“Oh,” she said. “You’re not alone.”
“No,” Autumn said. “I’m with Luke.”
Something tiny changed in Lena’s expression.
Just for a moment.
But Luke saw it.
“Did something happen?” Lena asked.
“Yes,” Autumn replied. “Someone used my number to send messages I didn’t write. Our reservation details were altered. And I’d like to know why you already knew there had been confusion.”
Lena’s smile thinned.
“I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding.”
Luke leaned slightly into frame.
“Then clear it up.”
Lena’s eyes landed fully on him now.
Recognition flashed there.
Not social recognition.
Not the look of a matchmaker identifying a client.
This was something else.
Something colder.
“You’re Mr. Mercer,” she said.
Luke’s face went still.
“I am.”
For the first time, Lena no longer looked like a harmless professional.
She looked like someone recalculating.
Autumn noticed it too.
“Lena,” she said carefully, “what is going on?”
But Lena wasn’t looking at Autumn anymore.
She was looking at Luke.
“Your problem,” she said quietly, “is that you never learned when to let sleeping things stay buried.”
The line went dead.
Autumn stared at the black screen.
Luke was already on his feet.
“We’re leaving עכשיו,” he said.
She stood too.
“What was that?”
“She’s not a matchmaker.”
“Then what is she?”
He dropped cash on the table and grabbed the gift, her phone, and his coat in one motion.
“A warning,” he said. “Or the person delivering one.”
He guided Autumn toward the restaurant exit, one firm hand at the small of her back.
Not possessive.
Protective.
The contact sent a pulse through both of them.
Outside, the snow had thickened.
The valet lane glowed with reflected lights.
A black SUV idled across the street.
Luke stopped immediately.
Autumn saw it.
“Do you know that car?”
“No,” he said.
“Is that bad?”
“Yes.”
A figure stepped out from the passenger side.
Tall.
Dark coat.
Umbrella.
Walking directly toward them.
Luke shifted Autumn slightly behind him without seeming to think about it.
The figure came close enough for the restaurant lights to catch her face.
Lena.
Only now she looked nothing like a polished match service coordinator.
No smile.
No warmth.
Just a hard, intelligent face and eyes locked on Luke.
Autumn’s breath caught.
Lena stopped at the curb.
“You should both go back inside,” she said.
Luke didn’t move.
“Not until you tell me why you targeted her.”
“I didn’t target her.”
Lena’s gaze flicked to Autumn.
“I protected her.”
Autumn stared.
“What?”
Lena tightened her grip on the umbrella handle.
“They know he met someone tonight,” she said. “If you had arrived together cleanly, you would already be followed.”
Luke’s voice hardened.
“Who?”
Lena looked at the street, then back at him.
“The people your former partner sold information to.”
That hit with visible force.
Autumn saw it in Luke’s face immediately.
A former partner.
Sold information.