Page 60 of The Merry Matchmaker

She held up her mug. “Latte overdose?”

He chuckled. “Christmas will be good for you, no matter who ends up being Mrs. Claus. You’ve got your family, and you have friends who care about you. It’s more than Barbara can say.”

True. Barbara was divorced and didn’t have any kids. Frankie knew from the dependable town grapevine that Barbara and her sister weren’t on speaking terms. All she had was the committee. And her shop with its lame location.

“So, who do you see as Mrs. Claus?” Mitch prompted.

“Nobody,” she said, returning to her pity party.

“There’s got to be someone.”

“I’ll have to think about it.”

“Here’s a chance for you to put on your helper elf hat, and we all know how much you love that.”

Hmm.

“I bet you’ll think of somebody,” he said. He downed the last of his drink. “I’ve gotta get back to the store.”

“And I need to get back to the shop. I’m sure Mom is ready for her lunch break. She has a date with one of her friends.”

They said goodbye at the door of Holiday Happiness, and Frankie slipped back inside.

The lights on the trees in her little holiday forest glimmered. The display of nutcrackers saluted her. Customers were milling about, checking out snow globes and ornaments and chatting. She had picked the right name for her shop. It exuded happiness.

In a back corner Adele was giving a hard sell on a handcrafted wooden Advent calendar that they had marked down 20 percent. Elinor was ringing up a sale for old Mr. Barrows, who always bought his granddaughters ornaments for Christmas, and Natalie was boxing some of her homemade candies for Viola. And there was Stef, taking pictures of it all.

This was Frankie’s kingdom, and it was a happy one. She didn’t need a committee to dub her Mrs. Claus. She already was.

“What are you doing here?” she greeted Stef.

“I’m going around town taking pictures of all our shops in action. It’s for a lead-up piece for the Santa Walk. Like someone suggested a couple weeks back.” That someone having been Frankie.

“Someone had a good idea,” she said with a wink.

“I’ve got a picture of you from last year as Mrs. Claus. I’ll include that.”

“And you can start adding pictures of the candidates for Mrs. Claus this year.”

“What do you mean?” Stef asked, and Frankie told her of Barbara’s machinations.

“That skunkeroo,” Stef said with a shake of her head.

“Oh well. Maybe it is time for someone else to be Mrs. Claus. Maybe someone in town could use the ego boost.”

But who? Who would make a cute Mrs. Claus?

Frankie’s gaze rested on Elinor, who was smiling at Mr. Barrows as she handed over the red Holiday Happiness gift bag filled with goodies. Elinor was smiling more lately. That makeover had done wonders. Maybe being Mrs. Claus would, too.

“Elinor,” Frankie decided. “She’s sweet. She’d be perfect.”

Stef lowered her voice. “I don’t see it. She’s so shy.”

“But friendly. This would be good for her,” Frankie said with a decided nod. “Elinor,” she called, and hurried over to the checkout counter, “how would you like to be our town’s Mrs. Claus this year?”

“Mrs. Claus?” Elinor repeated. “But aren’t you usually Mrs. Claus? That’s what Natalie told me.”

“Are you giving up your seat in the sleigh, Mom?” Natalie asked.

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