The Matchmaker

Chapter 21

Shannon stood completely frozen to the spot as she took in the sight before her. Her heart pounded a hundred miles an hour and her mouth had gone dry. No longer was he the Brian she had grown up with. No, he had become the Brian she had fallen in love with. Everything felt so strange. Surreal almost. She wondered at first if it were all a dream and even pinched herself but it soon dawned on her that it was no dream. The moment had come. She stood in front of Brian, even though he hadn’t seen her, and she had no idea what she would do or say.

Acting on impulse she made a run for the door. Amy stared after her and opened her mouth to say something but it was too late. Shannon had made it outside in record time and stood panting against the wall. At least she was out of view of everyone inside the hotel.

Inside Brian sensed a commotion but he ignored it, he had more important things to worry about. Cursing under his breath he dialled IT support and waited impatiently. They had recently upgraded their computer system and it had caused nothing but grief ever since. He noticed the line-up of guests getting impatient so he instructed one of the receptionists to go around and apologise to everyone.

Amy watched Brian work and concluded he hadn’t noticed anything. One part of her wished he had as it would mean him and Shannon could get their first meeting over sooner rather than later. As she contemplated a way to get them to meet, a phone started ringing in a nearby bag. Realising it was Shannon’s she was struck with a very evil thought.

Back outside, Shannon took large mouthfuls of air in an attempt to calm her nerves. It had been a shock seeing Brian so unexpectedly and it had caught her completely off guard. What were the chances of her being put in the exact same hotel where he worked? Their current predicament proved it was extremely likely.

Feeling highly strung, she started to rub her temples and willed herself to think straight. What could she do? Yes Brian had to see her sooner or later but she wanted to make it later so she had time to make a plan. She had tiptoed around it too long; she couldn’t run away from it anymore.

Poking her head back inside she noticed Brian busy on the phone so decided to go back in. Taking one last deep breath she walked back inside and immediately hid behind a pillar. She had a good view of him; she just hoped he wouldn’t see her. She decided to wait there until he had disappeared then she would join Amy in the queue again. It would be a flawless plan.

Well technically it should have been a flawless plan in a perfect world. Sadly Shannon’s world was less than perfect at that moment. The sound of a mobile ringing caught her attention. It was her mobile. The ring tone just happened to be the exact tone of one of the songs played on their camping trip all those years ago. Even if Brian had not recognised Amy, he would have recognised the song instantly. As if on cue Brian’s head shot up in recognition - he had heard it!

Shannon reached into her pocket to answer it but realised Amy had it. She had just decided to run up and tackle her to the ground when she realised it was too late. Seeing the look on Amy’s face had Shannon shaking her head and gesturing like a lunatic. Amy saw her waving but decided to ignore her. She would do something that she knew she would later regret but the moment was too perfect not to do it. Amy grinned wickedly and pressed ‘answer’. Oh she would pay.

The gasp from Shannon was audible and made everyone turn in her direction. She ducked behind the pillar, closed her eyes and willed herself to disappear. How could it have gone so wrong? Brian was not supposed to know she was there! How could Amy do something so stupid? She started shaking from anger.

In an attempt to control her anger, she thought back to how Brian looked. In most ways he was the same ol’ Brian whilst in other ways he looked completely different. He was still the same heartthrob he always had been but his face was different. His hair was longer, not as short as it used to be and his face was - well something was missing. Taking a quick glance back in his direction, Shannon noticed it immediately. He looked sad and angry. Brian had never been an angry person and the look wasn’t normal on him. Shannon felt a stab of guilt. Had she done that to him?