Cole's Christmas Wish. Tracy Madison

“As in, you and I? Or will your significant other be joining us?” No way, no how would she resort to calling a stranger “Cupcake.”

      “I believe she will be present, yes.”

      “Really? That fast? I thought you said it would take some time to convince her to meet me. Since she’s so shy and all. Or did I misunderstand you?”

      “What can I say? Women are a mystery. Just when I think I have one figured out, they veer off course and I have to start from scratch.” Exhaling a short, noisy sigh, Cole continued, “I gotta say, Rachel, you females are a confusing lot. Say one thing when you mean another. Speak in code half the damn time, and usually, we poor men are left in the dark.”

      “Uh-huh. You ‘poor men’ rule the world, rarely call a girl when you say you’re going to, and usually, leave us poor women wondering what we did wrong to elicit such behavior...and scrambling to figure out what we can do to fix it.”

      “Sweetheart,” Cole said in that drawling way of his, “the perception might be that men rule the world, but the facts are that women rule the men. Your team has the upper hand in every negotiation with my team. Ask Andrew if you don’t believe me.”

      “I’ll do that.” Huh. If that were the case, then why did Rachel forever feel as if she were on the losing team? “Later. But only if you ask your sister.”

      “Deal. I’ll be interested in hearing his take,” Cole said with a chuckle. “About lunch?”

      “Well...” Rachel stalled, unsure if she was prepared to meet Cole’s Cupcake just yet. “Andrew and I are baking cookies and we might...um...bake a lot. So not really sure if today—”

      “Go, Rachel,” Andrew said, pausing his search of her cupboards. “I’ll probably be tied up soon enough with work, anyway. I’m sure we can get at least one batch of cookies baked first.”

      “One sec,” she said to Cole. Then, covering the phone with her hand, said to Andrew, “Are you sure? I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”

      “Lunch with Cole and his girlfriend, right?”

      “Yes.”

      “Then I’m sure.” He opened a drawer and discovered the measuring spoons. “You can get out of the house for a bit and I can focus on my job without feeling guilty. Seems like a win-win situation. On all accounts.”

      “Right. Win-win.” Discouraged and, not that she’d admit it, somewhat annoyed, Rachel nodded and put the phone next to her ear. “Lunch is fine, Cole. When and where? Foster’s?” she asked, referring to the family-owned restaurant and pub. Where else would they go?

      “No,” Cole said after the briefest of pauses. “Let’s go to Dee’s Deli. Say one o’clock?”

      “Um. Sure. I’ll see you then.” Hanging up, Rachel smiled absently at Andrew, who was now organizing the items he’d placed on the counter. It was cute. And...homey. “All set.”

      “Good. Are you excited to meet Cole’s better half?”

      “I’m more interested than excited. As far as her being his better half? I’d say that remains to be seen.” Her irrational irritation at the whole mess broke free with, “He calls her Cupcake. Cupcake! Isn’t that ridiculous? She isn’t a toy poodle, for crying out loud.”

      “Perhaps she resembles a toy poodle, hence the nickname?”

      “What?” Rachel tried to picture that possibility and came up blank. “You mean if she’s petite and has curly hair? Or...I don’t know, Andrew. How can a woman resemble a poodle?”

      “I was joking, Rachel.” Andrew looked at her curiously, the concern in his gray eyes evident. “It’s a term of endearment. Why are you upset? Does it matter what he calls her?”

      “I’m not upset...I’m—” She stopped, sighed. “No, it doesn’t matter in the slightest. I guess I’m used to these visits going a certain way, and this time, everything is different.”

      “I see.” Andrew crossed the distance between them and kissed her on her forehead. “Forget about Cole and his Cupcake. We have cookies to bake,” he said with a grin. “I haven’t made Christmas cutouts since I was a child. Maybe this is the start of a tradition for us.”

      “That’s a sweet thought...and a nice one.”

      “I like it, too. I’m sorry about work butting in today,” he said, his voice and his expression earnest. “And for my attitude with Cole last night at the Beanery. Forgive me?”

      “Of course,” she murmured. “Nothing to forgive.”

      Pivoting, unable to handle his scrutiny or his sweetness, she located the cookie cutters and dumped them on the counter before grabbing the cookbook. “Let’s make a tradition.”

      Andrew’s gaze still held concern, but he didn’t push the topic. Just nodded and joined her at the counter. Rachel tried—oh, how she tried—to stay in the present, to enjoy this time with Andrew, but her mind kept traveling down other paths.

      Yes, darn it, what Cole called his girlfriend mattered. Why hadn’t he mentioned her real name? And really, using only a term of endearment when talking about someone else was odd. Also, and even more telling, Rachel mused as she measured flour into the mixing bowl, was that he’d suggested Dee’s over the family restaurant.

      Maybe Cole’s family didn’t approve of the relationship? Oh, wow. That would mean...

      Anxiety pooled in Rachel’s stomach and pinpoints of pain jabbed at her temples. If so...then yes, Cole truly loved this woman. His family and their opinions were too important, too valuable to him to remain involved with a woman he didn’t have real feelings for.

      “Darling?” Andrew’s amused tenor broke into Rachel’s thoughts. “I think you went a tad overboard on the flour. We’re not opening up a bakery, are we?”

      Rachel stared into the mixing bowl, now almost filled-to-the-brim with flour. About, she guessed, four times the amount necessary.

      “I’m sorry,” she whispered, not sure if she meant her mistake or the fact she’d been thinking about another man when she should be focused on Andrew. On finding her own slice of happiness. “I...don’t know what happened.”

      “Hey, don’t worry about it.” Andrew started scooping flour back into the storage container. “See? Easy enough problem to fix.”

      Right. Easy as pie. Too bad she couldn’t say the same about cupcakes.

      Well...one particular cupcake. Rachel sighed and attempted to push what didn’t concern her out of her mind. Her goal should be to surround herself with the present, with Andrew. If she were very fortunate, perhaps she’d soon be taking a leap of her own.

      Into Andrew’s arms.

      * * *

      Cole stood outside of Dee’s Deli with a to-go box in his hands, waiting for Rachel to arrive. It might be a little—or by some folks’ perspectives, a lot—cold for a picnic, but he’d heard Rachel’s surprise at the fact he’d chosen Dee’s over Foster’s for lunch.

      He couldn’t take her there until he’d had a chance to talk to his family. His convoluted plan would go up in flames the second Rachel asked any one of them about his girlfriend. In the light of day, he wasn’t so sure he could pull this off anyway, but he knew he couldn’t if his family refused to get on board. Tonight, Cole decided, he’d see what they had to say.

      Until then, he figured a winter picnic would suffice well enough as an explanation for that particular decision. Explaining why his Cupcake was absent from the picnic was another story, but he thought he could deal with that little issue on the fly. Hoped so, anyway.

      Thankfully, the snow had lightened considerably in the past hour, and Haley had readily agreed to watch over the store solo for the