The Perfect Match. Debbie Macomber

      

       Make time for friends. Make time for

       DEBBIE MACOMBER

      CEDAR COVE

      16 Lighthouse Road

      204 Rosewood Lane

      311 Pelican Court

      44 Cranberry Point

      50 Harbor Street

      6 Rainier Drive

      74 Seaside Avenue

      8 Sandpiper Way

      92 Pacific Boulevard

      1022 Evergreen Place

      1105 Yakima Street

      A Merry Little Christmas (featuring 1225 Christmas Tree Lane and 5-B Poppy Lane)

      BLOSSOM STREET

      The Shop on Blossom Street

      A Good Yarn

      Susannah’s Garden

      (previously published as Old Boyfriends)

      Back on Blossom Street

      (previously published as Wednesdays at Four)

      Twenty Wishes

      Summer on Blossom Street

      Hannah’s List

      A Turn in the Road

      Thursdays at Eight

      Christmas in Seattle

      Falling for Christmas

      A Mother’s Gift

      Angels at Christmas

      A Mother’s Wish

      Be My Valentine

      Happy Mother’s Day

      On a Snowy Night

      Home for Christmas

      Summer in Orchard Valley

      Summer Wedding Bells

      Summer Brides

      This Matter of Marriage

      The Perfect Match

      THE MANNINGS

      The Manning Sisters

      The Manning Brides

      The Manning Grooms

      THE DAKOTAS

      Dakota Born

      Dakota Home

      Always Dakota

      The Farmer Takes a Wife

      (Exclusive short story)

       www.mirabooks.co.uk

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

      First Comes Marriage

       Dedication

      One

      Two

      Three

      Four

      Five

      Six

      Seven

      Eight

      Nine

      Ten

      Yours and Mine

       Dedication

       One

       Two

       Three

       Four

       Five

       Six

       Seven

       Eight

       Nine

       Ten

       Eleven

       Twelve

       Thirteen

       Fourteen

       Fifteen

       Endpages

       Copyright

First Comes Marriage

      To Anna and Anton Adler, Russian immigrants and my loving grandparents.

      Thank you for the wonderful heritage you gave me.

       One

      “You must be Zachary Thomas,” Janine said breathlessly as she whirled into the office. “Sorry I’m late, but I got hung up in traffic on Fourth Avenue. I didn’t realize they’d torn up the whole street.” Still a little winded, she unfastened her coat, tossed it over the back of the visitor’s chair and threw herself down, facing the large executive desk.

      The man on the other side blinked twice as though he didn’t know quite what to think.

      “I’m Janine Hartman.” She drew in a deep breath. “Gramps said if he wasn’t back from his appointment, I should introduce myself.”

      “Yes,” Zachary said after a moment of strained silence. “But he didn’t tell me you’d be wearing—”

      “Oh, the bandanna dress,” Janine said, smoothing one hand over her lap. The dress had been constructed of red and blue bandannas; it featured a knee-length zigzag hemline and closely hugged her hips. “It was a gift. And since I’m meeting the girl who made it later, I thought I should wear it.”

      “And the necklace?”

      Janine toyed with the colored Christmas-tree lights strung between large beads on a bootlace that dangled from her neck. “It’s a bit outrageous, isn’t it? That was a gift, too. I think it’s kind of cute, don’t you? Pamela is so clever.”

      “Pamela?”

      “A teenager from the Friendship Club.”

      “I…see,” Zach said.

      “I do volunteer work there and the two of us hit it off as soon as we met. Pam’s mother doesn’t live in the area and she’s at that awkward age and needs a friend. For some reason she took a liking to me, which was fine because I think she’s wonderful.”

      “I see,” he said again.

      Janine doubted he did.

      “The necklace is different I’ll grant you,” Zach was saying—which wasn’t admitting to much. His dark eyes narrowed as he studied it.

      Now that she’d met Zachary Thomas, Janine could understand why her grandfather