A Perfect Christmas Romance by Lori Wilde

Author:Lori Wilde
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: L&P

CHAPTER 7

Nick had barely escaped the news desk’s gravitational pull when he turned on his cell phone and saw a text from Liv.

Call me.

Grinning like he’d just won the lottery (or at least a particularly heated game of trivia night), he slid into his SUV and punched in her number.

She answered on the third ring, sounding like she’d just run a 5K.

“Hey,” she said, her voice a mix of breathless and... was that excitement?

“Hey yourself,” he said. A weird little silence ensued. “I got your text.”

“I have some good news.”

He waited.

She said nothing.

Argh! She was killing him with these pauses. It was like waiting for the next season of his favorite show, but worse. “Yes?”

“What does your weekend look like?”

“It’s wide open,” he said, mentally drop-kicking his to-do list into next week.

“Would you like to go to an art show?”

He grinned. “Would this art show perhaps have an exhibitor by the name of Matilda Merris?”

“No,” she said, and his heart plummeted for a microsecond before she continued, “Matty Lunsford.”

“She’s showing her art under her mother’s maiden name!” he said, feeling like Sherlock Holmes cracking a case.

“You know her mother’s maiden name?”

“I’ve been researching her father for quite some time.”

“I’m impressed that you’ve done your homework.”

“Because I was a lackadaisical student when you knew me?”

“You were lazy, but you still got straight As. It ticked me off that I had to study like mad, and you could skate by barely cracking a book.”

Nick chuckled. “Where is this art show?”

“Right here in Kringle. It’s part of the Holiday on the Square event. There’s Christmas fun and games, food kiosks, an art show, music event. People come from all around the Metroplex.”

“That sounds like fun. What time is the art show?”

“The festival is an all-day thing. The judges are picking the winners of the art competition at four. You could come to my house around three-thirty, and we could walk over together.”

Nick felt a little disappointed. It was like being offered a slice of cake when he wanted the whole bakery. “How about I arrive at ten, we go to brunch, and take in some of the sights?”

She exhaled audibly, and he could practically hear her overthinking through the phone. “You’d want to do that?”

“Sounds like the event of the season. Why not? Unless you have something else to do in the morning. If so, no worries.” He tried to keep his voice casual like he wasn’t hanging on her every word.

“No, no. I don’t have anything else to do.”

“So, ten then?”

“It’s a date.”

His heart took off. “Liv?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet.”

“Why not?”

“The hard part is ahead of us. We have to figure out how to approach Matilda without upsetting her.”

“Gentle touch. Got it.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

“Liv, I know you went on a limb for me, and I’m grateful.”

“I’m grateful to you too.”

That put another skip in his pulse. “For what? I didn’t do anything.”

“You gave me the courage to stand up to my boss.”

A thrill went through him as if he’d just won an Emmy and a Pulitzer on the same day.

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