Mistletoe Matchmaker

Grant followed Jade, his aunt’s white standard poodle—the one he was supposed to be taking care of—running like a madman trying to keep up with the runaway dog. Thankfully, the dog looked smart enough to keep out of the street and away from cars. If anything happened to Jade, he’d never forgive himself.

Grant dodged a holiday shopper coming out of one of the many quaint stores lining the street. “’Scuse me,” he said, straining his neck to keep an eye on Jade. If he lost sight of the dog, he’d never get a hold of her. How could he have let the crazy canine get the better of him one measly day into his house/dog-sitting duty?

All of a sudden, Jade stopped so fast she almost left paw skid marks. Yes! A block behind, Grant kept running, hoping she stayed put so he could grab her. He had work to do, work that didn’t involve chasing naughty dogs all over town.

He drew closer, and Jade put her large, furry paws onto the Christmas-light-festooned window of a store and let out a hearty woof. Then she dropped to all fours again. Grant kept moving, closing the distance between them, pretty much expecting her to take off when he got within grabbing distance. She was clever, he’d give her that. She’d outsmarted him. For a while.

But she stayed by the store, her white pom-pom tail wagging up a storm. Just as she reared up on her hind legs again and pawed the air with her front paws, he was in striking distance.

I’ve got you now!

He lunged for her collar…and saw the store door open to his left. As quick as a cat—for a large dog—Jade jumped forward and through the open door. She looked like she was smiling as she dodged past him.

He fell forward, unable to stop his momentum, and crashed to the thankfully dry boardwalk with a bone-jarring thud. The air whooshed out of him instantly, and he couldn’t draw a breath to save his life.

He rolled onto his back, cringing, wondering if anything was broken. He lay there for a moment, flopped out like a dead fish.

Just as he managed to choke some air in, a feminine voice exclaimed, “Oh, my goodness, are you all right?”

He looked up and saw a very pretty woman with a mass of long curly red hair and cute freckles staring down at him, her eyebrows drawn together over a set of gorgeous green eyes.

His cheeks burned. Great. He’d fallen down in front of the most attractive woman he’d seen in a long time. All he could do was groan, his pain mingling with complete embarrassment.

Not exactly a stellar way to start his time in Moonlight Cove, was it?

Molly Kent looked down at the blond man lying on the sidewalk in front of her store, Bow Wow Boutique, concern rippling through her. He’d hit the deck pretty hard.

Given that he was chasing Jade, Molly surmised this guy had to be her friend Rose Latham’s nephew, Grant Roderick, whom Rose had enlisted to pet-sit Jade while she went on a Hawaiian honeymoon with her new husband and former neighbor, Benny Fulton.

“I’m fine,” the man said from between clenched teeth. With a grimace that told Molly he wasn’t all that fine, he got his feet underneath him and stood.

Peter and Parker, her two schnauzers, barked from within the store, clearly excited by Jade’s arrival, as well as, Molly supposed, the commotion outside. Their bell-trimmed Christmas collars jingled with every yip.

“Are you sure?” She reached out a hand but stopped short of touching him when she got a look at him dead-on. Her breath snagged. Never in her wildest imaginings had she expected Rose’s nephew, whom the older woman had described as a socially backward computer jockey with a serious need to get out more, to be so attractive. He was tall, had nicely chiseled features and a strong, shadowed jaw. Cute. Very cute.

He nodded, his face slightly red, giving her a crooked smile, then spread his well-muscled arms wide. “Luckily, I’m pretty tough.” The short-sleeved navy blue polo shirt he wore emphasized that he was in serious shape—and that he hadn’t left the house prepared for the chilly December weather.

“You must be Grant,” she said, feeling her face heat a teensy bit. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he made his living in front of a camera rather than behind a computer.

“Right,” he said. “I suppose chasing Jade gave me away.”

“I saw you through the window.” She held out a hand. “I’m Molly Kent.”

He shook her hand, his grasp strong. And undeniably warm. “Nice to meet you, Molly Kent.”

He looked right at her, and she couldn’t help but notice his eyes were a really compelling blue. She tried not to stare.

Feeling a bit off-kilter from his killer good looks, she fell back on manners and familiar territory. “Now that Jade is contained, would you like something to drink? I have a fridge in the back.” Molly had promised Rose she would look after Grant and Jade while Rose was gone, and Molly never reneged on a promise. Besides, being needed felt good.

“Sorry,” he said. “I have work to do.”

Molly raised a brow and looked at Jade as she panted in between drinks from the water bowl Molly kept out for Peter and Parker, and any other dogs who visited. “Jade needs a rest,” she said pointedly. “And you look like maybe you do, too.”

“Yeah, I guess maybe I do,” he admitted. “Even though it’s cold out, I ran all the way here and really got my blood flowing.” He glanced at Jade, who, Molly noted, was now chasing Peter and Parker around one of the pet food displays, having turned their attention from Grant and Molly to each other. All three dogs barked in delight as they ran in a wide circle, around and around and around.

He shook his head. “She’s clever and fast. I’m a runner, and even I couldn’t keep up with her.”

She chuckled, then gestured him in, her eyes on the rambunctious canine trio. “Especially when she’s motivated to find her way here for lots of doggy fun. As you can see, they all love to play.”

“And pull off successful escapes.” Grant grimaced as he followed her in, closing the door behind him. “I’m pretty sure she was waiting for me to open the door so she could take off.”

Molly laughed as she navigated her way around the Christmas squeaky-toy display. “You’re probably right. Jade is a handful. Even Rose and Benny have a hard time curbing her wandering tendencies.”

Grant trailed behind her. “I guess I don’t feel so bad then, for letting my guard down long enough for her to escape.”

Molly reached the back room. “No, you shouldn’t. Jade is kind of high maintenance, especially if she misses playtime.” She opened the mini-refrigerator on the right, pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to him. She jumped a bit when their fingers touched. Whoa.

She cleared her throat. “Just a hint, but a played-out dog is a contented dog, and will want to be your constant companion.” She paused for effect. “Did you remember playtime?”

He furrowed his brow as he twisted open the water bottle’s top. “Oh, yeah…playtime.” He shook his head, then drank some water. “I forgot.”

She’d thought so. “Well, again, don’t worry. If she escapes again, Jade always comes to visit me and my two dogs, so I can just bring her back.”

“Okay,” he replied, rubbing his eyes. “I’ve never owned a dog. This is all new to me.” He turned and looked at the mangled bright yellow remnant of what had to be a tennis ball Jade dropped on the floor behind him. “Do they all have such…disgusting toys?”

Molly smiled. So, he was clueless about dogs, something she found surprisingly endearing. Good thing she was the resident dog expert around Moonlight Cove. She had a lot to teach him. “Pretty much. My two schnauzers each have four or five tennis balls rolling around, and they’re all pretty slobbery.”

“And smelly,” he replied, making a face. “Maybe I should buy her a new, clean one.”

Molly appreciated his suggestion. He caught on fast. “Well, you could, but it’ll be gross, too, pretty quickly, won’t it?”

He smiled. “I guess so. Maybe I need an endless supply.”

Molly’s heart rate kicked up a notch at his gorgeous smile—including dimples—and the way his eyes crinkled at the corners.

She forced her thoughts back to the conversation at hand, wishing her heart rate would slow down a teensy bit. “The Sports Shack sells them. I’d give you one, but Jade likes the ones fresh out of the can.” She remembered something. “Hey, I’m guessing you can get a family discount since Kim is married to the Sports Shack’s owner, Seth.”

Seth and Grant’s cousin, Kim, had met five months ago when she and her seven-year-old son had come to Moonlight Cove to live with her and Grant’s aunt Rose. Seth had saved Kim from drowning in a riptide off Moonlight Cove Beach, and Kim had ended up working in his store. Soon after, they fell in love, and the rest was history.

“Good point. I met Seth when he, Kim and Dylan came to visit me in August.”

A thought occurred to Molly. “You weren’t at their wedding, though, were you?” The happy bride and groom had been married this past September in a lovely ceremony at Moonlight Cove Community Church, followed by a reception on the beach where they’d met.

Grant shook his head. “No, I couldn’t make it.”

“For your cousin’s wedding?” Kind of an important event to miss.…

His jaw tightened, and he seemed to be squirming. “I was out of the country for work.”