“I suppose there is that.”
“On the bright side,” Charles began with a grin, “at least you only offered her a temporary position.”
Gideon permitted himself the luxury of a snort. “As if I’m going to be able to rescind my temporary offer. That would deliver more than a disappointing blow to Adelaide.”
“Which is rather telling.”
“What’s telling?” Camilla asked, strolling up to join them, El Cid having been returned to her arms.
“Gideon’s having second thoughts about telling Adelaide she can do some filing and research work for the accounting firm, if only on a temporary basis.”
Camilla’s gaze sharpened on him. “You invited Adelaide into the firm?”
“It was completely unintentional, but she was feeling a little overwhelmed by all the attention she’s receiving these days. I apparently felt compelled to cheer her up, and the next thing I knew, I asked her if she’d like to peruse old files and organize them for the firm.”
“I suppose I’m not actually surprised you caved into Adelaide’s desire to be involved with your organization, even if it sounds as if you’ve offered her a menial position,” Camilla said, giving El Cid a pat and earning a rumble in return. “You do seem susceptible to her whims—a result, no doubt, of that spark I detected between the two of you weeks ago.”
“What is it with you and this sparking business?” was all Gideon could think to respond. “You know I’m not a man prone to nonsense like that.”
She sent him an overly sweet smile. “And you can keep telling yourself that, dear Gideon, but it won’t make those sparks go away.” She leaned closer, stilling when El Cid let out a roar, quite as if he was worried she was going to relinquish him to Gideon. She gave him another pat. “Behave, El Cid. Gideon’s a friend, but where was I?”
“Sparks,” Charles supplied.
“Oh, yes, quite right.” She shot a glance to Adelaide, who was now in the process of handing Lucille Codman a white cat that had brilliant blue eyes, then returned her attention to Gideon. “It’s not a one-sided case of sparks, if that has you worried.”
His collar suddenly felt a smidgen too tight. “I never claimed to be worried, but ... how do you know that?”
“I’m a matchmaker, or rather, a retired matchmaker. Iknowthings.”
“What do you know about Adelaide and sparks?”
She stepped closer, then took a rapid step backward whenEl Cid gave a swipe of his paw in Gideon’s direction. “Some discoveries are best left for a person to uncover on their own.”
“That’s less than helpful, and as one of my oldest friends, you should be more accommodating.”
“It’s very annoying when you pull out the friend card to get your way,” Camilla muttered. “But, fine, in the spirit of our friendship, I’ll say this—it’s telling that Adelaide is refusing all offers she’s received today to venture out with other gentlemen, using the excuse she’s promised her time to you.”
“She’s promised her time to me because you insisted we’re seen everywhere together.”
Camilla gave an airy wave of her hand. “Please, if I’ve learned anything about Adelaide, it’s that she rarely does what’s expected of her. I imagine she agreed to go to Central Park with you today after calling hours because that’s what she wanted to do, disappointing many a gentleman in the process.”
Before Gideon could wrap his mind around that, El Cid yawned, showing massive teeth in the process and earning an indulgent smile from Camilla.
“I think the poor dear is sleepy, so I’ll bid you a good afternoon and catch up with the two of you later at the Metropolitan Opera House.”
Gideon’s brows drew together. “What does El Cid being sleepy have to do with you?”
A hint of pink tinged Camilla’s cheeks. “I may have told Adelaide I was going to take him home with me today.”
“Ah, she wore you down, did she?”
“No, because it’s only temporary,” Camilla argued. “I couldn’t very well have not taken El Cid home after Edith Sherman seemed interested in Juliet, a delightful ball of fluff if there ever was one. When Edith began questioning Adelaide about the care of cats, our darling Adelaide sent me an expectant look, which then had me proclaiming to all the ladies in my near vicinity that cats were no trouble at all, which was why Iwas taking El Cid with me because I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him behind.”
“Adelaide’s expectant looks are difficult to ignore.”
“Yes, well, as I said, El Cid is only going to be a temporary guest in my house. Poor Gladys will probably be beside herself the moment Cid’s paws touch the marble floor.”
“Or he’ll win Gladys over like Harvey did with Moe,” Gideon countered. “If that happens, I’ll be happy to have our engineer make another saddlebag.”