Guiltily, his eyes shot up to her face.
“To find the right woman for you,” she continued blithely. “And if you allow me to do what I do best, I will do exactly that. Do you have any questions?”
Derrick had questions all right. Was she a moaner or a screamer? The thought brought to mind images so provocative he felt the stirring of desire from his brain to the lap of his trousers. A lot of the men he knew were attracted to the petite, insanely thin women who graced magazine covers and television ads, but Derrick had always preferred the more robust, more Rubenesque female body.
While his buddies were drooling over Halle Berry, he was having wet dreams about Queen Latifah. He shifted in his chair, trying to hide his growing erection.
“Mr. Brandt?”
Derrick swallowed hard and tried to bring his mind back to the matter at hand. “No, no questions.” He cleared his throat loudly. “So, what do I have to do to get started?”
“Well, first I need to get some basic information.” She reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a file. “Just a short interview to give me a better understanding of the qualities you feel are most important.”
She clicked her retractable pen and opened the file. “Let’s start with physical attributes. What do you find attractive in a woman?”
“Large breasts.”
Derrick watched as she scribbled rapid notes in the file. “Okay, anything else?”
“She needs to be a good breeder.”
Her pen paused over the page for several seconds. “A good breeder?” Oh goodness. I get all kinds in here!
“Yes. Wide hips, sturdy pelvis, that sort of thing.”
“Hmm, oookaaay.” The scribbling continued. “How about looks?”
“Nice looking, but I don’t want a woman who attracts too much attention from other men.” His eyes narrowed in painful remembrance of the last great beauty he’d allowed too close. “I don’t share.”
She scribbled something on the page before her. “So, let’s say average beauty. And educational level?”
“Smart enough to know not to betray me.” Derrick crossed his ankle over his knee to pick off a piece of lint that had gotten trapped in the cuff of his perfectly creased pant leg.
“Hmm…” Her thin brows crinkled as she continued to scribble. “And personality?”
“Good with kids, not too demanding of my time, and financially self-sufficient.” He snorted. “If I wanted to take care of something, I’d adopt a puppy.”
Derrick watched uneasily as she laid the pen down, slowly closed the manila file, and folded her hands together on top of it.
“Mr. Brandt, I was under the impression you were looking for a permanent relationship, a wife.”
“I am.”
“Then, I must say, I’m a little surprised by your responses so far.” She reopened the file and glanced down at what she’d written. “An average-looking woman, who will apparently spend her life in fear of your wrath and be at your beck and call. Not to mention that she is expected to fully support herself despite your wealth and resources.” She glanced at him. “I have to admit, I can’t think of a single woman in my client profiles who fits such a description.”
“Well, I guess you are going to have to expand your client-profile list.”
She shut the file once more, and sat back in the chair. “Or…you’re going to have to find another matchmaker.”
Derrick flinched inwardly, knowing he was about to blow an interview that meant much more to him than he could ever let on. He nervously picked at his pant leg as his mind calculated the best way forward.
On some level, Derrick understood that despite his financial success, Love Unlimited was probably his best chance at romantic happiness.
For the past ten years, Derrick had dated countless women in the pursuit of one—just one…the right one, and had yet to find her.
What he had found instead was his fiancée, Anita, in bed with his college roommate, Chris. He’d also found Carol, the stewardess who had stolen his Amex Black card and taken a group of girlfriends on a one-week, eight-thousand-dollar vacation to Cabo. As pathetic as it was, Derrick knew in his heart that he would’ve forgiven her for the theft. Eight thousand dollars wasn’t even a dent in his wallet. No, it wasn’t the theft that had ended the relationship, but the advanced case of crabs she had brought back from the trip.
Then there was Mira, a reporter for the Philadelphia Herald, whom he discovered was willing to do just about anything, including sleeping with a man—him—she apparently despised, all for the sake of getting enough inside information for a front-page exposé.
Opening the morning paper to find his pillow talk smeared across the front page was a particularly painful blow. Especially considering the engagement ring he’d purchased for her the day before.
There were others, many other failed relationships with fault lying on both sides to varying degrees. Derrick had almost given up hope of ever finding a compatible woman to spend his life with.
Then, about a month ago, his business partner, Camille, dropped a small article on his desk. It was a lifestyle piece about a small local matchmaking service boasting a one hundred percent compatibility rate among its clientele.
From the moment he walked through the glass double doors of Love Unlimited that morning, Derrick had known there was something special about Noelle Brown. Although, he couldn’t fully identify the sensation, he trusted her. And Derrick was a man who took instinct seriously. Most of his present success could be owed to following his gut.
Along with an astute understanding of human nature that had served him well in business if not in his personal relationships, Derrick had overcome incredible odds to become one of the most successful architects in Philadelphia.
Now all he sought to complete his life was the one missing piece of the puzzle, someone trustworthy to share it with. A woman with the social grace and poise of Camille. The emotional openness of a rose in bloom. And the carnal appetite of a nymphomaniac.
Looking at the beauty sitting across from him, Derrick couldn’t help wondering about Noelle Brown’s carnal appetites. His eyes flashed to the small solitaire diamond wedding ring on her finger. Lucky Mr. Brown.
He cleared his throat and sat up straighter. “Why don’t you tell me which part of what I’ve said you find the most difficult to work with.”
She gestured to the file. “All of it. But if I had to pick one specific thing, it would be the financial requirement. I can’t think of a single woman who would agree to marry you and then be expected to continue to support herself completely. You’re one of the wealthiest men in Philadelphia, and a marriage is a partnership, Mr. Brandt.”
She lifted a knowing eyebrow. “And the ‘smart enough not to betray me’ thing. Quite frankly, that statement causes me a great deal of alarm.”
Hearing it repeated back like that, it did sound bad to Derrick. Eloquence was never his strong suit. He knew that if he ever found the right woman, he would worship her with lavish gifts every day and ravenous attention to her body every night. He would hold her as the dearest thing in his life, considering the many years he’d waited for her.
As always, he didn’t have the right, diplomatic words often needed to express his feelings when it came to his love life. Instead, his eyes said it all. A problem that had haunted him his whole life and had cost him greatly on more than one occasion.
Camille was always telling Derrick that he had no filter. That something in the brain that kept people from saying exactly what they were thinking seemed to be lacking in him. It always had been. That lack of tact on his part had