Page 5 of The Merry Matchmaker

“Yes. I know she’s got a six-year-old, and she’s working here. But still, this isn’t really where her heart lies. She should be developing her gift. People can be so stubborn.”

“People?”

Frankie couldn’t help but think of Mitch, who never took her advice and was at that very moment flirting with a predator in a pink coat. Frankie had been able to tell instantly that woman was wrong for him.

“Take Mitch for example. He should be dating. He’s such a gem.”

“And so handsome. I’ll be forever grateful to him for coming over on Thanksgiving and helping me when that pipe broke and flooded my kitchen.”

“Have Shop-Vac, will travel,” joked Frankie. “Seriously, a man like Mitch single? It’s wrong.”

“Maybe some people are meant to be single,” Elinor said wistfully.

Elinor had moved to Carol a year earlier and was still finding her feet. They hadn’t talked a lot about her past. All Frankie knew was that she was single, that she loved to read and that the local library and the bookstore were her favorite haunts. She tended to be on the shy side, and she didn’t dress to impress. With her fair skin and quiet demeanor, she was the human equivalent of...white paint. Present but not noticed. Frankie had assumed she wasn’t really looking for anyone. Maybe she’d assumed wrong.

“I bet there’s a perfect man for you somewhere right here in Carol,” Frankie said.

“Do you think so?” Elinor didn’t sound convinced.

“I’ll keep my eyes peeled,” Frankie promised.

“Keep your eyes peeled for what?” asked her mother, Adele, who’d just come up from the back of the shop.

Adele worked in the shop, partly to be supportive of her daughter and partly because she liked being at the center of things. Which, thanks to their steady flow of customers, was exactly where Holiday Happiness put her. With her white hair and soft-pillow figure, Adele looked like the quintessential grandmother, all sweet and cozy...until she opened her mouth.

“For a perfect man for Elinor,” Frankie replied.

Adele gave a bark. “There is no such thing as a perfect man. Not even your father, God rest his irritating soul.”

“Mine was close,” Frankie said, and Adele lost her cheeky smile and came over to hug her.

“Yes, he was.” Happily, for Frankie, Adele didn’t add,And he’d be the first one to tell you not to get stuck in the past.

They’d had this conversation more than once. “I’m not stuck, and I don’t mind being alone,” Frankie always said. Only at night when she went to bed. Or when she and Viola watched a great rom-com. Or when she was scrolling on her phone and saw a recipe Ike would have loved.

“You don’t need to be meddling in other people’s lives,” Adele said. “Let Elinor handle her own love life. I’m sure she’s perfectly capable. Aren’t you, Elinor?”

Elinor looked dubious, but she said, “Yes.”

“There you have it,” said Adele. “And now, I’m going home to watch the end ofBlue Bloods. Wish that show had gone longer. Tom Selleck is hot.” She began to fan her face. “Every time I see that man, I—”

Frankie held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear. Come on, Elinor, let’s get out of here. I have a pizza to pick up and a present to deliver.”

As she followed her mother and Elinor out the door, she saw Miss Pink Coat leaving the hardware store. The woman carried a bunch of paint chips in her hand and was frowning. It looked like Mitch would not be going over to help her pick out paint for her bedroom. Lucky escape for Mitch.

She couldn’t resist texting him.No hot paint date?

Ha ha, came the reply.

Cheer up. Maybe Santa will bring you a cute elf for Christmas.

Elves are creepy.

What a thing to say!

I like Mrs. Claus better, he texted.Think she’ll ever be interested?

Only if you leave her a plate of chocolate.

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