Page 15 of Just Add Mistletoe

“Ants? When do you wear those?” Malcom asked. “Oh wait, let me guess.” He pretended to think. “Hiking? To a picnic?”

Lori grinned. “Pretty much. You’d make a good detective.”

Brandy joined them at the rail, while the other women fell into their own conversation. “You should see her on Halloween night,” she said with a glint in her eye. “She dresses up like a witch, and no one recognizes her.”

Malcom’s brows raised. “What kind of witch?”

Lori was speechless for a moment. No one had ever asked her that. “I’m a nice witch, of course,” she said. “More of a fortune teller, really.”

“I’ll bet the kids love that.”

“She has lines out the door,” Brandy said.

His dimples were back. “Looking forward to seeing it.”

Lori’s pulse jumped another notch. Of course he’d still be around at the end of October. How long would the building project take? Several months at least.

“The first batch of hamburgers is ready,” Dave announced. “The steaks and chicken will take a little longer.”

“What are you having?” Malcom asked.

“Oh, um, I’ll wait for the chicken.” She made eye contact with Brandy, who had a big smile on her face. “But you help yourself if you want a hamburger,” she told him.

He moved off to get his burger, and Brandy didn’t wait even a half a minute before saying in a whisper, “He’sinterestedin you.”

“No, he’s not,” Lori said immediately, keeping her voice quiet too.

The women had fallen silent again. “What’s this?” Everly asked.

“Nothing,” Lori replied at the same time that Brandy said, “Malcom hasn’t paid attention to anyone except for Lori since the moment she came outside.”

“Ooo.” Stephenie quirked a smile. “I can see it. I can definitely see it. You two would make a good match.”

“None of us even know him,” Lori protested. “Not really. Just because he’s single, and I’m single, doesn’t mean we need to automatically start dating.”

“You forgot to mention that he’s hot,” Brandy said with a wink.

Lori hoped her face wasn’t turning red. “Which would prove my point even more. I’m not interested in players.” She knew he wasn’t a player—well, she didn’t think he was. He didn’t give off that vibe, and from their conversation last night, she’d ruled that out. “Besides, who else is he going to talk to when everyone else has a plus one except for me?”

Her friends were all staring at her, in various stages of speculation and amusement.

“We’re just teasing,” Brandy said, although she looked like she was about to laugh.

“Oh, he just glanced over here,” Julie said, her voice a low rumble. “Don’t look now, but he’s definitely checking out Lori.”

“I’ll bet he asks for your number before the barbecue is over,” Stephenie added.

All of the women grinned, anticipation in their eyes.

Lori was officially annoyed. They weren’t teenagers anymore, and they all knew about her bad dating experiences and her current hiatus. Actually, she was more than annoyed. She felt emotion burning in her chest, which was ridiculous. But she wasn’t going to survive this barbecue if all of her friends were watching and speculating. Someone would say something embarrassing, like Ian had last night, and she just wasn’t up for it.

“Hey, I need to grab something inside,” she said, and walked away before anyone could question her.

She had nothing to grab inside, unless it was her sanity, because her emotions were simmering. Why was she so upset? These were her best friends. They razzed each other all the time. What made this any different? She was being too sensitive, and she knew it, but that didn’t stop her eyes from burning as she walked through the cabin. She didn’t stop until she reached the front porch. Settling onto the hanging porch swing, she forced herself to take some calming breaths.

If she were completely honest with herself, the only reason she was reacting like this was because she had enjoyed her time with Malcom last night. And she had been flattered when he’d come over and chatted with her just now. He was a cool guy. She liked talking to him. He was interesting, attentive, and yes, he was good-looking. But there was a lot more to him than that. And it wasn’t like Lori was hoping to date him, though she would like to get to know him better.

But not on stage with everyone watching and putting in their two cents.

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