Matchmaker 10: October

I smiled slowly. "Saqui," I said. "Saqui Whiterock."

"You must trust her or you wouldn't have left her alone with your dogs." I nodded. "Then trust her now. Take a chance. Take a chance to do something you love. Take a chance and come to California with me."

"Will you be there?"

"In Big Bear?" I nodded. "Depends on what you want. It's only two hours from Los Angeles, and it's not like I have to go into work every day."

"If I don't want you living with me?"

"Then I'll say in L.A. Maybe we can get together on weekends."

I swallowed hard. He'd effectively boxed me in and removed every excuse. If I didn't go now, it was because I didn't want to. But I did want to. I wanted to badly.

"And if I go and it doesn't work out?"

He smiled. It was the first time I'd even suggested I'd consider it. "Then it doesn't. You can return to Oklahoma, or you can keep renting from me, or you can find someplace else. It's up to you. I've instructed my accountant to pay the bill from TuxedOES Kennels for six months. That should be long enough to know if we have something, don't you think?"

I nodded slowly. "How much is the rent?"

He beamed. "Say yes and we can negotiate it. Maybe we can work it out in trade."

"No," I said firmly. "No, if I do this, I have to pay you rent. I won't be kept by you."

"Fine. Whatever you want."

"And I can have my dogs?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

I licked my lips again as I thought. I really did enjoy training dogs. It was what I was passionate about, but training dogs alone didn't generate enough income for me to live on. At least not in Oklahoma. But in Hollywood? Was it possible? He was quiet, letting me work it out for myself. I looked at him.

"Do you think I could do it?"

"What?"

"Make a living training dogs?"

He smiled. "I guarantee it. I won't let you starve, Lydia."

I shook my head again. "No. I have to do this on my own. Do you think it's possible?"

"Will you let me help you get started? Introduce you around?" I nodded. "It might take you a few years to get some name recognition, but yes, if you're good, not only do I think you can make it, I think you can be very successful."

I swallowed hard again, my nerves jangling, my heart pounding in my chest, my body very much in fight or flight mode. I swallowed one more time, trying to get some moisture into my suddenly dry mouth. "How much is rent?"

"How much is your house payment?"

"869 dollars a month."

A flicker of a smile danced over his lips. "Huh. What do you know? That's the exact amount of the rent."

I smiled. He was toying with me. The price of houses in California were famously expensive, and if the house was in the mountains outside L.A., it was probably even more so. There was no way my puny little nine-hundred-dollar rent would come anywhere close to covering his costs. My smile spread as I suddenly made up my mind.

"Rent seems a little steep. Think we can negotiate that down a little?" I asked, my voice teasing. "After all, I'd be just starting out."

His face lit up with a smile. "I don't know. What have you got to offer me?"

I smiled back. "What do you want?"

His face suddenly became serious. "You."

For such a simple answer it had a profound effect on me. The urge to cry was back, but his time I knew why tears threatened. "I want you too." I sniffed back my tears. "Do you think we can make it work?"

He touched my face, his touch soft. "I'm sure of it. I'm done with L.A. No matter what happens, I'm leaving it behind."

"Don't do that for me."

"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for me. I don't have to live in Hollywood to work there." He smiled as he caressed my face again. "Depending on how I like the area, I might buy a house in Big Bear. There's a lot there to recommend it."

"What?" I asked as I leaned my cheek into his palm.

"Peace. Beauty. Comfort."

I pulled his hand to my lips and kissed it. "Do you think I'll like it there?"

"I hope so, but if not, we can find another place. The where isn't important. The with who is."

I nodded. I was making a big leap of faith, but it felt right, and if it worked out, not only would I be doing something I loved, maybe I'd be doing it with someone I loved. I took a deep breath and steeled myself. I was about to take another leap of faith.

"I love you," I said softly, watching his face for his reaction.

A tiny smile quirked the corner of his lips. "Do you mean that?"

I nodded. "Yes. I'm falling in love with you." It wasn't nearly as hard to say the second time.

His smile spread as he pulled my lips to his. "And I'm falling in love with you."

I pulled him to me as I fell backwards to the bed, dragging him down with me. He kissed me, and it was the best kiss of my life because I finally accepted what I'd been trying to deny for the past week. I was falling for him, and I was falling hard.

He slowly pulled away and smiled at me. I smiled broadly. "I love you, Lydia Bryant."

"I love you, Barry Quiloski," I replied and was rewarded with a brilliant smile. He kissed me again and my heart swelled with emotion. We still had a lot of decisions to make, and it may not work in the end, but I would do everything I could to make our life together succeed. He'd met me more than halfway. I could go the rest.

We sighed out of the kiss. "Now, about that rent," I murmured.

He held my eyes for a moment as he smiled. "Ready to begin our negotiations?" I nodded. "I warn you, I'm a hard negotiator."

I giggled. I couldn't remember ever being happier than I was at this moment. "Oh God, I hope so, but I warn you, I'm no pushover. It might take a long time before we reach a mutually satisfactory conclusion."

His smile spread. "Oh God, I hope so," he murmured as he took my lips again.

I dialed Mr. Quillon's number, listening to the phone purr in my ear. It had been almost four months since I'd paired him with Ms. Bryant, and his name had bubbled to the top of my follow up call list. As the phone rang, I steeled myself for the bad news. I didn't have as much confidence in Ms. Bryant and Mr. Quillon's pairing as I had in some others.

"Hello, Brooklyn," a female's voice said.

I was caught slightly off guard that a woman answered, and that she knew my name. "Mr. Barrett Quillon, please."

"He's outside at the moment. This is Lydia. Can I help you?"

"Lydia Bryant?"

"Yes."

Barrett was my client, but I was also interested in how my companions fared. A lasting match required that both the client and companion were happy, otherwise an unsuccessful pairing was almost guaranteed. The fact Lydia answered Barrett's phone bode well.

"How are you, Ms. Bryant?"

"I'm doing great! Yesterday Barrett and I met with some Hollywood bigwig. He's in preproduction on a movie with talking dogs, and they might give me a shot at training the hero dog, as they call it. If I can land it, it'll be my first paying job since I moved to California."

"I'm glad to hear that. I assume everything is going well with you and Mr. Quillon?"

"Everything is terrific! I've never been happier! It's cold up here in the mountains, but the dogs love the cooler weather. They've never seen snow before, and they're so funny running around and playing in it."

I smile gleefully. She sounded happy, much happier than when I initially interviewed her, and especially when I spoke with her on the phone to determine if she was agreeable to being paired with Barrett. I hadn't had much confidence in their chances in the beginning, but it sounded like Barrett was exactly what she needed, and perhaps she was what he needed as well.

"Will Mr. Quillon be returning soon?"

"He just came in. Hold on." I heard her call his name, then the sound of a phone being passed. "It's Brooklyn."

"Hello, Brooklyn! What can I do for you?"

"This is my four-month follow up call to make sure you're satisfied with my services."

"More than satisfied. You changed my life for the better."

"Oh?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah. I was an asshole, both to you and Lydia. I'm sorry for how I treated you."

This wasn't the Barrett Quillon who had driven me to drinking in the early afternoon. "Water under the bridge, Mr. Quillon."

"Call me Barrett. While it may be water under the bridge for you, I still wanted to apologize to you for my... attitude. I've been doing that a lot lately."

"Apologizing?"

"Yes. To my accountant, my manager, lots of people, people I didn't treat with the respect they deserved. Because of how I acted, I made their lives unnecessarily difficult. You were one of those people, and I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted."

"Do you know why I've been apologizing?"

"Ms. Bryant?"

"Yes. Ms. Lydia Bryant. She showed me a better way. She's made me want to be a better person, and I guess for that, I owe you my thanks."

"You paid me well. No thanks necessary."

"How did you know?"

"Know?"

"Yeah. How did you know she was what I was looking for? I didn't even know it myself. In fact, when I first met her, I thought she was a bit of a ball busting bitch."

His voice was teasing, but I still grimaced, hoping Ms. Bryant wasn't around to hear him say that when I heard a faint, "I am not!" in the background.

"I guess I must like ball busting bitches because now I can't imagine living without her," he continued, his voice still full of mirth.

"I'm glad it worked out for you."

"It did," he said, his voice more serious. "I meant it when I said I can't imagine living without her, and more than that, she's the person I aspire to emulate. There's nothing she can't handle, and she's not an asshole while doing it, unlike I was."

"Are you two living together?"

It was really none of my business, but it gave me a sense of if they were going to make it as a couple or not. Some of my clients and companions moved in together right away, others took their time. The important part was, were they planning a future together? I'd found that after three or four months, if couples were still planning their future together, they generally made it.

"No, not yet, but I'm working on getting out of L.A. permanently. I already spend more time in Big Bear than I do in Los Angeles, and I'm actively looking to buy or build a house here. Once that's done, I'll put my house in L.A. on the market, but regardless of what happens between Lydia and me, I won't be going back. Not to live anyway."

I'd had my doubts about their chances when I paired them up, but now I had a good feeling about them. "It sounds like you have a plan."

"We do. That's another thing I like about her. She thinks about the consequences of her actions and doesn't act on impulse. That's another thing I'm trying to learn, so I'm taking this slow."

"Then I wish you both the best of luck."

"Thank you."

"May I count on you for referrals and references?"

"Absolutely! If there's anything I can do, all you have to do is ask."

I sucked on my teeth a moment. Having a video of Barrett Quillon recommending my services would be a huge boon. "Would you mind making me a video testimonial? I'll be happy to pay for it, of course."

"I'd be delighted, but no charge. Consider it my gift to you for what you've done for me. I'll handle everything. Spielberg owes me a favor." I flashed hot with the thought, but before I could respond he continued, his tone teasing. "Just kidding, but I do have contacts. I'll put something together and get it to you for your approval in the next few weeks. Is that good enough?"

I released the breath I didn't know I was holding and smiled. Barrett was in full charming mode, and I wondered if that was the new him. "That will be perfect. Thank you very much."

"It's nothing compared to what you've done for me."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No," he said softly, and I had the sense he was looking at Lydia when he spoke again. "You've done enough, and I mean that in all the best ways."

"Very good. If there's ever anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to call."

"I won't, and again, thank you."

"You're very welcome, Mr. Quillon," I replied before I hung up.

I smiled at the phone for a moment before I rose. I was going to have a glass of wine. I walked to the kitchen, pulled a wine glass from the cabinet, and poured a splash from the bottle in the refrigerator.

It was a little early to be drinking wine, not quite four in the afternoon, but that was the nice thing about working out of my home office. There was nobody around to disapprove if I wanted a glass while I was working. Besides, I was in a mood to celebrate. I took a sip of the lovely red and hoisted the glass in a silent salute to the woman who had stolen the playboy's heart... and scored me a promotional video from none other than Barrett Quillon.

With a small smile, I carried my glass with me back to my office. I still had plenty of work to do for other clients.