Page 49 of Mechanic’s Christmas Match

He stayed long enough to help Evangeline get lunch started and Leo focused on his tiny basketball and hoop before heading off. But when she asked him to stay and eat with them, he told her he had stuff to do.

He drove back to the village with the radio turned up, trying to get himself excited for the holidays instead of just obsessing over Ana.

But when he got back to town, he found he didn’t feel like cleaning his apartment or making a sandwich.

So he sat on a bench in town and played around on his phone, daydreaming over a real estate site that featured small houses and big apartments with pretty views.

One day, he told himself, finally getting up and stretching his legs.

He wanted to stop in the real estate office and ask Sloane Greenfield to show him some houses. He wanted to call Ana and ask her to go have an ice cream with him and just laugh about everything going on in their lives, even if it wasn’t going to be romantic between them.

But neither of those things would get him any closer to where he was going.

If I want to make Ana happy, I know what I have to do. And then I’ll have a real excuse to call her or stop by.

Pulling his phone back out of his pocket, he called Maggie while he headed toward his place.

“Hello?” Maggie said, picking up on the second ring.

“Hey, Maggie,” he said politely. “Thanks for dinner the other night.”

“Thank you,” she said, sounding a little guarded.

Good, he thought to himself. She definitely doesn’t like me.

“I was just wondering if you wanted to go out again,” he said. “I heard there was a fundraiser coming up for the school library. Ana said she could help us with a couples’ costume, if you wanted?”

He hoped that she couldn’t hear the indifference in his voice. She was going to say no, no matter what. But he didn’t want to hurt her feelings by letting her know he wasn’t actually interested.

“Really?” Maggie asked, sounding truly astonished. “You want to go out again?”

“If you want,” he offered, worry starting to crop up in his chest.

“Okay,” she said. “Fine.”

“Fine?” he echoed, probably sounding as completely flummoxed as she had before.

“Why not?” Maggie said, suddenly sounding pleased. “It’s for a good cause.”

“Okay,” Rory said, his stomach twisting. “Let’s figure out what we want to go as.”

If he could just get Ana to make him a costume for “biggest fool in Trinity Falls,” it would probably fit perfectly.

14

ANA

Aweek later, Ana crouched beside Theo as he examined the beautiful model trains at the open-air market.

A couple of the Cassidy boys were still making adjustments and trying to get the tracks set up. But even standing still, the sleek machines had Theo’s full attention in spite of everything else going on.

All around them, the market was alive with the sounds of local merchants and charities setting up booths festooned with colorful decorations. In honor of the holidays, the children of Trinity Falls had also been invited to host their own booths today. So now, among the more professional offerings of the local shops and eateries stood displays filled with lumpy pottery, homemade snacks, and even one little girl whose table was overflowing with sweet little crocheted animals.

The low wooden stage at one end of the covered market was being set up with mics and sound equipment for a local band to play later.

The air was rich with the scent of coffee and Shirley Ludd’s famous chicken and dumpling soup. Though they had made sure to eat a good breakfast, Ana was hoping she could sneak away from their booth again at lunchtime and get them all some soup and other treats.

Her mom was manning the booth right now. They’d brought over some of their most popular winter accessories, a rack of beautiful dresses, and even a stack of pretty aprons. The charity they were supporting this year was a homeless shelter in the city, and Ana hoped they could sell enough items to make a difference.