Marry Me at Christmas (Fool's Gold #19)(22)

* * *

“I’m late,” Madeline yelled as she raced to the door of Paper Moon.

“You said that five minutes ago, which means you’re really late,” Rosalind called after her. “And I mean that in a helpful way.”

“You’re such a mom.”

“Thanks. Have fun.”

Madeline wasn’t sure fun was the word she would describe where she was going, but it wasn’t entirely wrong. Helping out at the holidays was expected and this was her thing.

She would have been on time except for an unforeseen shopper that morning. Apparently her theory about no proposals over Thanksgiving hadn’t been correct. One young man had popped the question and a new bride-to-be had wanted to try on dresses.

Now Madeline hurried toward city hall. As it was less than two blocks away, she had a good shot of getting to her meeting before it started.

She waited to cross the street. As she stepped off the curb, Jonny came up beside her.

“Hey,” he said. “How’s it going?”

“Great.”

She told herself to act casual. She hadn’t seen him since the tree lighting a couple of days before. The fact that he’d put his arm around her for nearly an hour didn’t mean anything. This wasn’t high school. He’d been keeping her warm, not stating his intentions. She knew because when the tree lighting had ended, he’d said good-night and walked away without a backward glance. Or a kiss. Was it wrong to want a little tongue for the holidays?

He kept up with her as she circled around city hall to head in the front entrance.

“Did your parents fly out this morning?” he asked.

“Yes. They’re in the air on their way back to Florida as we speak.”

“Sorry to see them go?”

“Always. They’re fun to hang with. My mom is totally freaked about the cruise they booked for the holidays. She’s worried I’ll be all alone on Christmas. I’ve told her I’ll be fine, but I’m not sure she believes me.”

“She loves you and wants you to be happy.”

True, but slightly strange to hear him saying that.

She stopped in front of the large, three-story building. “Did we have a meeting? I sent off the email to Ginger about the cake and the other things and she hasn’t gotten back to me yet. She and Oliver are going to make their decisions in a day or so.”

Jonny nodded. “She told me that, too. She should probably start cc-ing us on the emails so she doesn’t have to write two.” He glanced at city hall. “What’s in there?”

She assumed he was asking what she was going to be doing, rather than requesting an explanation of city government. “I’m on the Live Nativity committee,” she told him. “We’re finalizing arrangements for the twenty-fourth.”

His brows rose. “Live as in...”

“You have no idea.”

“Great. Can I come?”

“To talk about the ramifications of having an elephant in the Live Nativity? It’s not that interesting.”

“It is to me. It’ll be fun.”

He started up the stairs without waiting for her, which meant she had to hurry to catch up. The man was nothing if not unexpected, she thought, unclear on any possible interest he could have in the committee.

Once they entered the building they went down the hall, then up the stairs to the second floor.

“The meeting room is down here,” she said.

“So why are people upset about the elephant?”

“Aside from the fact that there probably wasn’t an elephant around when Baby Jesus was born?”

“Yeah, that.”

“Because there are other people with unusual pets who think they should be included. Plus, there was a little pushback when we allowed a service dog, namely a toy poodle, to stand in for Baby Jesus. We were supposed to replace her with a doll, but somehow that didn’t happen and, well, there were some letters to the editor.”

He grinned. “I love this town.”

“You didn’t have to deal with the letters.”

He held open the door and she stepped into the conference room.

There were four long tables pushed together, forming a square. The chairs were on the outside. Madeline saw that Mayor Marsha was nowhere to be seen, which most likely meant the other woman wasn’t going to attend. Mayor Marsha was nothing if not prompt. Dr. Galloway, the committee chair, was also absent, but as there was a folder in front the seat she usually occupied, Madeline figured she would be here any second.

Most of the other chairs were occupied by the usual suspects. Everyone looked up when Jonny entered. Madeline realized she had absolutely no explanation for his presence other than “He thought it would be interesting.” Fortunately, Jonny was used to dealing with an audience.

He introduced himself and asked if he could sit in on the meeting. The ten women in the room glanced at each other. They all looked confused, but a couple nodded.

Jonny flashed his movie-star smile, then walked over to sit next to Gladys.

“Thanks for your help the other day,” he said.

“It was nothing,” she told him. “My great-niece, Nancee, has to deal with difficult situations all the time. She’s in Washington, DC, and the things that go on in government...” Gladys shook her head. “Especially when you’re young and attractive. But Nancee knows what she wants and it’s not a one-night stand with a congressional aid or lobbyist.”