Page 9
“Yep. I made a pot of coffee too.”
“Wow, a man who makes me breakfast? I might have to keep you here,” she teased as she poured herself a cup of coffee and added some cream. “Do you need help?”
“Nope. Just sit down and I’ll bring it to you.”
I brought her a plate with pancakes and bacon, setting butter and syrup on the table between us, then went back for my own plate.
“How’d you sleep?” she asked. “I know that bed’s a little tiny.”
“Surprisingly well. It’s so quiet up here.”
Right on cue we heard someone pounding loudly on the door.
Liz smiled. “At least it was.”
Liz
I couldn’t say I was surprised to see Evelyn on the other side of my door. It’s not that she didn’t ever stop by, but I knew her well enough to know she was here to see how her matchmaking was going. My friend was nosy as hell.
“Good morning young man.”
Nathan stood to greet her, and she smiled at him, her still-sharp eyes taking in the tee shirt stretched across his chest and the snug sweatpants that outlined his package nicely.
“Good morning Evelyn.”
“Well, isn’t this cozy, you two having breakfast.”
My friend threw her huge coat in the direction of the coat rack and plopped into a chair, still wearing her grizzly bear hat. She was wearing leopard print tights and a boxy Christmas sweater that said, “Kiss My Elf.” I brought her a cup of coffee and Nathan turned his attention back to his pancakes. I could tell Evelyn made him a little bit nervous, but then again, she had that effect on a lot of people. My friend was like a wrecking ball.
I was oddly touched that Nathan had made me breakfast, which probably said more about my marriage than it did about Nathan. One thing was for sure: the man knew how to make perfectly crisp bacon. I took a bite and sighed happily. When I looked up, Nathan was staring at me, eyes dark and intense. I shivered.
“What time are you heading to the festival?” Evelyn asked, drawing my attention back to her.
“Probably in a couple of hours. I still need to mix up the Christmas Punch.”
“Liz makes the best Christmas Punch in town,” Evelyn told Nathan. “It’s always the hit of the festival.”
Nathan looked between us. “Festival?”
I nodded. “Yeah today is the annual St. Nicholas Day Festival. We always have a big event the first weekend in December to kick off the Christmas season. This town loves the holidays.”
“I thought Thanksgiving kicked off the Christmas season?”
“Thanksgiving is the end of Fall,” Evelyn corrected with the tone of someone answering a ridiculously stupid question.
Nathan’s dark eyebrows came down in a familiar frown. I was starting to realize that was his “I’m thinking” face. Or maybe it was his “I’m judging you” face. They seemed pretty similar.
“You’re having a festival today?” he repeated. “Outdoors?”
We both nodded.
“Is he a little slow?” Evelyn stage whispered to me at a level that could be heard in the next room. I ignored her.
“But there was a blizzard yesterday,” Nathan continued, still frowning. “It looks like you got at least a foot of snow, maybe more. It’s still coming down. How can you possibly have a festival in this weather?”
Evelyn shrugged. “If we didn’t do things in the snow we’d all be stuck indoors for six months out of the year. Besides, it’s only snowing lightly now. They already plowed the town square, and volunteers are working on the sidewalks right now.”
“If they can plow the town square why can’t they plow the road out of town?” he asked in confusion.
