Page 12 of A Cozy Christmas Blizzard
Wynn stopped walking and regarded her suspiciously. “You want to go back? Did you forget something?”
“No, I meant you and me.”
“How so?” He kept his hands buried in the pockets of his long overcoat.
“Hello,” she began. “My name is Katherine O’Connor, but most people call me K.O. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
He frowned. “We did earlier,” he said.
“This is pretend.” Did the man have to be so literal? “I want you to erase this morning from your memory and pretend we’re meeting for the first time.”
“What about drinks at LaVonne’s? Should I forget that, too?”
“Well.” She needed to think this over. That hadn’t been such a positive experience, either. “Perhaps it would be best,” she told him.
“So you want me to act as if this is a blind date?” he asked.
“A blind date,” she repeated and immediately shook her head. “I’ve had so many of those, I need a Seeing Eye dog.”
He laughed, and the sound of it was rich and melodious. “Me, too.”
“You?” A man this attractive and successful required assistance meeting women?
“You wouldn’t believe how many friends have a compulsion to introduce me tothe woman of my dreams.”
“My friends say the same thing.Thisis the man you’ve been waiting to meet your entire life. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s a disaster.”
“Really? Even you?” He seemed a little shocked that she’d had help from her matchmaking friends.
“What do you meaneven you?”
“You’re blond and beautiful—I thought you were joking about those blind dates.”
She swallowed a gasp of surprise. However, if that was the way he saw her, she wasn’t going to argue.
He thrust out his hand. “Hello, Katherine, my name is Jim Carrey.”
She laughed and they shook hands. They continued walking at a leisurely pace, and soon they were having a lively conversation, exchanging dating horror stories. She laughed quite a few times, which was something she’d never dreamed she’d do with Wynn Jeffries.
“Would you mind if I called you Katherine?” he asked.
“Not at all. Do you prefer Wynn or Dr. Jeffries?”
“Wynn.”
“I’ve heard absolutely marvelous things about Chez Jerome,” she said. Not only that, some friends of K.O.’s had recently phoned to make dinner reservations and were told the first available opening was in May.
“LaVonne is certainly full of surprises,” Wynn remarked. “Who would’ve guessed she had a connection with one of the most popular chefs in the country?”
They arrived at the restaurant, and Wynn held the door forher, another gentlemanly courtesy that made her smile. This psychologist wasn’t what she’d expected at all. After hearing his theories about Christmas, she’d been sure he must be a real curmudgeon. But in the short walk from Blossom Street to the restaurant, he’d disproved almost every notion she’d had about him. Or at least about his personality. His beliefs were still a point of contention.
When Wynn mentioned LaVonne’s name to the maître d’, they were ushered to a secluded booth. “Welcome to Chez Jerome,” the man said with a dignified bow.
K.O. opened her menu and had just started to read it when Jerome himself appeared at their table. “Ah, so you are LaVonne’s friends.”
K.O. didn’t mean to gush, but this was a real honor. “I am so excited to meet you,” she said. She could hardly wait to tell Zelda about this—even though her sister would be far more impressed by her meeting Wynn Jeffries than Jerome.
The chef, in his white hat and apron, kissed her hand. The entire restaurant seemed to be staring at them and whispering, wondering who they were to warrant a visit from the renowned chef.
