Christmas on Main Street by Susan Donovan, Alexis Morgan, Joann Ross, Luann McLane Read Free Book Online Page B

and letting the waves tumble over her bare shoulders when his grandmother’s words belatedly sank in.
    His stomach dropped. Then clenched.
    “She’s not pregnant?”
    “Oh no.” A cool flood of relief swept over him as she waved away that question with a quick flick of the wrist. “Although”—she lowered her voice, as if any conversation could be kept private in this town—“there have been rumors that Bradford Archer was seen in Olson’s jewelry store last week.”
    “I imagine Olson’s gets a lot of business this time of year,” Cole said through set teeth. Hadn’t he shopped there last time he’d been home? “Was he looking for a ring?”
    “I’ve no idea.” She shrugged her shoulders. “There’s always speculation when two young people start seeing each other. You know how Shelter Bay is. Rumors are always flying around. And Connie Olson is neither confirming nor denying.”
    “Well.” Cole blew out a breath as he considered the possibilities.
    Which weren’t good. If she
did
end up getting engaged to the guy, she’d be making a terrible mistake. While Archer seemed nice enough, he was as bland as the tapioca pudding his mother used to make for him and his brothers whenever they’d get the flu.
    Kelli was too full of life to spend the rest of her days married to man who couldn’t fully appreciate her. Or satisfy her. Even though Cole had never so much as kissed her (not that he hadn’t been sorely tempted earlier this evening), watching her now, with all her warmth and vibrant animation, he knew she’d wither away from boredom before her first anniversary.
    Deciding that he wouldn’t be a true friend if he didn’t at least try to head her off at the pass before she made the same kind of impulsive, wrongheaded decision he’d made, Cole decided to invite her to breakfast at the Grateful Bread tomorrow morning.
    Not a date, he’d assure her. Just a chance to catch up and clear the air. She’d always been levelheaded. Surely she’d understand that if he did return to town for good, they’d have to move on, not just for their own sakes, but also for their families, who’d be affected by any rift.
    “Give the girl time,” his grandmother said. “She has a level enough head not to make a mistake that important.”
    “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” Damn, he’d lied more in the last few days than he had his entire last tour of duty in Afghanistan.
    “You’re thinking about warning her against accepting Bradford Archer’s proposal,” Adèle said.
    “I didn’t think anyone knew if there was going to be a proposal.”
    “My point exactly. Kelli may look like spun cotton candy, but the girl’s always had a mind of her own. Like someone else I know,” she tacked on pointedly. “If you start trying to steer her in one direction, there’s a good chance she’ll take off entirely in the other.”
    “We’re friends.
Were
anyway.”
    “And if you want to be more, don’t go rushing things.”
    “Who said I want it to be more?”
    “Your face,” his grandmother said. “When she was opening that pink box, you were looking down at her as if she were an entire tray of cupcakes and you’d been starving for too long.”
    She knew him too well. He’d learned as a kid, like when he’d tried to take the blame for Sax breaking the Carpenters’ front window with a curveball that had gone wildly out of control, that nothing got by Adèle Douchett.
    When he and his brothers were young, she’d informed them that her own grandmère had been
a traiteur
, or healer, and seer. For years they’d been convinced that she truly did have eyes in the back of her head.
    She didn’t need that extra set of eyes as she glanced over at the object of their discussion, who was—damn—smiling up at the principal who’d finally shown up. “Give it time to play out.”
    If there was one thing being a Recon Marine had taught Cole, it was patience. And given how badly he’d screwed up