Page 37 of A Match Made at Christmas

And yet, that didn’t seem right either. While he didn’t consider himself a romantic, he’d certainly noticed that zap between Peggy and Howie. It was undeniable, really. Even after all this time, the spark was still there. He had to at least try to get them together.

He shuffled the papers, each detailing a Nantucket native who hadn’t been matched. Reasons were written at the bottom.

Left the island.

Too focused on career to settle down.

Heart otherwise engaged.

He stopped. He was staring at a photo of Pru. His eyes went back to the bottom of the page, where someone (Aunt Nellie?) had writtenHeart otherwise engaged.

What?

There was no date on the sheet, but maybe Pru had been holding out on him. Maybe she’d fallen for someone and never told him. His heart wrenched. Why? He would be happy for her if she found someone who made her happy. Of course he would.

So why the sick feeling in his stomach?

Hayes folded the paper and stuck it in his pocket. He’d head straight over and make her tell him the truth. Weren’t they supposed to be best friends? He thought for sure when she fell in love, he’d be the first to know.

They used to joke that he’d be her maid of honor—after all, hewasher best friend.

Heart otherwise engaged.

The words raced through his head, and a deep sense of loss wound its way through him. But no, Pru wasn’t in love—if she was, surely, she would be in a relationship. No guy in his right mind would turn her down. But it had been a long time since he and Pru had occupied the same space. Just because she didn’t talk about dating anyone didn’t mean she hadn’t. And if she had, maybe she’d fallen—hard.

Maybe she was too embarrassed or too hurt to talk about it.

His stomach—the little traitor—turned yet again at the thought.

So far, his plan to stay focused on matchmaking Peggy and Howie had gone awry. He didn’t like this side of himself, but Pru was his to protect. If someone had hurt her, he needed to know about it. She didn’t have anyone else.

He reached her house, hurried up the walk, and knocked on the door, ready to ask her why her heart was otherwise engaged.

But when she opened it, standing there in her red stocking cap and matching red scarf, the question disappeared.

He didn’t want to know the answer. He didn’t want to believe that Pru had fallen in love with someone. It was selfish, and he knew it—he didn’t begrudge her happiness.

But Pru washis.

“You okay?” she asked. “You look weird.”

“I’m great,” he said, a little too cheerily. “Let’s go get a Christmas tree.”

She smiled up at him and his breath caught in his throat. What a fool he’d been. He didn’t want them to turn into Howie and Peggy. He wanted Pru.

She frowned. “You ready?”

He nodded. “Yeah, of course. Let’s go.” He swallowed his thoughts because he knew deep down that changing his relationship with Pru was a huge deal. And besides, it would take both of them to do that, and Pru didn’t think very highly of him when it came to his past relationships. Never mind that her thoughts weren’t exactly backed up by fact. He didn’t have a string of women all over the world or anything like that, but he did keep every relationship casual, and Pru had zero respect for that.

He wasn’t good for her. Not good enough anyway. Especially not right now, when he felt so lost, when he still had so much to sort out.

He kept his thoughts to himself as they walked around Moors End Farm, shopping for the perfect Christmas tree—not too tall, but plenty full.

Pru stopped in front of a tree and grinned. “This is it.”

He gave it a once-over and nodded. “Good choice.”

They paid for it, then loaded it on top of Pru’s SUV and drove back to her house. When they arrived, he dragged it inside and set it up while she located a small box of mostly handmade Christmas ornaments.

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