Page 74 of The Merry Matchmaker

Then, as she was taking hers, she was aware of him beside her. It felt like coming up against some kind of electrical field.

“Hey there.”

The timbre of his voice started a buzzing in her veins. She aimed for casual as she turned to him and smiled.

He smiled in return—more of a polite smile than a flirty one. He lifted his to-go cup. “Just wanted to thank you for the pay-it-forward.”

“’Tis the season,” she quipped, hoping to broaden his smile.

She didn’t. Polite stayed firmly in place. “So I hear.”

“You only hear?” she teased. Her phone dinged from her coat pocket, signaling an incoming text. She ignored it.

He shrugged.

Her phone dinged again.

“Looks like you’re popular.”

“All the elves want to date me,” she joked, and her phone rang.

“Guess I’d better let you get that. Anyway, thanks for the drink. Merry Christmas,” he added.

She scowled at her to-go cup as he joined his friend, took his drink and then walked out the door. Pickup fail.

She pulled out her phone, ready to answer with a grumpy hello. It was Camille. She lost the grumpy.

“My computer lost your doc. I need it ASAP.”

Of course she did, and since said doc wasn’t on Stef’s phone, she’d be hustling her hind end back to the office.

“You’ll have it in ten,” she said as she started out the door.

“Make it five,” said Camille, and ended the call.

“Ho, ho, ho,” grumped Stef. Too bad she was too old to write a letter to Santa. She’d ask him to spread a little more joy and patience around town. And to help her find the mystery man.

“She was hot,” said Griff’s Edward Jones partner, Jamison.

“Yeah, she was,” Griff admitted.

Standing next to her, he’d felt the heat, and it had stirred up that longing for connection deep inside of him. But instead of doing anything about it, he’d stood there like a giant ice sculpture.

Given a few more minutes, maybe her smile could have melted him. She had the kind of smile that said,Come on, be happy. You can do it.

He wanted to be happy. He’d gone from mourning to moping to... What was he now? Bitter. Not all the time, not about everything. Just about the way his life had turned out.

Well, that was everything.

Except he had something important that Kaitlyn had left behind with him. He had a great kid. Who wanted Santa to bring him a mom since Dad hadn’t come through.

“I bet you didn’t get her number,” said Jamison.

“She got a phone call. What was I supposed to do, stand there? Wait and chase her down?”

“I would have. You would have, too, if your brain wasn’t frozen. Somewhere in there, you’ve still got it. I know. I remember you chasing Kaitlyn until the poor woman dropped at your feet.”

The memory of how hard he’d worked to win Kaitlyn’s love brought back happy memories. Him freezing his ass off at that caroling party when they’d first met, wishing he could sing on pitch. Sending her a big bouquet of tiger lilies for Valentine’s Day...that she was allergic to. Romantic dinners out and weekends at the Hilton in Seattle that about broke his budget. A summer cruise in the San Juans.

---