A Match Made at Christmas - Courtney Walsh Page 0,23
maid of honor.”
“Wow, that’s cold.”
Peggy sighed. “Our friendship didn’t last very long after that.”
“And the guy?”
She disappeared behind the tree again. “His wife demanded that he stop being friends with me. And that’s what he did.”
Hayes tossed a bow back into the bin and moved around the other side of the Christmas tree. “Peggy, I’m really sorry that happened to you.”
She reached over and took his hand. “I don’t like to talk about it, but I share it with you as a cautionary tale.”
He frowned. “How so?”
“You and Miss Prudence. You remind me a lot of me and that boy. Don’t wait until it’s too late.”
“Like I said before, Peggy, Pru and I are just friends.”
“All I know—and I don’t know much—is that she looks at you the way I looked at him. Don’t wait until someone else tells her how he feels about her. You could lose her forever.” She squeezed his hand, then bent over and picked up the bin. “Now, I should get going. It was really nice talking to you, Mr. McGuire.”
She started off in the opposite direction.
“Peggy?” he called after her.
She turned, eyes wide in reply.
“Maybe it’s not too late?”
She scoffed. “No, that ship has sailed. But you’re sweet to say so.” She walked away, leaving Hayes standing in the warm glow of the white lights.
Chapter 9
Prudence, Meaning “Cautious”
The ceiling was still the same shade of gray it had been when Pru went to bed hours ago. She knew because she couldn’t stop staring at it. A streetlamp cast a shadow through the window, and if she rolled over, she’d have a bird’s-eye view of her entire cottage.
Her whole world, right there in that house.
Only, that wasn’t true, was it? Her world was scattered all over Nantucket at the moment. Her surf shop. Her friends. Howie.
Hayes.
Having Howie back in town was definitely a good thing—except for the fact that the man could see right through her. Had he always known how she felt about Hayes? She’d never admitted it to anyone before.
The minutes ticked by, and Pru tossed and turned, wishing she could take back her conversation with Howie—because now that the truth was out there, floating around the magical Christmas air of Nantucket—it was far more likely to land on the wrong pair of ears.
She groaned. Rolled over. Punched her pillow. Then tried to think of all the reasons she and Hayes were a terrible match.
Their friendship had come easily. After she turned him down at the beach the day they met, she saw him out at a party a few nights later. Thanks to her disaster of a stepfather, Pru never drank, but she wanted to get out and meet people, so she let an acquaintance twist her arm and she found herself on the back deck of some rich guy’s cottage.
And there, in the yard, was the guy from the beach. She watched him, this confident mystery man, as he made the rounds, talking to everyone there. He seemed to know them all. When he reached the deck and started up the stairs, he found her eyes and stopped.
She nearly melted into a puddle but forced herself to play it cool. No way she was going to be like her mother—building a life around men who didn’t bother to stick around in the morning. Pru had the highest of standards, and right now, she was all about starting over.
And her plan did not include romance.
“Surfer Girl,” he said. He extended a hand in her direction. “I never caught your name.”
She reached out and shook his hand, aware of a tingle that jumped down her spine as their skin touched. “I’m Prudence.”
“Prudence,” he said. “Meaning ‘cautious.’”
She shrugged.
“Are you?” He was still holding her hand.
“Always.”
That’s when he flashed that smile. She was sure he’d been using that smile to get his way for a very long time by now. If her weak knees were any indication, he’d likely been very successful.
“I’m Hayes,” he said. Finally, he released his grip on her hand and the coolness of the air signaled its absence. “Do you want to go for a walk?”
She regarded him for a long moment. “Did you hear me when I said I’m cautious?”
“Oh, right, and going for a walk on the beach with a stranger is probably the definition of reckless.”
“Probably.”
“What if we stay in full view of the party at all times?” he asked.
In retrospect, she probably should’ve said no. It wasn’t smart to walk off with someone she didn’t know. He