“Wait, wait, wait!” She waved her hand, trying to bring her potential Joseph back down to Earth. He’d lost himself in the lyrics and was using the back of the piano as a drum. Finally, with some effort, she caught his attention mid chorus and his voice trailed off. “I need a song. An actual song. Can’t you sing a couple lines of Les Mis? Or, Phantom? Or maybe West Side Story?”
Calvin shrugged helplessly, his mouth falling open.
“How about a Christmas carol?” Laurie jumped in. Eve nodded in agreement. “Sing a Christmas song. Any song.”
He wrung his hands, no longer the cool and confident boy Eve could remember from back in high school. “I guess I know Away in a Manger. Is that cool?”
“Yes.” She practically jumped out of the pew. At this point, she’d take anything. “Perfect. Let’s hear it.”
Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the rafters of the church and opened his mouth. From behind his teeth came the most awful, raspy sound that grated on Eve’s ears. Unfortunately, Calvin didn’t seem to notice. He got nearly through the entire first verse before the girls waved him off.
“That’s enough,” Eve said through gritted teeth. She forced a cheerful smile, although all of her Christmas cheer had just been forcefully sucked out of her. “Thank you, Calvin. We’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, babes.” He ran his hands through his hair and winked at them, as if he hadn’t just committed a crime against humanity with that song. “Laters.”
It wasn’t until he left through the double doors that Eve grabbed Laurie’s arm in a claw-like grip and squeezed. “He sounded like a dying bird. I thought I was going to have to drill a hole through my brain to survive.”
Laurie smiled sympathetically. “He wasn’t that bad.”
“It was worse than hearing a walrus bellow.”
“He had his merits.”
“Worse than listening to my Uncle Bernie snore.”
“The important part is that he tried.”
“Worse than hearing my sister and her fiance make out next to me at the movies.”
Laurie pulled back with an amused smile. “They really do that?”
“Once.” Eve swatted at her black braids falling into her face. “It was an awfully boring movie. I can’t really blame them.” She shuffled her papers and put on her meanest game face. They were still on a time crunch and she needed her Joseph. “Okay, time to find our leading man. Vicky, send the next one in!”
They proceeded through another half dozen auditions, each one worse than the last. Daisy had hidden herself permanently beneath the pews, as if she couldn’t stand to listen. Laurie was kind and encouraging throughout, but Eve had begun to lose her patience. By the final off-tune rendition of Santa Claus is Coming to Town, she was ready to scrap the whole thing.
“I’m sorry, but you were off pitch the entire song,” she said to Darren Evan, the slightly chubby rent-a-cop guard who worked at the school. He had a reputation for starting fights at the bar downtown, which didn’t exactly help his cause. Definitely not Joseph material. “And those dance moves looked like you were in the middle of an electric shock therapy.”
“But you know, it was a solid effort,” Laurie added, side-eyeing her friend. She was as angelic and sweet as her role. She had a way of smoothing things over for her hot-tempered friend. “I could really tell you were into it.”
“You were into something, but it wasn’t good,” Eve replied with a dramatic sigh.
Darren Evan didn’t seem phased by the criticism. He tipped an imaginary hat and sailed out the door with a booming laugh.
“That wasn’t very nice.” Laurie looked at her friend with her big wide green eyes. “I’m sure you hurt a couple of those guys’ feelings.”
Eve crossed her arms and sat back in the pew. Guilt claws its way up her chest at the look on her best friend’s face. Okay, maybe she’d been a little harsh, but a lot was on the line here. “I’m sorry, but I’m just realizing that we’re never going to find my Joseph. I can’t put on a musical about the most romantic and perfect couple of all time without my flawless Joseph.”
She thought about her family and how she’d been bragging about this play for weeks – ever since the Pastor had told her that he’d picked her play. They were all coming to see it, along with the majority of Snow Pines. She had to find the right guy or she’d let down everyone she knew.
Including herself.
“How’re auditions coming, ladies?”
As if sensing her desperation like a shark in bloody water, Ashley Lynn came strolling into the sanctuary. Her furry pink sweater clung to her torso and was tucked into a black leather skirt over black tights. She smiled dangerously as she swayed from side to side, revealing gigantic bleached teeth that hurt to look at.
“Fantastic, thanks for asking.” Eve slammed her notebook closed with all the scribbles she’d made about their candidates. “In fact, I think we’re almost done here. This is going to be a wonderful year for the Christmas play.”
Ashley Lynn flung her Brazilian blowout behind her shoulders and sighed. “Nothing can beat last year’s service though. You do know that I was the writer, director, and star of last year’s play? It was an epic feat.”
Eve bit the inside of her cheek to keep from growling. Of course she knew. Ashley Lynn had practically written the headline in the stars, calling attention to herself at every instance possible.
“It’s just too bad that I didn’t have the time to do it again this year,” she purred, stopping in front of the girls with a flourish of her hand. “What with my thriving attorney practice and hosting the holidays for my huge family, I just couldn’t find a spare second. But I told Pastor Steve, you can bet that Eve Walker would be a good option. She doesn’t have nearly the time constraints I do.”
Eve resisted the urge to rip that unnatural December tan right off her bronzed skin and stuff it down the back of her skimpy sweater. It wasn’t nice and Laurie would chastise her for entertaining such violent thoughts. She took a deep breath and let the anger slowly dissipate. She should’ve been used to this by now. It felt like she’d always been competing with Ashley Lynn, even though their mothers were good friends.
They’d finished the same undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, but Ashley Lynn had gone on to law school while Eve got her master’s in accountancy. Despite the framed degree in her room at home, she’d never felt like she’d measured up to the perfection that was Ashley Lynn.
“That’s great,” she finally managed to say through gritted teeth. Her cheeks felt like they were going to burst into flames, but at least she’d kept her hands to herself.
Ashley Lynn frowned, her glossy lips pushed into a pucker. She patted Eve on the shoulder, speaking in a patronizing tone. “Don’t worry. It’ll be good, even if it doesn’t measure up to last year’s play. Everyone will know you tried your best. And that’s what counts.”
Laurie grabbed her friend’s arm, as if worried she’d go after Ashley Lynn as the woman sashayed back down the aisle without another word. It was a good thing, too, because right at that moment Pastor Steve came into the sanctuary to tidy up the room after this morning’s sermon.
“How am I ever going to find the right guy?” Eve demanded, stomping her feet. She threw herself into a pew and pouted. Seeing her worst enemy in here boasting about last year’s epic performance had blasted her bad mood out of the way and allowed the blues to seep in instead.
Laurie laughed softly and sat next to her. “Isn’t that the question we all ask?”
“Very funny.” Eve hadn’t had much luck in hunting down a guy for her personal life, either. But that was a sore topic for another day. Today, she needed the perfect man for the perfect part.
“He’s out there, somewhere,” Laurie said. She patted her friend’s knee and stood to leave. “You’ll find him. I know it.”
She stared at the wooden pew in front of her as Daisy reappeared and stretched, her sweet gaze turning toward the ladie
s as she begged for a scratch. A determined fire sprung to life behind the black irises of Eve’s eyes while she massaged the dog’s soft head.
“You’re right. The right guy’s out there. And if Daisy and I have to drag him here, kicking and screaming, you bet we will.”
Eve didn’t spot the slightly frightened expression on her friend’s face. She was on the hunt and nothing could stop her.
Chapter 3
Jordan managed to avoid Eddie the hotel manager on his way to his car. Instead, he waved at the man sitting in the cloud of smoke on the hotel’s front stoop. If he didn’t get to the foundation soon, he had a feeling his boss was going to appear in a burst of flames and sic her horde of flying monkeys on him. As much as he would like to tell her to go kick the bucket, he needed money to pay for rent. And gas. And food. And all those other unfortunately necessary things in life. He didn’t have anyone else to rely on. It was only him.
Jordan had just managed to coax his Grand Am back onto the road in the direction of town when he spotted a stalled blue Chevy up ahead. Normally, he wouldn’t have given something like that another glance, as AAA was far better at changing tires than him, but the woman who got out of the Chevy took his breath away.
With dark braids that dropped to the middle of her back, tiny waist, and curves in all the right places, she was a beauty. She must’ve been on her way to work, because she wore a professional purple suit jacket and a skirt that hugged every bit of her hips above black pumps. He guessed she was in her mid-twenties. In all of Podunk Minnesota, he never expected to run into someone like her.
His palms began to sweat as he turned the wheel and pulled in behind her. Classic first sign that he was probably going to say something stupid or give her the wrong impression. It always happened that way. Despite the fact that he was now a grown man with a career and a salary, he still hadn’t developed the skills to talk to a beautiful woman. That wasn’t something that came standard with the manhood manual. Still, she was a damsel in distress. He couldn’t chicken out now and leave her stranded.
A quick glance in the rear view mirror assured him that he’d managed to wipe off that mustard stain from his grab and go lunch. He turned off his car and got out, forcing his face into a neutral expression. If he smiled, she’d think he was too eager. If he frowned, she might think he was some sort of serial killer. Little things like that made a big difference when it came to women.
He knew that much, at least.
“Are you okay?” Jordan slammed the door shut and rounded his car.
“Fine.”
The woman stood beside her open trunk and stared at him with suspicion looming in her dark eyes. Despite her heels, she probably only stood as tall as his chin. Seeing her this close only confirmed what Jordan had first noticed: she was definitely gorgeous. Her heart-shaped face and slight dimple in her left cheek were enough to make a man take a second and then a third glance. He was having a hard time not staring when the sound of a barking dog drew his attention away. A beautiful golden lab mix stood on the back seat of her car. Its tail wagged as Jordan moved closer, and its pink tongue hung from its open mouth.
A beautiful woman who was also a dog person? What were the chances he’d meet one on the side of the road in this tiny town?
“Did your car die?” Jordan asked, sweeping his gaze back to the woman.
“Flat tire,” she replied, her eyes never leaving his face. “I’ve got a spare in the trunk.”
“Oh hey, let me show you how to do that,” he said, practically jumping toward the trunk. She flinched, but he pretended not too notice. Too eager, he scolded himself. Back off. “That is, if you want me to?” He held his hands up defensively and grinned at her. “I’m Jordan, by the way.”
“Eve.” She frowned but didn’t seemed frightened. Her eyes scanned him over, taking in every little detail from the missing button on his jacket to the shine on his fancy dress shoes from Barney’s, the one splurge he’d allowed himself this year. Her head tilted toward the car. “And that’s Daisy drooling in my backseat.”
“Nice to meet you both,” he said, smiling warmly at the dog. He’d always been more of a dog person than a cat. “You’ve got a gorgeous dog.”
“Thanks.” Gesturing at the wheel packed in her trunk, she cocked her hip and rested her hand just above it. “Alright. Show me what you got, mister.”
“Great.” He rubbed his hands together and leaned over the trunk to take stock of its contents. A light breeze had picked up, just enough to seep into his clothes and make him shiver. Eve wasn’t wearing a coat, even in this weather. He pulled off his jacket and handed it to her. “First things first, put this on. You’ve got to be freezing.”
She tilted her head at him, her eyes shining with a sort of amusement, but didn’t refuse it. Instead, she swept it over her shoulders and nodded at him in thanks.
Pulling a wrench out of the trunk, he tried to keep from staring at her. She looked so pretty in his jacket, he’d almost forgotten how to speak. A warm flame had burst to life in his gut and spread every time he glanced at her. He shook his head to get a grip.
“Alright, first thing I’m going to do is have a look at your nuts.”
“Excuse me?” She pulled back her chin with an incredulous look. Her dark brown eyes opened wide.
“I mean your lug nuts,” he said, the blood rushing to his face. “The things that keep the tires in place.”
There he went again, losing the connection from his brain to his mouth. He would’ve taken the wrench to his head for saying something so stupid, but that was guaranteed to put the last nail in the coffin of this relationship. Instead, he shrugged nervously and walked past her toward the tires, giving her a wide berth.
“You want to loosen them,” he explained as he kneeled by the flattened tire. “Then, we can jack it up.”
Her pretty red lips parted in confusion, but he just grinned to himself. All of that time watching Youtube tutorials wasn’t going to waste. Of course, he’d never had to change his own tire. AAA was a life-saver. It didn’t mean he couldn’t impress some young woman with his talents, though.
“Are you from Snow Pines?” he asked over his shoulder as he loosened the first nut. It was especially tight, so he had to throw some weight into it. “I just got here on a job assignment.”
“Yep, born and raised.” She stood over him, pulling his jacket in tight.
He loosened the last bolt and looked up at her. “And you never left?”
“I went to school at UMN. Got my master’s degree then came back.”
He was thoroughly impressed. She was obviously intelligent. He liked a woman with brains.
Abandoning the wrench, he found the jack in her car and went to set it up. “You didn’t like the twin cities?”
She shrugged and rolled her eyes. “I’d liked it. But I love Snow Pines. This is where my family and friends live. Minneapolis might be shiny and new, but it has nothing compared to the warmth and comfort of a small town. You’ll never find a better place to belong to.”
He liked the way she clearly spoke her mind, unapologetic and fierce. Her brief testimony made him forget what he was doing, so the tire swayed a bit as he jacked the car a little too high. “Oops.” He lowered it a few inches until the tire barely lifted off the ground. “That’s better. You just need enough room to take it off the axle. Like this, see?”
She nodded slowly, her lips pursing in a way that made Jordan want to stare for longer than was socially acceptable.
Instead, he removed the lug nuts and pulled off the flattened tire, rolling it around to the trunk. Picking up the fresh one, he gave her a reassuring smile and then pushed it on the axle. “Nothing to it. Next time you have a flat, you’ll be able to change it easily. Although I’ll bet a woman like you has no trouble flagging down help.”
She raised one eyebrow and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. He ducked his head, his heart racing from that unexpected attempt at flirting. Even with all of his dork
y talk, she hadn’t gone running for the hills. That was a good sign. The only thing left to do was ask her to dinner. He might only be in town a few weeks, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun while he was here.
“Say, um…” he began, his mouth running dry. This part was never easy. Rejection wasn’t exactly fun. He busied himself with the jack and began to lower the car. “I don’t suppose…”
“Wait!” She flung his coat on the top of the car and snatched the wrench from the spot he’d left it on the ground. “You’re not done.”
She moved in beside him, expertly twisting the lug wrench in her hand as if she’d done it a thousand times. He stepped back, unsure what was happening. Kneeling in her tight skirt, Eve screwed on the bolts that he’d forgotten to reattach. After she’d tightened them, she proceeded to lower the jack and then stashed the tools and the flat tire in the trunk. All within the span of a minute.
And during that time, he hadn’t managed to close his mouth. This woman didn’t need his help. She’d been fooling with him and probably laughing inside as he’d stumbled through the process of getting the tire changed. The way she’d flung those tools around, she’d probably changed a few dozen tires in her short life.
When the trunk was packed, she slammed it shut and grinned at him, flashing her straight white teeth. “Thanks for the help.”
He licked his lips, suddenly feeling a lot less macho. “I don’t think you needed any help.”
“Maybe not.” She gave him another grin and shrugged, handing him his coat. He could still feel the warmth of her skin in its thick wool. “But, you were fun to watch.”
His eyes shined as he looked her up and down. She was more than just a beautiful woman, that was for sure. An educated, poised, and strong woman. If he’d been intimidated before, it was nothing to what he felt now.
“I guess I’ll be seeing you,” she said, backing toward her driver’s side door. Daisy had returned to pacing the back seat, her tail wagging.
“Yeah.” He gritted his teeth, willing himself to ask her to dinner. Ask for her number. Ask for anything! But he couldn’t make the words leave his mouth. She was so out of his league.
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