Little Miss Matchmaker. Dana Corbit

everybody. Our foosball tournament starts in ten minutes. Do we have any other late entries so we can make teams?”

      She scanned the group for any takers.

      Near the front entrance a boy with light brown hair stood with his arms crossed. Not a likely joiner. She couldn’t get a real good look at the boy because he had hair falling over his eyes, but he still looked familiar.

      She knew why he did the second Alex and Chelsea came through the door. Though both the boy’s hair and eye color were a few shades darker, his square jaw and distinctive, straight nose were too similar to Chelsea’s for him not to be her brother, Brandon. If the two children bore any resemblance to Alex, she didn’t see it yet.

      Chatter erupted again as the teens noticed the visitors in their midst. Soon the three of them were surrounded by a bunch of youths giving them the welcome treatment. Somehow Alex extricated himself from the crowd and made his way over to Dinah.

      “Friendly bunch, aren’t they?”

      “We try to be.” Her throat felt dry. She cleared it, covering her mouth with her fist. “What are you doing here?” Was it because she would be there? No, that was ridiculous. He couldn’t possibly have known that she volunteered at the center that her father also ran. But he did know her dad was pastor of this church, so…

      “Sorry. I thought the youth center was open to anybody. Youth, I mean. But if it’s not…” He let his words trail away, waiting for her to explain.

      Again she struggled with the frog taking up long-term residence in her throat. “It is. Of course. I just meant—” Stopping herself because she didn’t know what she’d meant, she lowered her gaze to the floor. That was when she noticed the microphone still dangling from her free hand. She didn’t have to examine it closer to remember that she hadn’t switched it off yet.

      Apparently, she was the only one who hadn’t noticed until then that she was broadcasting their brief conversation, and now more than a few confused faces were trained on her, their owners wondering why she was trying to uninvite their guests. Her mother lifted an eyebrow and smiled. Naomi Fraser never missed much.

      Dinah tapped the microphone again. “Let’s try this again. The tournament is about to begin. Anyone can play as long as you sign up in the next five minutes. Now would anyone like to introduce our guests?”

      Tiffany raised her hand to do the honors, and Dinah couldn’t help but smile. The slightly plump teen, who was a bit of a tomboy, had carried a torch for Billy for a long time, but he might have some competition in Brandon.

      “I’d like you all to meet Brandon and Chelsea White and their, uh, guardian…” Tiffany shot a questioning look at the new kids.

      “Alex Donovan,” Dinah said, filling in the blank too quickly. Alex was kind enough to look away instead of picking this moment to trap her in one of his infamous stares.

      “Anybody else want to play?” Dinah asked. “If so, I need you to sign up immediately at the tennis table.”

      Not surprising given that the center had guests, there was a renewed interest in foosball, and she registered five more participants, Brandon included, before the competition began. Only after the start of the first game could Dinah make her way back to her mother, who just happened to be talking to Alex.

      “…were looking for a youth group for the kids, and my own church doesn’t have one,” Alex was saying when she reached them.

      Of course he’d come here because of the children. Why else would someone visit a youth center other than to find Christian fellowship for young people? When was she going to stop wishing Alex’s words or motives had something to do with her instead of with the children in his care? Just because Chelsea thought Alex was Dinah’s boyfriend didn’t mean he was interested in her—or even that he should be.

      “Oh, Dinah, Alex says you two know each other.” Naomi didn’t say more, didn’t need to. Those mischievous eyes spoke volumes.

      “We had a conference about Chelsea at school.”

      “And a false alarm from what Chelsea tells me.”

      Dinah glanced at her mother, who could barely contain her amusement, and then looked around for Chelsea. The child had joined the teens in the movie-viewing area but was watching the three adults out of the corner of her eye.