Page 8 of Just Add Mistletoe

Julie waved a hand. “Let’s play board games. Dave brought like five of them.”

Playing games ended up being a lot of fun, and the time flew by. Around eleven o’clock, a few people headed to their rooms, leaving Lori, Brandy, and Ian downstairs by the fire. It had grown cold, and the fire also kept things cheery.

When a knock sounded on the door, Lori nearly jumped out of her seat.

“Probably the hot tub guy,” Brandy said with a laugh as Ian unfolded himself from the couch.

“Unless someone ordered a late-night dessert,” he said, throwing a questioning look at Brandy.

“I made no orders.”

Ian crossed to the front door and opened it. By the muffled conversation, Lori knew it was another man. Then she heard the words “hot tub” and glanced over at Brandy, who was smiling.

“Finally,” she whispered. “Hope it’s an easy fix.”

Lori turned when Ian walked into the great room with another man, a smile on his face. “Look who’s on call tonight,” he said. “This is Malcom Graves.”

He wasn’t wearing a ball cap, but Lori would have recognized him anyway. In fact, he was dressed in a button-down shirt, slacks, and leather shoes—as if he’d been at some other event. Maybe even on a date? His eyes were hooded in the low light of the cabin, his expression stoic.

“Oh.” Brandy pushed to her feet. “Are you really the repair guy? I thought you owned a construction company.”

Malcom’s gaze moved from Brandy to Lori. If he recognized her, he didn’t give any indication. “I do, and apparently, we’re newly contracted for the maintenance of this community, but our operations manager neglected to inform the association that our crew is already dipping into overtime. It looks like I’m the man on call this weekend until I can get someone hired on Monday. Anyone here looking for a job?”

Ian laughed. “I’ve got my own job, thanks.”

“Figures,” Malcom deadpanned. “Well, lead the way.” He picked up a tool bag that sat at his feet.

Lori rose from her chair as Brandy and Ian followed him through the cabin to the back deck. She trailed after them, kind of feeling sorry that Malcom came all this way to do something that he probably would hire out himself. Where did he live anyway? How far had he driven?

By the time she arrived on the back deck, Malcom had a panel open, and Ian was holding up a flashlight. Lori joined Brandy where she was leaning against the rail.

“He’s cute,” Brandy whispered as she nudged Lori’s arm. “Want me to ask if he’s single?”

“In what universe would I ever want you to ask that?” she scoffed. “We’re not in elementary school anymore.”

Brandy laughed, catching Ian’s attention, which meant he walked over to them. “You ladies want to hot tub tonight? Looks like it will be fixed soon.”

Lori allowed herself another glance at Malcom. He had a couple of tools out and was working away.

“I’d love to,” Brandy told Ian, her voice soft, hand slipping into his.

Oh no, Lori wasn’t going to join their love boat. “I’m getting pretty tired, so I’ll probably head to bed soon.”

The lights inside the hot tub came on. A very good sign. Next, the jets started up.

“Great, man,” Ian said. “Thanks so much.”

“No problem.” Malcom packed up his tools, then straightened to face them. “You folks have a good night.”

“Wait,” Ian said, releasing Brandy’s hand and stepping forward. “Do you want a drink or something? If you’re hungry, we have tons of leftover dinner.”

Malcom paused. “Water would be great. I sort of left in the middle of something to hurry up here.”

“Something important?” Brandy asked. “I feel so bad.”

“Oh, it wasn’t important, exactly,” he said. “It was . . . a relief. I was on a blind date, actually, a double date. And I’m pretty sure the woman who was supposed to be my date would have much rather been paired with my friend.”

MALCOM WONDERED WHY HE’D GONE and said he’d been on a blind date. While it was true, it was kind of embarrassing to admit. He was thirty-two years old, and surely by now, he could manage his own dating life. So what if it had been lacking for a while? Although that was probably why his buddy Jay had set him up. The date had been with Jay and his girlfriend Kathleen, and Kathleen’s best friend Leesa. Apparently Leesa didn’t get the memo about not crushing on her best friend’s man because the woman couldn’t take her eyes off Jay all night.

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