Read Online The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection by Patricia Kiyono - Free Book Online Page A

a
friend’s. Carley, from her class at school.”
    “ Carley Jones?”
    “ Yes, that’s her. Do you
know her?”
    “ I went to school with her
mother, and Joanie graduated with her father. They’ll take good
care of Angie.”
    “ She must have been a young
mom if she went to school with you.”
    “ Nancy and Joe married the
week after we graduated from high school and Carley was born the
next spring. I, on the other hand, went to college and changed
majors twice.”
    “ Ah.” He reached up into
another cupboard for mugs.
    Knowing that Angie wasn’t in the house gave
Sophie mixed feelings. On one hand, she was glad to have some time
alone with Mitch to get to know him. On the other hand, she was
alone with Mitch. And it had been a long time since she’d been
attracted to a man. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. She’d
been attracted before, but not to this degree. This was definitely
attraction, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for it.
    But maybe he wasn’t
interested. It’s just
coffee , she told herself. Don’t go worrying about things that haven’t
happened yet.
    Still, it was difficult to keep from
wondering what it would be like to have those gorgeous eyes staring
into hers, to have those efficient hands running through her
hair…
    “ Do you want it plain
today, or would you like some creamer?”
    She blinked. “Uh, creamer, please.”
Embarrassed by her train of thought, she took a sip. And scalded
her tongue. Gasping, she set the mug down. Mitch grabbed a glass
from the cupboard and filled it with ice from the dispenser on the
fridge and set it down in front of her. She lifted the glass to her
lips and sighed as the ice cooled her tongue.
    “ Sorry.” He passed the
creamer to her, along with a spoon, but the spoon fell through her
fingers onto the floor. Both she and Mitch bent to pick it up at
the same time, accidentally bumping heads. The jolt she felt had
nothing to do with the bump, but everything to do with awareness.
She rose, wondering if he’d felt it too.
    Mitch rubbed his temple. Not a good sign.
“Um, sorry about that,” she murmured.
    He shook his head. “No problem at all. My
skull is intact, and the dishwasher works great.” He picked up the
spoon and loaded it into the machine then moved over to the
silverware drawer and picked out another spoon. “Here you are. Nice
clean spoon for your creamer.”
    “ Thanks.” She stirred,
hoping inspiration would come to her for something witty to say.
Too bad Joanie couldn’t be there coaching her. “So, um, how long
have you lived here?”
    “ Angie and I moved in at
the beginning of August. I wanted to get settled before she started
first grade.”
    “ Good plan. I knew the
Hagers, who used to live here. They were family friends. I didn’t
realize they were planning to move.”
    “ Eric Hager is my uncle. He
developed some health problems and they decided to move closer to
their daughter in Muskegon. That way they’re also closer to their
doctors, and the hospital, if they should need it.”
    “ I guess that shows you how
out of touch I’ve been with this neighborhood.”
    “ People know you, though,
and they remember you. It will take some time before Angie and I
are accepted as part of the community.”
    “ Angie seems to have made
some good friends.”
    “ Do you think
so?”
    “ If she’s been invited to a
sleepover, that’s a good sign she’s been accepted by the girls in
her school. And I noticed that she interacts with the girls in her
Sunday School class, too. She’s doing fine.”
    “ That’s good to hear. I’ve
had my hands full trying to promote my business, but it’s a little
hard getting people to drive out here to an unknown studio. It’s a
good thing I’ve got contacts with the AP so I can still do some
freelancing.”
    “ Aren’t the locals coming
to you?”
    “ My calendar is full for
the next month, thanks to your great idea of offering
mini-sessions. But after the holidays, it’s