As soon as the dance was over, Carlotta sprinted off to find Dana. It didn't take long: a matchmaker on a mission has the eyes of a hawk, and Dana was pretty easy to spot thanks to her pink hair.

"Hey, Dana!" the brunette tapped her target on the shoulder, distracting her from her drink. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," said the former thief, allowing Carlotta to drag her away from the buffet table, "about what?"

Carlotta shrugged, the epitome of innocence, and chose an easy topic.

"Oh, just what you think about this party of mine?"

"It's pretty great." Dana smiled. "Of course, the drinks could use an upgrade."

"But apart from that, would you say it's pretty enjoyable?"

"Yeah, sure," then, Dana eyed the hostess suspiciously. "Why?"

"Oh, you know, I'm just curious to see how my first party turned ou-"

Carlotta hadn't been watching where she was going, and so both girls walked right into Junjie and, behind him, Eli Shane. He and Carlotta locked eyes for a brief second before Carlotta, already feeling pink in the face and uncomfortably warm, looked away.

"Oh! I beg your pardon!" Junjie said as Dana righted her glasses, which had been knocked a little askew in the bump.

Eli stepped out from behind Junjie, a positively adorable bashful and apologetic expression on his face.

"Sorry, girls, we weren't looking where we were going." he apologized.

"No, it's okay." Carlotta said. "We weren't looking either."

Then Eli and Carlotta each turned to their respective companion.

"Junjie, this is-"

"Dana, this-"

"Oh!" both said, at exactly the same time, and looked at each other. "Sorry!"

"You go first." Eli offered.

"No, you spoke first, you go." said Carlotta.

"Ladies first,"

"After you, I insist."

"Okay, guys, this is adorable and all," Dana interrupted, "but how about we just introduce ourselves?"

The two, both red in the face, nodded, taking a few steps back and away from Dana and Junjie. Junjie cleared his throat.

"I am Junjie." he said, extending his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Dana. Dana Por," Dana shook the offered hand. "And the pleasure's all mine."

While they were talking, Eli edged over to Carlotta's side until he was standing right next to her.

"Hi," he whispered.

She smiled up at him.

"Hi," she whispered back.

He leaned in a bit and asked, still whispering:

"Were you trying to set them up too?"

A blush flowered over Carlotta's cheeks as Eli's breath touched her ear, and her heart fluttered madly in her chest. But she managed to nod and whisper back:

"Was it obvious?"

"Only a little," the slugslinger admitted.

"Well, can you blame me? I'm a matchmaker, and Junjie said he was interested in her while we were dancing."

"Oh,"

She might've imagined it, but it sounded to Carlotta that Eli was relieved.

"What about you?" she asked. "You were trying to set Dana with him?"

Eli nodded.

"Dana said she thought he was cute."

"That's a promising start." Carlotta smiled, now more comfortable with Eli's closeness, though her heart was still dancing a wild jig.

They both watched as the budding couple before them chatted amiably, before Junjie said:

"Dana, I was wondering if you'd care to share this next dance with me?"

Dana's eyes glimmered happily behind her glasses.

"I'd love to." she said, putting her arm in his. "Now, tell me more about the Eastern Caverns. They sound amazing."

Carlotta grinned in triumph as she watched them go.

"Mission accomplished." she said softly.

"I can hear the wedding bells already." Eli replied, and Carlotta heard the smile in his voice.