Page 9 of Matchmaking Under the Mistletoe

“Oh girl, I couldn’t have been more excited when Brian told me he found someone. I’ve been doing the best I can to fill in the gaps, but to be honest, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I’m so relieved to have someone who understands what on earth these people are asking for. Also, we never get new young people here in town. Brian told me you got stranded here in town with the storm. How old are you? Are you single? Do you likekaraoke?” she asks, reminding me of my sister as she throws her rapid-fire questions at me.

Brian rolls his eyes at his cousin before saying, “Bridget, slow down and let the girl breathe. Not everyone runs off espresso and energy drinks.”

I let out a laugh before saying, “Oh, I don’t mind it. I’m thirty-one. I’m newly single, and I love karaoke despite the fact that I sound like a cat being thrown in the bath.”

“Perfect. I know you have a lot to get done today with Brian, but soon you and I are going out and singing the shit out of some angry girl country music. I’ll get with you soon to plan a time and place.”

I blink at her in surprise before muttering, “Sounds great. See ya then.”

Turning back to Brian, he lets out a laugh at my expression. “What can I say? We Jones’ never meet a stranger, and Bridget’s been desperate for more people our age to move back here. Anyway, are you ready for your first day here at Deer Valley?”

A large smile starts to take over my face at his words. Despite my earlier worries, I really am so excited to get started with this new chapter of my life, even if it’ll probably only last for a few weeks.

“Let’s do it, boss.”

CHAPTER 5

BRIAN

“Okay, let’s get to it,” I say as we enter my office, gesturing for Millie to have a seat. “But first, how are you this morning? Did you get some rest?”

“Oh yeah, some. It took me a while to get settled after everything yesterday, but eventually I got a bit of sleep,” she says with a smile.

“Totally understandable. Do you need anything?” I ask. It didn’t escape my notice, when Huey showed her to her room, that everything she had fit into a single bag, which definitely didn’t seem like enough.

“Oh no, you’ve done plenty,” she says, but as she sits, I don’t miss the grimace on her face.

“I don’t want to hear any of that. Seriously, are you okay? Huey said you had a pretty good wreck yesterday,” I ask, scanning her for injuries.

“Oh, I’m okay. Just a little sore. After this snow moves out, I’ll Uber to Walmart or Target and get what I need.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling all right, but I hate to tell you, the closest one of those is about forty miles away, and we definitely don’t have Uber in Springside.”

Her mouth drops in shock. “What? How do y’all do your shopping? Or get yourselves home when you accidentally drink a whole bottle of pinot? I don’t understand!”

“We take trips into Saddle Ridge every few weeks and stock up on anything that the store here in town doesn’t carry. We also have a great system of designated drivers here in town for events. Speaking of which, we’ll need to contact the DD’s chairperson to make sure some of them will be volunteering for the Christmas events. I know you don’t have a car, but if you need something just let Bridget or me know, and we’ll be happy to take you wherever you need to go. We’ll have to make a few trips anyway for supplies over the next few weeks,” I tell her, suddenly realizing that we’ll be spending most of the next few weeks together.

“Wait, rewind. I appreciate that, but I need to recap. Did you say the DD’s have a chairperson? Do they have T-shirts too?” she jokes.

“Actually, yes, they do. But DD’s doesn’t stand for designated drivers. They’re the Driving Divas. And for the T-shirts, the Christmas ones are green and say something like ‘We don’t have a sleigh, but we’ll dash you home’,” I reply, and Millie busts into a fit of giggles.

God, that’s a sweet sound. I stare at her mouth, thinking about all the other sounds I could pull from those pink lips. Lips that would feel incredible kissing down…

Damn it, really? I absolutely cannot be thinking about this woman like this, no matter how beautiful she may be. Not only is she new to town and obviously not looking for a relationship, but she’s also my employee.

Shaking my head, I attempt to distract myself from the inappropriate turn my thoughts just took.

Hoping she won’t notice the guilty expression I’m sure is on my face right now, I continue my explanation. “It started out asa group of older ladies who took turns driving themselves home after the town events that serve alcohol. But the group just kept growing, so now they offer it to the whole community. They just draw names out of a hat to decide who’s on duty, and the one chosen takes care of everyone for the night. I’m pretty sure Mrs. Darleen is the current chair.”

Millie is still laughing, and I can’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. I’ve never met anyone with a laugh as infectious as hers. In addition to being incredibly sexy, she seems like the type of woman who is determined to see the best in people.

After a few moments, she pulls herself together and bends down to grab a large notebook and pen out of her bag. Once she’s settled, she says, “All right. Driving Divas, got it. Sorry about that. I’m ready when you are.”

“Why don't you start by telling me a little bit about the events you’ve done in the past?” I say, leaning back in my chair. I’m surprised by how badly I want to know more about her.

Before I went to bed last night, I’d run a quick background check on her just to be sure she wasn’t some sort of con artist. For some reason, it felt a bit like snooping, but since she came with no references, I just needed to be certain. As I’d expected, the report hadn’t shown anything suspicious, but I’d been surprised to see her ex-husband was one of the wealthiest men in D.C. After that revelation, I was even more surprised that she'd decided to stay. Even if her only experience was organizing his personal events, the caliber of events she was probably used to planning meant she was probably still overqualified for anything in our little town.

“Well, like I said last night, I’ve done a little bit of everything over the last ten years. Formal galas, charity events, dinner parties, benefit luncheons, and corporate holiday parties—you get the idea. Are you wanting to start with the weddings or the Christmas events?” she asks.

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