Page 33 of Once Upon a Christmas Kiss

He breaks his small cookie in half. “He’ll just show up, huh? Like someone new? Not like someone you already know.”

I pull my notebook toward me and click my pen. “Huh? No. Someone new, of course. Cherry Creek is way too small. Maybe I’ll meet him in Paris or Prague or Singapore or something. Somewhere exotic I’ll be someday. Anyway, no one I’ve talked to knows where the book is right now.” I scan my eyes down the list of Cherry Creek residents Ginny and I brainstormed. I’d called the whole list.

“And that’s bad.”

“Very bad. We need the book. So I can give it to Felicity, and she can find her true love.”

Ollie chews his cookie while he drums his fingers on the table. He’s got large hands with long fingers. Man hands. His nail beds are wide, and his nails are neatly trimmed. “Is that what she wants?”

“Not consciously. But it’s what she needs. She’s still so bitter over Mark leaving her like he did that she doesn’t believe love and happiness are even possible anymore. That’s why she needs the book to bust through all her defenses and deliver her the love and support she needs.”

He jerks his chin. “But doesn’t think she wants.”

“Exactly.”

“And you need my help for this?”

“Absolutely. Hold on.” I put my pen down and take a bite of my cordial cherry cookie that I can’t wait another second for. I close my eyes at the luscious, rich taste of chocolate ganache and maraschino cherry. “Oh, these are my favorite.” I open my eyes to find Ollie staring at my lips again. He licks his own.

“I’m going to buy another one of those for me.” He jumps up and gets in the order line, and I can’t fault him.

“Get two!” I call out to him. He nods in acknowledgment.

Five minutes later he’s sitting back down across from me. He slides one of the new cookies over and bites into the other one. I watch him like he watched me. His eyes roll back with pleasure the moment the taste hits his tongue. As he moans, there’s a jump low down in my stomach that has nothing to do with eating cookies.

“Wow, that’s good.”

“It really is,” I agree. “Thanks for getting more.”

“No problem. Though if I was smart, I would’ve bought a dozen. Maybe I still will.” He shifts in his chair.

“First I have to finish telling you why I need you.”

He stretches a leg out. “Yes, please tell me why you need me. And exactly how.”

There’s a low lilt to his words and part of me wonders if he’s being suggestive. But it’s Ollie. I’m sure I’m imagining it. “Well, as I was saying, no one knows exactly where the book is, but really someone has to know.Someonehad the book last. Someone knows where it ended up. And I came across someone who said there’s a clue.”

He cocks an eyebrow. “A clue?”

I nod and break off half a cookie and pop it in my mouth. “Mrs. Atchison said Sadie Foster has a clue.”

“Sadie Foster? Who’s Sadie Foster?”

“She’s the town matchmaker. She’s been around forever.”

He pulls a face. “Townmatchmaker? Is that a thing?”

“Yes, it’s a big thing—her business is booming. She’s had more clients than she can handle after all those matchmaking shows started streaming.”

He rubs his jaw. There’s a small patch of stubble on the left side that he must have missed shaving. Ten years ago he wasn’t capable of producing such solid stubble. “Why would this matchmaker have a clue about the book?”

“Maybe professional interest?” I suggest with my pen in the air. “I don’t know why she has the clue or if it’s even real in any way, but it’s the closest to a hint I’ve been able to find, so I have to pursue it. Mrs. Atchison, whose daughter found her true love when she got the book, told me Sadie Foster has the clue, but she’s also got stipulations about who she’s willing to give it to.”

“What stipulations?” Ollie eats the carrot cake cookie in one big bite.

“She says she’ll only give the clue to a couple. She says if anyone’s looking for true love, they need to hire her. Matching people is what she does for a living. She’s not going to assist a book in stealing her clients away. But a committed couple looking for a little extra insurance on their happily ever after can get the clue from her. She also seems sympathetic toward looking for the book to give to someone else.”

Ollie tilts his chin and gives me a soul-piercing look. “Can I ask you something?”

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