“Lovely to meet you, Sean,” she said politely.
“Same to you, Maisey.” Even in the dim light of the street lamps, she could see his eyes were light. Blue, she imagined. Blue as the suburban sky. He had the kind of face that became more handsome the longer she looked at him.
“Well, thank you for the ride home.”
“Again, no problem.” He didn’t seem in any way anxious to leave. Maybe she could invite him inside for a cup of coffee or cocoa. Just as a thank you for his kindness, she assured herself.
“Would you like to come inside and have a hot drink? Just a little thanks for bringing me safely home?”
“I’d like to, but I really need to get back on the road.” From seemingly nowhere, he produced a business card held between two gloved fingers. “If you ever need a ride again, or anything else I can help you with.”
Now this was a delightful surprise. Maybe he wasn’t a married father of five after all. There were so few single, available men around. Not to mention she was new to the area and knew almost no one except the girls at the wine shop. It might be nice to spend some time with someone truly nice during the Christmas season. Of course, she knew she was getting way ahead of herself.
“Do you want to trade cards?” he asked.
For a moment, she didn’t get his meaning, then it clicked into her brain. Business cards, he wanted to exchange business cards with her. “Sure.” She opened her clutch and rifled around for a pastel pink card with her new information on it. “My home and cell phone numbers are on there as well as my email.” Good grief, now she sounded desperate, she thought as they exchanged cards.
He began walking backwards on the ice and she held her breath he didn’t slip and fall. There was something slightly off about his walk. Something she’d seen before. But it was icy, so maybe the slightly strange gait was the result of the weather.
“Goodnight Maisey. Have a great evening,” he called.
“You too, Sean. Stay safe.”
She waited until he pulled out of her driveway and the taillights from his car disappeared into the hazy distance, before closing and locking her front door. She removed her jacket and hung it in the closet before heading into the kitchen to make a cup of hot cocoa. As the water came to a boil she looked at the business card. Sean Marshall. Nice guy, or at least her first impression was that he was a nice guy. Maybe he would call, maybe not. If he didn’t, she had more than enough work to keep her busy through the remainder of the year.
Maisey heard her phone beep with a text message, and she retrieved the phone from her purse. It was from Tegan: Did you make it home safely? Who did you get for your Love List guy?
Maisey rolled her eyes. Did Tegan really think she would stoop so low to call a complete stranger and try to set up a blind date? She began to type a smart reply, when curiosity forced her from the kitchen back to the hall closet to get the slip of paper with her Love List match. She had absolutely no intention of contacting the guy, but she could let Tegan know who is was so he could be allocated to another woman who actually wanted to play the game.
Carrying the folded paper to the kitchen, she lifted the phone once more to type in the text. And the lucky loser… For a moment, she stared at the ink on the paper. Surely this was someone’s idea of a joke, albeit a bad joke, or maybe she?d just suffered a small stroke— Sean Marshall.
It couldn’t possibly be the same police officer who so graciously drove her home in an ice storm and even walked her to the front door. No, it had to be a joke, and Maisey didn’t like jokes, especially ones that came at her expense. She put the phone back in her handbag without sending the text, finished making her hot cocoa, and went upstairs for the night, determined to forget all about The Love List.
Wedding dress.
Check.
Designer shoes in red.
Check!
Full-length red gloves.
Check!
The pearl earrings and matching necklace purchased from an estate sale a year earlier at rock bottom prices?
Sadly, a no. As gorgeous as they were, they were ivory in color and the dress was virginal white.
A red choker instead.
Check!
And finally, the ring.
Double check!