Page 103 of The Merry Matchmaker

“Elinor’s after Mitch.”

“Elinor?” Stef looked disbelieving.

“You didn’t see the way she was looking at him?” Frankie demanded. “Putting her hands on him? She’s been playing keep-away-from-Frankie with him all night.”

“Well, you did want him to find someone,” Stef pointed out, echoing what Viola had said earlier.

“Not Elinor.”

“Why not Elinor?”

“She’s not right for him.” She needed to play with someone her own age.

Stef cocked her head and studied Frankie. “Who is, sissy?”

Frankie squirmed. It was one thing to pry into Stef’s love life—quite another to expose her feelings. “Nobody, and Elinor should be with William Sharp. They’re a perfect match.”

“Looks to me like she’s settled on her perfect match,” said Stef. Cam arrived with her drink, and she thanked him, took a sip and sighed. “That’s better. I wish I’d had this when I met that poor little boy’s beast of a father.”

“He’s certainly not what you need,” Frankie said.

“I feel sorry for his kid.”

“I feel sorry for the dad, too,” Frankie said. “It’s hard to make a normal life for yourself after losing someone you love, especially when you’ve got a young child. Still, that’s no excuse for the way he behaved.”

“You’ve got that right.” Stef raised her glass. “To lucky escapes.” Then she frowned and took a very long draw on her drink.

“Hey there,” boomed a voice, and the sisters turned to see they had company. It was the same man who had almost knocked Frankie over earlier. He’d added a Santa hat and a sloppy leer to his outfit.

“Oh, please,” said Stef. “Go away.”

He bent down and leaned his arms on the tabletop. “You don’t mean that,” he said, and hiccuped.

“I do,” Stef told him. “We’re waiting for our boyfriends. They’re cops.”

Their visitor blinked. “Cops.”

“Got any outstanding tickets?” Stef asked.

His brows dropped and met at the center. “Well, I guess I...need another drink.”

“Yeah, that’s what you need,” Stef said as he swayed off. She downed the rest of her martini. “You know, I think I’m gonna go home before I get all sloppy and maudlin. I’ll go streamSleepless in Seattle.”

The last thing Stef needed to watch. Frankie looked at her in horror.

“Just kidding, sissy,” she said, and managed a smile. “I’m going to find something with murder and mayhem. That fits my mood better.”

Frankie sighed. The night hadn’t exactly gone as planned so far. She strongly suspected it wasn’t going to get better. “I think I’ll go home, too.”

Stef gave Frankie a kiss on the cheek, then left. Several Santas watched her go, but she didn’t notice. Somewhere the right man for her was waiting in the wings. Frankie wished he’d hurry up and make his appearance.

She, too, started for the door. Burl Ives was singing, wishing her a holly jolly Christmas. It had been holly jolly until she’d seen what was going on with Elinor and Mitch.

“Bah, humbug,” Frankie grumbled.

She was going out just as Viola and Terrill were coming in. “You’re leaving already?” Viola asked.

“The party’s over,” Frankie said.

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