CHAPTER ONE
The only thing worse than being alone at Christmas was being your cousin’s plus one to a work holiday party.
Michelle fastened the silver Christmas tree earring into her lobe, making a face in the mirror. Even Luke, the hot-mess celebrity she’d briefly dated last year, had managed to find his happily ever after. The pit that had formed in her stomach three hours ago when she saw Luke and his new wife, Brooke, on a magazine cover in the store checkout line hadn’t dissipated. She’d done a pretty good job of at least faking contentment the past year. But that photo had brought her loneliness back in full force.
Her phone buzzed, and she picked it up. A text from Autumn. Drinks tonight at Bobby’s! We need a designated driver and I pick you.
Michelle laughed, quickly texting back. Can’t. I’ve got the Christmas party with Hudson tonight.
Autumn’s response was almost immediate. No! We all want you there.
“We” meant the members of Their Only Voice, the animal rights activist group Michelle belonged to. Is Ruth coming? Michelle texted. She’d never gotten along well with the chapter president.
If I tell you no, will you come? came Autumn’s response.
It was oh-so-tempting. But she’d promised Hudson. Sorry. Maybe next time.
At least tell me you’re wearing the red dress, Autumn said. You look amazing in that one. You’ll definitely snag a man if you wear it!
Michelle glanced down at her dress—the very one Autumn had mentioned—and smirked. We can’t all find our Doug, Michelle said.
Yeah, but you could at least try.
Michelle shut off her phone without replying. She had tried to find a man—really hard, and for a really long time. But she’d completely given up this year. Hadn’t been on a single date.
The bell rang, and Bella, her ancient beagle, gave a tired yawn.
“Some guard dog you are,” Michelle teased, scratching behind the animal’s ears as she walked by. Bella gave a happy bark, her sightless eyes seeing nothing, then settled back into her cushioned bed. Michelle shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips, and headed to the front door.
“Hey,” Hudson said, looking dashing as always in a suit with an incredibly skinny tie. His pants were at least four inches too short and showcased socks with a wild diamond design. He brushed a lock of curly hair out of his eyes. “You look nice. Let me guess—you found a new eco-friendly mascara that hasn’t been tested on animals.”
“See? You really can tell the difference,” Michelle teased. Truthfully, she’d spent twenty minutes perusing the makeup aisle before finding exactly that. “You look nice, too.”
“Thanks again for coming with me.”
“If you win that flat screen, I get to pick the first movie we watch on it. You know, you could’ve just asked a real date to be the extra raffle ticket holder.”
“And risk someone thinking we’re serious? No way. Ready to go?”
“Almost. Let me grab my purse. Be right back.” But it took her nearly five minutes to search out the black beaded clutch from a dark corner of her closet. She finally found it piled underneath a hemp bra she’d forgotten about and a skirt she’d bought at a street fair.
“Found it,” she called, reentering the living room. She froze, then grabbed the magazine from Hudson’s hands—the one that talked about how Luke and his wife were building their dream home.
“Since when do you read celebrity gossip?” Hudson asked.
“I don’t. It was an impulse buy.” Michelle walked into the kitchen and dropped the magazine into the trash can. “See? All gone. Are we taking your car or mine?”
“I’ll drive,” Hudson said.
Michelle nodded, ushering him out of the house. Maybe he wouldn’t bring up the magazine again.
“I didn’t think you even liked that guy,” Hudson said.
Michelle sighed, dropping her keys into the clutch. She’d met Luke through Toujour, a professional matchmaking agency. Michelle had only gone out with him once, to a Broadway production of The Lion King. There had been zero chemistry between them, and she told her matchmaker she wasn’t interested in a second date. “I didn’t like him—not like that, at least. He’s nice enough and I’m happy for him.”
“So why the magazine?” Hudson held open the car door and she slipped into his silver Prius.
“I guess I was just curious about his life.”
Hudson peered at her, his dark eyes hooded with concern. “After twenty-nine years, I think I know when you’re lying. Are you okay?”
“Of course I am.” Why did he have to bring up her age? Twenty-nine and still single. She’d thought she’d be a stay-at-home mom in the suburbs by now, with a garden patch in the backyard and a few chickens to provide fresh eggs. She wanted someone to discuss her day with, someone to make her laugh. Why couldn’t she seem to make a relationship work? It wasn’t like she dated jerks or commitment-phobes or anything. She just hadn’t found a guy who felt like her other half. She always fell for the guy who was allergic to dogs, or the guy who was moving across the country, or the guy who didn’t want children. One time she dated the perfect man for three months, only to learn he was heading to Africa for a summer of wild game hunting. She’d barely been able to look at him after that.
It was why she had signed with Toujour, the matchmaking firm Luke had turned into a household name. But after six months of never making it past the third date, she’d given up and canceled her subscription. That had been New Year’s Eve of last year.
“You can’t avoid me by disappearing into your own head,” Hudson said, tapping roughly on her forehead.
“Hey.” Michelle swatted his hand away. “Focus on the road.”
“Focus on the conversation.”
Michelle pursed her lips. Hudson turned out of the subdivision and onto the main road, passing the trio of inflatable snowmen with flapping red scarfs and happy grins waving from their grassy patch of drive strip. Even the snowmen would spend this Christmas with someone. “I’m jealous, okay? Are you happy now?”
“You know I can’t be happy if you aren’t,” Hudson said. “Jealous of what?”
“Luke. He was this complete mess when we went out. And now he’s got everything I want—the love of his life, the marriage, the house in the suburbs.”
“Private beach front property isn’t exactly a house in the suburbs.”
“Still.” Michelle let out a sigh. “I’m lonely, okay?”
Hudson smirked. “What, attending work parties with me isn’t fulfilling enough?”
Michelle snorted. “Yeah, not really. I know you’re happy being single and doing the career thing. But I’m not.”
“Then find someone.”
“You act like I haven’t tried.”
“Look, Chelle. I know you’ve dated a lot. And I know it’s never worked out. But when you couldn’t get the city to agree to a recycling program our junior year, did you just give up? No. You kept at it until they finally caved.”
“I don’t think petitioning the city council until they’re so sick of hearing from me they agree to my demands will work in this situation.”
“Maybe not. But statistically speaking, if you date enough men, eventually you’ll find the one that you want to stick around.”
“Dating is hard.” Things always went so incredibly well in the beginning, but within a few months, the illusion shattered.
“I’m guessing marriage is, too.”
She smacked him on the arm. “Geez, thanks for the pep talk.”
His tone turned serious. “You know I love you, right? And right now, you need tough love. You’ve got to stop being scared. If marriage is really what you want, you need to go for it with as much determination as you went after that recycling program.”
Like the two situations were even comparable.
191 Pages
3-4 Hours
34k Words
