The Perfect Match. Debbie Macomber

thought you made Zach the chairman of the board.”

      “I did.” A lazy swirl of smoke circled his head.

      “I don’t understand where I come into the picture.”

      “I don’t suppose you do,” he said softly. “You see, Janine, I’ve chosen Zachary to be your husband.”

       Two

      For a stunned moment, Janine said nothing. “You’re teasing, aren’t you, Gramps?”

      “No,” he said, lighting a second cigar. He paused to stare at the glowing tip, his eyes filled with mischief—and with something else, less easily defined. “I’m serious.”

      “But…” Janine’s thoughts were so jumbled she couldn’t make sense of them herself, let alone convey her feelings to her grandfather.

      “I’ve been giving the matter serious consideration for some time now. Zach’s perfect for you and you’re the ideal complement to him. You’re going to have beautiful blond-haired children.”

      “But…” Janine discovered she was absolutely speechless. One minute she was listening to a touching story, and the next her grandfather was telling her about the husband he’d arranged for her—and even the color of her children’s hair.

      “Once you think about it,” Gramps said confidently, “I’m sure you’ll agree with me. Zach is a fine young man, and he’ll make you an excellent husband.”

      “You…Zach talked…agreed?” The words stumbled over the end of her tongue.

      “Do you mean have I suggested this arrangement to Zach?” Gramps asked. “Heavens, no. At least not yet.” He chuckled as if he found the thought amusing. “Zach wouldn’t appreciate my blatant interference in his personal affairs. With him, I’ll need to be far more subtle. To be honest, I considered making this marriage part of my handing over the chairmanship, but after thinking it through, I changed my mind. Zach would never have agreed. There are other ways, I decided, better ways. But I don’t want you to worry about it. That’s between Zach and me.”

      “I…see.” At this point, Janine wasn’t sure what she saw, other than one determined old man caught between two worlds. In certain respects, the old ways continued to dominate his thinking, but his success in America allowed him to appreciate more modern outlooks.

      Gramps inhaled deeply on his cigar, his blue eyes twinkling. “Now, I realize you probably find the idea of an arranged marriage slightly unorthodox, but you’ll get used to it. I’ve made a fine choice for you, and I know you’re smart enough to recognize that.”

      “Gramps, I don’t think you fully understand what you’re suggesting,” she said, trying to gather her scattered wits, hoping she could explain the ridiculousness of this whole scheme without offending him.

      “But I do, my child.”

      “In this country and in this age,” she continued slowly, “men and women choose their own mates. We fall in love and then marry.”

      Gramps frowned. “Sadly, that doesn’t work,” he muttered.

      “What do you mean, it doesn’t work?” she cried, losing her patience. “It’s been like this for years and years!”

      “Look at the divorce rate. I read in the paper recently that almost fifty percent of all marriages in this country fail. In the old country, there was no divorce. Parents decided whom a son or daughter would marry, and their decision was accepted without question. First comes marriage, and then comes love.”

      “Gramps,” Janine said softly, wanting to reason this out with him. Her grandfather was a logical man; surely, if she explained it properly, he’d understand. “Things are done differently now. First comes love, then comes marriage.”

      “What do you young people know about love?”

      “A good deal, as it happens,” she returned, lying smoothly. Her first venture into love had ended with a broken heart and a shattered ego, but she’d told Gramps little if anything about Brian.

      “Pfft!” he spat. “What could you possibly know of love?”

      “I realize,” she said, thinking fast, “that your father arranged your marriage to Grandma, but that was years ago, and in America such customs don’t exist. You and I live here now, in the land of the free. The land of opportunity.”

      Gramps gazed down into his brandy for a long moment, lost in thought. Janine doubted he’d even heard her.

      “I’ll never forget the first time I saw my Anna,” he said in a faraway voice. “She was sixteen and her hair was long and blond and fell in braids to her waist. My father spoke to her father and while they were talking, Anna and I sat at opposite ends of the room, too shy to look at each other. I wondered if she thought I was handsome. To me, she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Even now, after all these years, I can remember how my heart beat with excitement when I saw her. I knew—”

      “But, Gramps, that was nearly sixty years ago! Marriages aren’t decided by families anymore. A man and a woman discover each other without a father introducing them. Maybe the old ways were better back then, but it’s simply not like that now.” Gramps continued to stare into his glass, lost in a world long since enveloped by the passage of time.

      “The next day, Anna’s parents visited our farm and again our two fathers spoke. I tried to pretend I wasn’t concerned, determined to accept whatever our families decided. But when I saw our fathers shake hands and slap each other on the back, I knew Anna would soon be mine.”

      “You loved her before you were married, didn’t you?” Janine asked softly, hoping to prove her point.

      “No,” he returned flatly, without hesitation. “How could I love her when I’d only seen her twice before the wedding? We hadn’t said more than a handful of words to each other. Love wasn’t necessary for us to find happiness. Love came later, after we arrived in America.”

      “Wasn’t it unusual for a marriage to be arranged even then? It wasn’t that long ago.” There had to be some point for her to contend, Janine mused.

      “Perhaps it was unusual in other parts of the world, but not in Vibiskgrad. We were a small farming community. Our world had been ravaged by war and hate. We clung to each other, holding on to our own traditions and rituals. Soon our lives became impossible and we were forced to flee our homes.”

      “As I said before, I can understand how an arranged marriage—back then—might be the best for everyone involved. But I can’t see it working in this day and age. I’m sorry to disappoint you, Gramps, but I’m not willing to accept Zachary Thomas as my husband, and I’m sure he’d be equally unwilling to marry me.”

      Briefly Gramps’s face tensed with a rare display of disappointment and indignation, then quickly relaxed. Janine had seldom questioned his authority and had never openly defied him.

      “I suppose this is a shock to you, isn’t it?” he said.

      If it astonished her, she couldn’t wait to hear what Zachary Thomas thought! They’d only met once, but he hadn’t disguised his opinion of her. He wouldn’t take kindly to Gramps’s plan of an arranged marriage—especially to a woman he viewed as spoiled and overindulged.

      “All I’m asking is that you consider this, Janine,” Gramps said. “Promise me you’ll at least do that. Don’t reject marriage to Zach simply because you think it’s old-fashioned.”

      “Oh, Gramps…” Janine hated to refuse him anything. “It isn’t just me. What about Zach? What about his plans? What if he—”

      Gramps dismissed her questions with an abrupt shrug. “How often do I ask something of you?” he persisted.

      Now