Page 55 of The Matchmaker and the Marine

Stacey held up her phone. “I’ll text Will and let him know the plan. He can take the crockpot up to Adam’s and we’ll meet him there.”

“I’m going to call Adam and make sure he doesn’t need anything else. Then I’ll meet you at his place.”

Stacey threw her arms around Melinda and hugged her tight. “Tomorrow is going to be a better day. That’s a promise.”

Melinda held Stacey and nodded. The lump in her throat made it difficult to talk. She finally said, “Thanks.”

Stacey stepped back and gave her a smile. “See you in a bit.”

Melinda waited until Stacey closed the door and then called Adam. He answered on the second ring. “Hello.” He sounded groggy.

“Adam, its Mel. Are you doing okay?”

“The pain pill kicked in and I’m feeling pretty darn good.”

“Are you still in the recliner?” she asked. I need to get my butt in gear and get back there. He sounds really out of it.

With a chuckle he said, “Yup, with Skye on my shoulder.”

“Do you need anything besides dessert?”

“Any chance you could pick up some sweet tea? I have a hankering.”

Melinda smiled into the phone. “Not a problem. Oh, I hope it’s okay—Stacey and Will are going to have dinner with us. Stacey had the crockpot going.”

“Cool, the more the merrier.” She heard Adam yawn.

“I should be there in about thirty minutes.”

“Drive carefully and just walk in when you get here.” His voice was fading.

“Adam, take a snooze and I’ll be there before you know it.”

He chuckled. “Okey dokey. I’ll be waiting for you.”

Chapter 21

Melinda and Stacey walked into the living room to rejoin the guys after going for a short walk around the neighborhood. “Adam, I’m going home, but do you need anything else before I do?”

He gave her a slightly goofy smile. She thought it must be from the painkillers.

“No.” His shoulders dropped. “I’m going to see if I can convince Will to hang out and watch the game for a while and then call it a night.”

She felt a strange sense of responsibility toward him. Was it because he’d injured himself at her place? It was something she wasn’t going to dwell on, as the situation could have been far worse. “I’ll just check on Skye.”

“No need, she’s tucked between the side of the chair and my leg. I think she’s keeping warm.” He dislodged the sleeping kitten and set her in his lap. She began to purr softly. He said, “Thanks for everything today.”

“It was the least I could do.”

“Changing the subject,” Will said as he propped his sneaker clad feet up on the coffee table, “have you guys heard about Molly and Tim’s wedding?”

“No, what’s going on? Adam and I were going to catch the ferry over together and basically be each other’s plus one.” Melinda frowned. “Are you going to feel like going after today?”

“Of course. This will be healed by then and besides, you’re going to drive and I’ll be the co-pilot.” Adam yawned.

She laughed and rose to her feet. “I thought you were going to drive, but we can talk about this later.”

“If you two are done making plans,” Will joked, “they had to postpone—the wedding venue is booked solid. They were hoping for a cancellation but, well, Molly is very disappointed.”

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