Page 10 of Just Add Mistletoe

“Both football and basketball.”

“Nice.” Ian fist-bumped him. “Did you play in college?”

“I did, and so did Bronson. Basketball for a division two. I think that’s what put us on good terms again. I mean, we own a company together now.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” Ian said. “Do you and your brother live around here?”

Malcom grimaced. “Uh, no. My brother and his wife are about an hour north. I live . . . wherever the job is.”

“Like you rent a place in each town?” Ian asked.

“Not exactly,” he hedged. “I live in the trailer on the job lot. Doubles as an office too.”

“You live in thetrailer?” Brandy asked.

“The one across the street from my shop?” Lori added.

So it was her shop; he’d been wondering about that.

“Wow, that’s impressive,” Ian said. “Nothing gets by you at the job site, I’m guessing.”

Malcom cracked a smile at this. “Not much.”

But both Brandy and Lori were staring at him like he’d just confessed he was born on the moon.

“What are you, like a workaholic?” Brandy asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

“That’s one way to look at it.” Malcom felt a bit put on the spot. He was fine with the get-to-know-you questions, but now he felt called out.

“So . . .” Ian drawled. “When you go on a date, there’s no ‘hey, let’s go back to my place and hang out.’”

Brandy elbowed him. “Hey.”

“Ow,” he said, but kissed her temple.

“It’s fine,” Malcom said with a laugh, although it was sort of a bitter one. “I’ve been told that a lot—by ladies mostly—that I’m a workaholic.” He shrugged and finished the last of his water. “I honestly don’t mind living on site, and I suppose that makes me one. And to answer the dating question, it’s just easier not to date. You know—avoid the awkward end-of-the-evening stuff.”

Ian smirked. Brandy elbowed him again. “Well, you’d get along perfectly with Lori, then,” he said. “She doesn’t date either.”

“Ian, I’m going to staple your mouth shut.” Brandy looked at Lori. “I’m sorry, hon. I’m taking him upstairs to find a place to lock him up.” And with that she tugged him with her.

“Sorry, Lori,” Ian said, sounding contrite. “I’m totally kidding.” He looked at Malcom. “You should come up for our barbecue tomorrow afternoon, Malcom. The more the merrier.” He gave a significant look in Lori’s direction as his voice trailed off.

“We’ll see,” Malcom said, surprised he’d been invited in the first place.

Ian and Brandy disappeared out of the kitchen, and Malcom straightened from the counter and looked over at Lori. She didn’t look embarrassed exactly, but there seemed to be more color in her cheeks.

“How is it that some men can revert to a ten-year-old boy at a moment’s notice?” she said in a matter-of-fact voice. “No offense to your gender.”

Malcom raised both his hands. “None taken. I guess I walked right into that one. Sorry you got dragged into the mud too.”

Lori wrapped her fingers around the end of her ponytail. “I might have cared once, or been offended, but he’s right. So what’s the point of contradicting him?”

This was interesting. “You really don’t date?”

She lifted a shoulder. “I don’t currently date. It’s not like I’m a nun, or anything. I just kept hitting dead ends, so about a year ago, I stopped swiping on those apps. I forbade my friends to set me up. I stopped going to those singles’ meetups.”

“Sounds painful.”

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