Page 21 of Merry with Me

“Then there is nothing wrong with you admitting that he’s handsome.” She gives me a pointed look.

“Fine. He’s handsome.”

“Oh, do you like him?” she says, barely holding in her laughter.

“Ugh. Whatever you have going on in that head of yours, can you please keep it to yourself? I don’t need the Kincaid family tree blowing up my phone. Half of them will want to know when the wedding is, while the other half will be threatening to take him to the train station,Yellowstonestyle.”

“I didn’t raise you to be this dramatic,” she teases.

“Mom!” I huff out a laugh.

“Fine. I’m just giving you a hard time, but I want you to one day find what I have with your dad. You’re never going to if you don’t start looking and opening yourself up.”

“Do you know what it’s going to be like for any man I bring home? Have you ever actually thought about it at all? There are ten of them, counting Uncle Deacon.Ten!”

Mom smiles. “For all ten of those men, there is a woman behind them who will keep them in check. When you find a man you want to bring home, you let us ladies know, and we’ll take care of it. We know you well enough to know, if he’s given an invitation to meet the family, he’s important to you.”

“Fine. However, I’m holding you to this. In fact…” I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. “Can you say that again, nice and slow, so I can record it as evidence?”

Mom chuckles. “We’ve got you, sweetheart. You just find him, and me and your aunts will take care of the rest.”

“Can I go now? I left him in there waiting for me.”

“Of course. I’m actually heading home. I’ll lock the doors as I leave. Just make sure they’re pulled tight and the lights are off when you go.”

“I can do that. Love you.”

“I love you too, Blake.” She gives me a huge hug, and I turn and rush out of her office and back to Oli—Dr. Thompson. I’m going to need to put that name barrier between us to keep mylibido in check. Who would have thought the grumpy doc would do it for me?

Entering the main event area, I see Oliver standing in the middle of the room, staring at the giant Christmas tree. I step up beside him and smile. “This place might be part of why I love Christmas.”

“Just part?” he asks without removing his eyes from the tree.

“Yeah, I have a large family. My dad has eight brothers, and his cousin Ramsey is like a sister, so essentially ten kids, ten spouses, and a shit ton of grandkids for my grandparents. There is never a dull moment, and Christmas is always a blast with everyone getting together. What about you?”

“Only child.”

“So you get lots of quiet.” I lean into his shoulder with mine.

“Something like that.” He clears his throat. “What’s on this list of yours?” he asks, finally pulling his gaze away from the Christmas tree.

“Okay.” Reaching into my bag, I retrieve my tablet and power it on. “I was thinking we could set the stage by the tree. That way the tree can be our backdrop. The manor has round tables that seat ten, so I thought we could space them out around the perimeter of the room. That’s five couples per table.”

“Not everyone is a couple.”

“True, but very rarely do people come to these things solo.”

“Are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Are you coming alone?”

“I am.” I nod slowly. “I’ll be working, so there will be no time for me to entertain a date.” I pause as I tell myself not to ask him, but the words are out before I can stop them. “What about you?”

“I don’t date.”

“Never?”

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