Page 300 of A Merry Mountain Christmas

“Him,” Jack said, really wanting to turn her down, but one of the purposes of the photos had been to give the dogs homes. Still, that didn’t mean he had to give her a personal tour. “The shelter’s open until six tomorrow. You should stop by. Lucky’s a cutie.”

“Willyoube there?” the blonde asked, giving him flirty eyes.

“Unfortunately, no.”

“But he volunteers on Sundays,” Iris said.

“But not this Sunday,” Jack quickly interjected. “Because of Christmas. So you should probably check out Lucky before then.” He forced a smile. “Then you’ll be able to have him home for Christmas.”

She poured on the charm. “Will you come over so I can get more photos of you with her?”

“Him,” Jack said. “And sorry. My schedule is booked solid for the next week.”

“Wedding plans,” Iris said, rolling her eyes in disgust.

She’d made it no secret that she thought having bachelor and bachelorette parties before the engagement party andmonthsbefore the wedding was beyond ridiculous, and she never wasted an opportunity to let her feelings be known. He thought it was strange himself, but Dottie was involved, and he was used to the unusual when it came to her. He’d learned not to question it…unless a turkey fryer was involved.

“Well, maybe when you get back to your usual volunteering schedule,” the woman said.

Jack tried to hide his disgust. She wasn’t interested in adopting a dog. She was only using Lucky as an excuse. The buzzer in his hand began to vibrate, and he lifted it up in near triumph. “Our table’s ready. Have a nice evening, ladies.”

Then, before Iris had a chance to tell them he worked at Buchanan Brewery and suggest they go see him there, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the restaurant.

“Why didn’t you get her number?” Iris asked once they were seated at their table.

“I wasn’t interested,” he said, opening his menu and hoping hunger would distract her.

“Since when are you not interested in getting attractive women’s numbers?”

“I’ve got a lot on my plate right now, Iris.”

She paused for several seconds, then picked up her menu. “You mean me.”

“Not just you,” he insisted. “The brewery too.”

“Don’t put your life on hold for me, Jack,” she said, keeping her gaze on the open menu. “You should date.”

He swallowed his rising excitement and said nonchalantly, “But you were so insistent that I couldn’t date Maisie. I figured you’d prefer it if I didn’t date at all. And I get it. You didn’t move here just for me to be gone every night on dates.”

“Every night,” she scoffed. “One of your bachelor rules was to never go out two nights in a row so the woman wouldn’t think you were an official couple.”

He cringed. It was true. He’d given himself a lot of rules after his last girlfriend had broken up with him because of Iris, yet when he thought of seeing Maisie out in the open, every single one of them flew out the window. “But you lost it when you thought I might be flirting with Maisie.”

“She’s different,” she said with a frown. “She’smyfriend. I can’t risk you pulling your usual cut-and-run crap with her.”

His heart sank. “What does that mean?”

She glanced up in exasperation. “It means you’re notorious for breaking women’s hearts, and I can’t risk that with Maisie.Can you imagine how awkward it would be for me if you tossed her aside?”

“Why are you presuming I’d toss her aside? And I actually disagree with that assessment. Every woman I’ve dated knew my limitations going into it.”

“And I’m sure all of them were totally on board.”

“Hey,” he said, lifting up his hands. “I can’t help it if they didn’t take me at my word.” Then, because he couldn’t stand her thinking he’d mistreat Maisie, he said, “I would never do that to Maisie. Never.”

She studied him for a long moment. “I guess we’ll never know.” Her gaze dropped to the menu. “Bacon-fried Brussels sprouts? Who in their right mind would think that sounds good?”

“I do,” he said a little too defensively. “I like Brussels sprouts fried in bacon grease.”

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