbulent one, though Shaye suspected that a certain amount of the turbulence she experienced was internal. She had a headache and her stomach wouldn’t settle. It didn’t help that they nearly missed their transfer in Miami, and when they finally landed in Barranquilla, their luggage took forever to appear. She was cursing the Colombian heat by the time they reached their hotel, and after waiting an additional uncomfortable hour for their room to be ready, she discovered that she’d gotten her period.

“Why me?” she moaned softly as she curled into a chair.

Victoria came to the rescue with aspirin and water. “Here, sweetheart. Swallow these down, then take a nap. You’ll feel better after you’ve had some sleep.”

Not about to argue, when all she wanted was an escape from her misery, Shaye dutifully swallowed the aspirin, then undressed, sponged off the heat of the trip, drew back the covers of one of the two double beds in the room and slid between the sheets. She was asleep within minutes.

It was evening when a gentle touch on her shoulder awakened her. Momentarily disoriented, she peered around the room, then up at Victoria.

“You missed the zoo.”

“Huh?”

“And you didn’t even know I’d gone. Shame on you. But I’m back, and I thought I’d get a bite to eat. Want anything?”

Shaye began to struggle up, but Victoria easily pressed her back to the bed.

“No, no, sweetheart. I’ll bring it here. You need rest far more than you need to sit in a restaurant.”

Shaye was finally getting her bearings. “But … your professor. Aren’t we supposed to meet him?”

Settling on the edge of the bed, Victoria shook her head. “He sent a message saying he’ll be tied up stocking the boat for a good part of the night. We’re to meet him there tomorrow morning at nine.”

“Where’s there?”

“A small marina in Puerto Colombia, about fifteen miles east of here. The boat is called the
Golden Echo.
”

“The
Golden Echo.
Appropriate.”

Victoria gave an impish grin. “I thought so, too. Pirates’ gold. Echoes of the past. It’s probably just a coincidence, since I assume the boat is rented.”

“Don’t assume it. If VanBaar does this sort of thing often, he could well own the boat.” She hesitated, then ventured cautiously, “He does do this sort of thing often, doesn’t he?”

“I really don’t know.”

“How large is the boat?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“How large is our group?”

Victoria raised both brows, pressed her lips together in a sheepish kind of way and shrugged.

“Victoria,” Shaye wailed, fully awake now and wishing she weren’t, “don’t you ask questions before you jump into things?”

“What do I need to ask? I know that Samson VanBaar is Garrick’s friend, and I trust Garrick.”

“You dragged me along because you
didn’t
trust him.”

“I didn’t trust that he wouldn’t try to foist me off on some unsuspecting man, but that’s a lesser issue here. The greater issue is the trip itself. Garrick would never pull any punches in the overall scheme of things.”

Shaye tugged at a hairpin that was digging into her scalp. “Exactly what
do
you know about this trip?”

“Just what I’ve told you.”

“Which is precious little.”

“Come on, sweetheart. The details will come. They’ll unfold like a lovely surprise.”

“I hate surprises.”

“Mmm. You like to know what’s happening before it happens. That’s the computerized you.” Her gaze dropped briefly to the tiny mark at the top of Shaye’s breast, a small shadow beneath the lace edging of her bra. “But there’s another side, Shaye, and this trip’s going to bring it out. You’ll learn to accept it and control it. It’s really not such a bad thing when taken in moderation.”

“Victoria…”

“Look at it this way. You’re with me. I’ll be your protector, just as you’ll be mine.”

“How can you protect me from something you can’t anticipate?”

“Oh, I can anticipate.” She tipped up her head and fixed a dreamy gaze on the wall. “I’m anticipating that boat. It’ll be a beauty. Long and sleek, with polished brass fittings and crisp white sails. We’ll have a lovely stateroom to share. The food will be superb, the martinis nice and dry…”

“You hope.”

“And why not? Look around. I wouldn’t exactly call this room a hovel.”

“No, but it could well be the equivalent of a last meal for the condemned.”

Victoria clucked her tongue. “Such pessimism in one so young.”

Shaye shifted onto her side. She was achy all over. “Right about now, I feel ninety years old.”

“When you’re ninety, you won’t have to worry about monthly cramps. When you’re fifty, for that matter.” She grinned. “I rather like my age.”

“What’s not to like about sixteen?”

“Now, now, do I sound that irresponsible?”

“Carefree may be a better word, or starry-eyed, or naive. Victoria, for all you know the
Golden Echo
may be a leaky tub and Samson VanBaar a blundering idiot.”