Page 31 of Fa-La-La-La Faking It
“Wait just a minute.” Adaline flew to her feet and marched over to Jace. “Can we have a quick word in private...” She batted her eyelashes at him. At least she was finally making an effort. “...honey?”
“Sure thing, pumpkin.” He blew her an air-kiss, and her face promptly turned as red as her Comfort Paws hoodie.
“We’ll be right back,” she said to Gram and Uncle Gus, then she grabbed Jace’s hand and squeezed it hard enough to break a finger or three as she hauled him toward the glass double doors that led to the portico at the entrance to the building. Fuzzy followed, hot on their heels.
Once outside, Adaline dropped Jace’s hand and spun to face him, eyes flashing. “What on earth was that?”
“That was me helping you in your time of need.” Jace felt himself frown. She was mad? Seriously? “You’re welcome, by the way.”
“Thank you,” she said with no small amount of reluctance. “I think.”
Jace crossed his arms. He hadn’t expected her to throw him a parade, but this was hardly the reaction he’d anticipated.
Not that he’d given the matter much thought before he’d jumped in to save her. Jace hadn’t mulled it over at all, in fact. He’d acted purely on instinct, which in retrospect might’ve been a bad idea.
“Exactly how much did you hear back there?” she asked, gnawing on the corner of her bottom lip.
Jace’s gaze snagged on her mouth. Those lips of hers...red, like ripened cherries. When he dragged his attention back to her eyes, they were impossibly wide. Wounded, almost.
She wasn’t angry. She was embarrassed.
“I heard enough,” he said simply.
She blew out a breath and started pacing back and forth. Fuzzy dutifully kept time, following her like a shadow. “So you know about the matchmaker?”
Jace arched a sardonic eyebrow. “Is there anyone whodoesn’tknow about the matchmaker?”
He and his uncle had been on their way back to room 212 when the commotion started. Getting Gus to venture outside the same four walls had been nearly impossible, but Jace had convinced the obstinate man to let him wheel him to the lobby to see the tree he’d delivered earlier this morning.
Then Gus had actually pet Fuzzy, and Jace knew that staying any longer would really be pushing it. He’d needed to get his uncle out of there before his mood took a turn for the worse.
But just as they’d rounded the corner of the hallway leading back to the extended care unit, Uncle Gus had realized his ever-present handkerchief was missing. Jace steered the wheelchair into a U-turn, figuring they’d dropped it somewhere along the way.
They’d reached the lobby just in time to witness Gram’s cheery shout.A MATCHMAKING SERVICE. YOU KNOW, SO ADALINE CAN FIND A BOYFRIEND.
“Your gram is rather gregarious,” Jace said. She was, in fact, the perfect opposite of Uncle Gus. “She reminds me of you, actually.”
Adaline’s pacing came to a stumbling halt.
“I meant that as a compliment,” he clarified.
“She’s my hero.” Adaline wrapped her arms around her torso, like she might be trying to hold herself together. Why wouldn’t she just let him help her? He owed her that much, didn’t he?
Jace nodded. “I remember that from elementary school.”
“She’s been struggling lately. It’s hard to see her getting older.” Adaline tucked a loose blond wave behind her ear. The rest of her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, magically held in place with a single, tiny, red lacquer cherry barrette. “But I’m sure you know how that is, because of your uncle.”
“Gus isn’t exactly warm and cozy, but we’re close in our own way.” Jace didn’t know how to explain his relationship with his uncle. He didn’t fully understand it himself. “You’ve always adored your grandmother. I’m guessing that’s why you lied. You’d rather protect her feelings than refuse her gift outright. There’s no boyfriend, is there?”
A wounded look crossed Adaline’s face, and he immediately felt bad for pointing out the obvious.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” He shrugged. “I’m single too.”
“I’m not ashamed. I’m perfectly happy with my life.” She glanced down at her dog and wound his leash more tightly around her hand. “Things are just a little complicated right now.”
Tell me about it.
Jace’s mind was still reeling from the unexpected offer on Texas Tidings. He wasn’t ready to let go of the farm, but the purchase price Briarwood Properties had proposed was generous enough to give him pause—even if the thought of Texas Tidings being turned into a tourist destination made his stomach turn. He’d built a working Christmas tree farm from the ground up. Farming and ranching were honorable ways of life. It was decent and honest and made him appreciate things like sunshine, the changing seasons and living in the present moment instead of being plugged into a computer all day.
