Page 53 of A Match Made at Christmas

“Prudence Sutton!” A man’s voice rang out from somewhere in the main room, where the party was still underway.

“Oh no!” She gasped. “They’re introducing me right now. This is going to look so bad. You stay here while I run out there so it doesn’t look like—you know. . .”

“Like what?” He grinned.

“Hayes.” Heat rushed to her cheeks.

“Not a chance,” Hayes said. “I came here to watch you go up on that stage and talk about your tree. No way I’m missing it.”

“Prudence Sutton!?” This time, there was a question in the announcer’s voice.

She pulled the door open just as Hayes grabbed her free hand, spinning her back to face him. He kissed her so fully and in plain view of at least half of the party-goers, clearly not minding one little bit that they’d just been caught in a very awkward-looking situation.

But once he released her and sent her back into the main area, she couldn’t help but notice her knees had gone weak and the only thing she could think about was getting through this speech so they could finish their conversation.

Chapter 16

Faded Photographs

Hayes watched Pru take the stage. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment, and he felt mildly bad for his part in that, but mostly he just wanted her to hurry up so they could ditch the party and be alone.

“Thank you so much,” Pru said. “And thank you to my friends and adopted family who came to the island to be here for this event tonight. I’m so honored to have had the chance to take my love of making custom surfboards and tie it in with my love of Christmas. The talking tree has been one of my favorite Stroll events since I first came to the island right after high school, so this is truly a full circle moment for me.”

Hayes wasn’t even going to pretend he was unaffected by her beauty, her kindness, the way she knew him so well. He’d been living in complete denial, but now that he realized it, he was sure of only one thing—he didn’t want to spend another moment without Pru.

And not just as a friend.

Behind him, the door to the stairway that led to the roof opened, and Peggy rushed out.

“Peggy,” he called out after her, but the woman kept on walking, straight out the front door.

Howie appeared in the doorway, a sheepish look on his face. He glanced at Hayes, then walked off toward the bar.

“That was some entrance you two made.” Hollis stood at Hayes’s side.

Hayes tossed a glance at his brother, and smirked.

“’Bout time,” Harper said, coming up on his other side.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hayes returned his gaze to the small stage where the head of the Nantucket Chamber was questioning Pru about her artwork.

“Please,” Harper said. “We’ve all been waiting for this for like, ten years.”

“It’s good to see you finally figured it out,” Hollis said.

The crowd applauded and Pru exited the stage, smiling as she zig-zagged her way through the room. She stopped to chat with Hayes’s parents, then made her way over to him.

“Did you see that Peggy left?” she asked, meeting Hayes’s eyes.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“I think I’m going to go make sure she’s okay,” she said.

“No,” he said. “I’ll go. “You need to stay here—it’s your party.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll catch up with you later?”

He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to lead her back to the stairwell and finish what they’d almost started. Instead, he nodded and walked off. It wasn’t lost on him him that Pru hadn’t given him any indication of how she felt about him.

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