Mistletoe Matchmaker. Lissa Manley

“You’ve cut yourself pretty good,” he said after a few moments, his voice laced with concern. A pause. “Keep your hand over the sink, okay? It’s bleeding a lot.”

       She did as she was told, biting her lip against the fiery pain. Something dry engulfed her throbbing finger.

       “I’m stopping the bleeding with a clean towel,” he said.

       “Okay,” she said shakily. The ground tilted and her legs sagged.

       He put one arm around her and guided her to the nearest kitchen chair. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

       She nodded as she sat. “Thanks. The sight of blood always gets to me.”

       He hunkered down next to her, still holding her towel-wrapped hand. “How’s that?”

       “Better,” she replied, relaxing back in the chair. “My dizziness is passing.”

       “Good.” Looking at her swaddled hand as he rose, he said, “Let’s leave that on while I find the first-aid kit.”

       “Okay,” she replied, taking a hold of the towel. “Check the linen closet in the hall. Rose keeps a lot of toiletries and stuff like that there.”

       “Will do,” he said, leaving the kitchen.

       While he was gone, Molly clenched her teeth at the pain in her index finger. Would she need stitches? She hoped not.

       But she would need to quit staring at Grant.

       A few moments later he returned, a bright orange first-aid bag in his hands. “Found it.”

       The concern in his eyes gave her tummy a little flip.

       He sat down in the chair opposite her and reached out to take her injured hand. “Let’s see what we have.” Gingerly, he unwrapped the blood-stained towel from her hand.

       Molly kept her gaze averted, flinching at the pain zinging through her finger.

       She felt him lean in. “It looks pretty superficial,” he said. “I’ll just put some antibiotic ointment on it, bandage you up, and you’ll be as good as new.”

       “Okay. Thanks.” She peeked at her finger and her stomach heaved. She quickly turned away. “You sure it isn’t worse? It feels like I gouged it pretty good.”

       He moved his chair, and himself, closer, then bent over her finger again, his gaze locked on her injury. “I’m positive. I know it hurts, but it isn’t too bad.”

       “Whatever you say, Doctor Roderick,” she said in a teasing tone, trying to distract herself from the pain.

       He chuckled, glancing at her, his mouth curved up at the corners. “I’m no doctor, but I did have first-aid training in college. Will that do?”

       “That’ll work,” she replied, doing her best to ignore his attractive smile.

       “Good.” He grabbed the ointment and gently dabbed it on her cut. Then he picked up a roll of gauze, unwound a length of the bandage material and cut it with the scissors he’d found in the kit.

       As he worked to take care of her, Molly looked down at his bent head, noting his long eyelashes and sculpted cheekbones. Yes, he was one handsome guy. And caring and gentle, too.

       Pulling her interested gaze away, she let him finish tending to her cut, doggedly refocusing her attention on her goal at hand—to figure him out so she could match him up with one of the many single and wonderful women in town. Maybe Phoebe…

       After her finger was bandaged up tight, Molly was grateful Grant helped her finish making dinner. Clearly, he didn’t have that much experience in the kitchen, but he took direction well and did a good job for a rookie.

       Soon they were seated at Rose’s antique dining room table, heaping plates of spaghetti before them.

       “This looks—and smells—fantastic,” Grant said, inhaling deeply. “I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in a long time.” Not surprising, given how hard he was working. One more reason she needed to find him his perfect match.

       “Well, then, you were smart to let me stay.” Molly took a piece of garlic bread from the cloth-covered bread basket with her good hand, then passed Grant the salad. “Eat up, there’s plenty. And we made enough so you’ll have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.”

       They ate in silence for a few minutes—she had to admit, she made a mean spaghetti sauce—and then the lack of conversation got to her, thanks to one too many silent, awkward meals with her dad.

       Setting her fork on the edge of her plate, she regarded Grant. “So. What kind of project are you doing?”

       He took a drink of water and put his glass down. “I’m writing computer code for a new client.”

       “So this…code job, it’s very important?”

       “Yes, very important. If I pull this project off in the ridiculously short amount of time I’ve been given, my company will secure the account for the future, and I’ll get a huge promotion and a lot of respect within the software community.”

       Interesting. “Don’t you get lonely working in such isolation?”

       “Actually, no,” Grant said, taking another piece of garlic bread from the basket. “I work on my time, when I want, with no distractions, no meaningless socializing.”

       She scrunched up her nose. Did Grant at least allow the Lord into his tiny box of a life? She’d be lost without His guidance.

       “Being with people is not meaningless,” Molly said emphatically. “I adore interacting with my customers, love helping them pick out products, forming attachments, making friends from all over the world. I’ve had customers from as far away as Hong Kong who still email me to chat.” Granted, that was just email. But still, she was connected. Involved.

       He blinked several times, as if her statement was so foreign to him he couldn’t possibly understand where she was coming from. “Personally, I find a social life and business don’t mix,” he replied after a long moment.

       He was making the same foolish choice as her father, the big-time corporate attorney.

       “Sounds lonely,” Molly said, shaking her head. Lonely and isolated. And faithless.

       “Maybe so,” Grant replied, pulling Molly back into the conversation. “But some people like my kind of lifestyle.”

       Probably not his family. “Your bosses, for instance.”

       He laughed. “Definitely at the top of the list. But focusing on my job works for me because my career is my number-one priority. I don’t have time for a social life, which is fine by me.”

       None of this made any sense to Molly. How could he live that way, always solitary, his only companion a computer? “So, your aunt Rose told me you don’t have a girlfriend.”

       “Nope.”

       “I guess you don’t have time, right?”

       His expression closed. “Right. I gave up dating a long time ago.”

       She almost blurted, “Me, too,” but she held back the words just in time. She was trying to find the perfect woman for him, not reaffirm his reasons to stay isolated with her own sob stories.

       With her promise to Rose in mind, she said, “I was wondering if you’d like to go to church with me on Christmas Eve, the week after next? I’m sure you’d love the service.”

       Grant froze, his fork midway to his mouth. Then he very deliberately set the utensil down. “Church isn’t really my thing,” he said evenly. Too evenly. As if he was trying to suppress something painful and had gone all blank instead.

       She blinked. “Oh. Okay. No big deal.” Not a believer, then? Again, another