“You had me there for a minute.” I hugged each of my new, crazy friends.
“Now it’s your turn, Dakota.” Rebecca clapped her hands in delight. She loved to play matchmaker.
Dakota unfolded the paper. “Tristan. Love the name. Who is he and what does he do for a living?”
Chloe leaned forward and told us about her friendship with Tristan.
“Okay. What the heck? I’ll give him a try.” Dakota seemed thrilled.
“Maisey, it’s your turn.”
“No, no. I’d rather not,” she insisted and folded her arms.
We all booed Maisey.
“No thank you. This doesn’t sound like a very nice game. Besides, I’m not open to rejection or blind dates. That’s not my thing,” Maisey still refused.
Dakota sighed. “Holiday parties are the worst without someone on your arm. I hope my guy likes parties.”
“Good. It’ll be easier to get a date.” Tegan announced.
We all looked at Maisey.
“There’s one name left.” Chloe teased.
“Fine.” Maisey removed the piece of paper, shrugged a little, forced a smile, and made a production of putting the paper in her pocket.
“Aren’t you going to look?” I was dying to know who she chose.
“Nope. It’s my secret, but of course, Chloe, Tegan and Rebecca know. Goodbye everyone, and we’ll talk soon.” She spoke in a cheery voice and then grabbed her coat and left.
“I bet she doesn’t call her guy.” Tegan frowned.
“Don’t be upset with her. She’s had her heart broken. It takes time to heal.” I could tell Tegan just wanted everyone to be as happy as she was.
“That was really fun. I can’t wait to hear how everyone does with their guys.” We all grabbed our coats and hugged.
“Drive careful.” Tegan waved from the doorway as we drove off.
Keaton didn’t need to know about The Love List. He might get the wrong impression—like I was interested in finding someone else.
CHAPTER SIX
The phone rang the next day as I was feeding Scorch. “Hello.” There was no sound on the line other than some heavy breathing. My stomach sank. “Wayne. Stop calling me. I mean it. Harassment is illegal.” I guess Gran’s threats didn’t last.
I hung up and the phone rang again. “Wayne. I mean it. If you keep bothering me, I’m going to call the authorities again.”
There was a pause on the line. “I love you. We’re meant to be together.” Wayne’s determined voice gave me the creeps. It was time to file a formal complaint.
“No. I’m in a relationship. Please stop calling.” My hands shook as I hung up and unplugged the phone. Keaton could reach me on my cell phone. The only reason I had a landline hooked up was because I spent so much time talking to authors. I preferred it to a cell phone against my ear.
My cell phone rang and I jumped. “Hello.”.
“Finn? Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine.” Keaton’s voice calmed my rattled nerves.
“You sounded angry. Are you sure everything is all right?”
“Sort of.” I took a cleansing breath. “There’s this guy who keeps calling and he’s scaring me.”
“Is he from Vine Grove?”
“No. Miami. I’ve reported his calls before, but he keeps finding me. I’m going to call the officer in Miami and see what my other options are. ”
“Do you want me to call him for you? Maybe if he knows you’re seeing someone, he’ll back off.”
“Thank you, but it might make it worse. My gran has some influence in Miami. Whatever she did last time lasted a few months. Maybe whoever talked to him needs to be more forceful.”
“Let me know if you want my help.”
“I will. Thank you. Talking to you about it helps.” My heart settled back into a normal rhythm.
“Good. I’d like to see you tonight. I miss you.” His voice softened.
“I miss you, too.” Kettle tackled my ankle and then zipped away. Corn chased after the other kitten. “Would you like to come over for dinner? I can make a pork roast, potatoes, and buttermilk biscuits.”
“Only a crazy person would say no to an offer like that. How about 6:00 p.m.? I’ll bring the wine and dessert.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you later. And drive careful. The forecast says we should get a couple of inches of snow tonight.”
“Don’t worry about me. My car can get through anything.” I could hear dogs barking in the background as he hung up.