Mistletoe Matchmaker. Lissa Manley

attractive,” she said, sounding amused.

       Molly looked up at Phoebe. Her friend had her lips curved into a smile that definitely held a sly edge. “Maybe he’s available,” Phoebe said.

       Molly peered at her friend more closely, her stomach flipping in a half circle. What was with Phoebe’s wily grin? “For who?” she asked, hoping her suspicions weren’t true.

       “For you, of course,” Phoebe said, shrugging.

       Molly’s tummy flipped all the way around. “For me?” She waved a finger in the air. “I’m not interested in him.” Which was true. Except as a match for Phoebe. Or anyone who wasn’t Molly. Rule number one of matchmaking: don’t let yourself get caught up in your prospects. Even if they were drop-dead gorgeous and charming to boot.

       Phoebe snorted. “Oh, right. I saw you getting all flustered when he bent down to hook the leash. I watched you stare at him when he walked away.” Phoebe drilled Molly with her all-seeing, sky blue gaze. “You were interested, all right.”

       Trust Phoebe to catch the details. She was one of the most observant people Molly knew.

       Molly put the sweater in its place and headed to the register, telling herself she shouldn’t be surprised by Phoebe’s statement. It was no secret she thought Molly should be dating, even though Phoebe wasn’t dating, either. She’d lost her fiancé, Justin, God bless his soul, in a firefighting accident one and a half years ago, and hadn’t dated since.

       Time to set the record straight. “I was interested in him because my matchmaker radar went off when I met him.”

       Phoebe frowned, pausing, then moved closer. “Because…you wanted to fix him up with me?”

       “Yup.” No use hiding the truth. “That’s what I do, Phoebs.”

       “You know I’m not looking for a romance,” Phoebe said.

       “Maybe this time it would be different.”

       “I doubt it. You of all people should know that.”

       Molly straightened some paperwork on the counter. She actually agreed with Phoebe about romance and its pitfalls. Molly was a romantic idealist at heart, and had always dreamed of falling in love, having a family and living a faith-based life. But since Jeff had dumped her three years ago—after Carl had dumped her a year before that—she’d given up on romance. Safer that way.

       “Things change,” Molly said softly. “Maybe it’s time.”

       Phoebe paused and drew in a heavy breath, pain shadowing her eyes. “My situation’s different than yours,” she said.

       Molly reached out and squeezed her arm. “Yes, it is, no doubt about it. What you went through when you lost Justin was awful, and much worse than what I went through. But do you really want to be alone forever?”

       “Do you?” Phoebe asked pointedly.

       Molly flushed. Trust Phoebe to turn this dating thing around by deflecting the tough questions back to Molly. But she’d asked an excellent question, one that heralded an impasse.

       But not a surrender.

       So she said, “I’m not sure.” Best to at least appear to leave her own possibilities open. No sense in reinforcing Phoebe’s love phobia with talk of her own. That would be counterproductive.

       Phoebe rolled her blue eyes. “You can say whatever you want, but you’re the one who’ll be seeing him again, not me,” Phoebe said.

       A little frisson of excitement squiggled through Molly at the thought of seeing Grant again, taking her a bit off guard.

       She’d need to watch those reactions. Carefully. Rule number one couldn’t be ignored. Ever.

       She leveled an amazingly droll gaze on Phoebe. “I will see him again, because Rose asked me to look in on him once in a while. But that’s all, trust me.” Molly would make sure of it.

       “Really?” Phoebe asked, pulling her wild blond hair back with the elastic band she kept around her wrist. “’Cause I’m pretty sure I saw a spark.”

       Molly silently admitted Phoebe was right. Molly did find Grant attractive, and she’d been sparking all over the place. And boy, did she need to put a lid on the fire. She wasn’t looking for a romance, especially with a man who seemed to be a workaholic like her dad. She would just admire Grant from afar, while keeping her promise to Rose.

       Molly found her purse and pulled out her wallet to pay Phoebe for lunch. “Really,” she replied, doing a good job of sounding detached. Now she just needed to follow through and act the part so she could do her matchmaker thing and find a way to get Phoebe and Grant out on a date.

       Phoebe shot her a look coated in doubt—despite her grief over losing Justin, she remained a pure romantic at heart when it came to other people—so Molly changed the subject to the reason Phoebe was here—lunch.

       “So, what are we having for lunch today?” Molly needed to stay at the store, since her one employee, Gena, had the day off. She and Phoebe were going to share some kind of takeout in the back room.

       “I’m craving deli. How does a ham sandwich from Elly’s sound?”

       “Perfect,” Molly said, glad Phoebe had dropped the subject of Grant.

       Molly needed to do the same. Pronto.

       No matter what, she had to ignore Grant’s gorgeous blue eyes, beautiful smile and charming ways. She believed in finding everlasting, real love.

       For everyone…but herself.

      Chapter Two

      After Grant left Bow Wow Boutique, Jade obediently trotting beside him thanks to the treats in his pocket, he went home and dug into his work. Somehow he managed to focus on computer code rather than on the appealing Molly Kent.

       Sure, he’d noticed how pretty her gold-flecked green eyes were when he’d bent close to put on Jade’s leash. And how smooth and creamy her skin was, with a light dusting of freckles across her pert nose. She was friendly, too, and had a good sense of humor to round out the package quite nicely. But the fact remained, he was here to meet his deadline, not resurrect his social life, which was nonexistent for a reason.

       Work and romance just didn’t mix, as his ex-girlfriend Jenna had proved to him when she’d broken up with him in grad school. How ironic was it that she’d dumped him for almost flunking out because he’d paid too much attention to her?

       No doubt about it. Being successful and having a romantic relationship were mutually exclusive. Not something he was going to forget anytime soon. And he sure wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. Not even with someone as attractive as Molly.

       Turning his thoughts away from the past and how it affected the present, he noted that, thankfully, Jade seemed pooped by her visit with Molly’s dogs. She’d plopped down on her bed in the corner when they’d come home, and had pretty much left him in peace to work for the better part of the afternoon. So he lost himself in his complicated task, only occasionally distracted by visions of Molly’s pretty eyes dancing through his brain.

       Sometime later, the burn in his shoulders forced his attention away from work. He rose and massaged the kinks that were trying to take up permanent residence in his upper back. While he rolled his shoulders and stretched, he looked out the big picture window running the length of the front of the house.

       The green-gray Pacific Ocean spread out in all its beauty for as far as he could see. White-capped waves rolled in to the shore, and seagulls dipped and soared here and there. The clouds had broken up a bit, and the sun was actually peeking through, sending golden beams of light into the roiling ocean. Wow. What a view.

       Man, his mom would have been all over this.

       A shaft of grief pierced him, literally taking