“Who says I’m giving up?” he muttered with exasperation.
“This isn’t going to work if your head isn’t in it.”
Marcus threw his hands into the air. “Fine. So what do we do? Are we scrapping the cookie idea?”
“No. But I might have to tweak it a little.” Isabelle pursed her lips to the side, then nodded. “Yeah. It will still work. But you’re going to need to spend some one-on-one time together. And we’re going to need more of Nora’s help. She has to plant the seed in Wynter’s head that you two would be a good fit.”
Marcus didn’t have much faith in that working, but something was better than nothing. At least he hoped so.
“Anyway, so we’re all going over to Wynter’s place with cookies and frosting. We’ll all decorate the cookies, and when Nora heads off to bed, Jason and I will leave. Then you and Wynter can spend some quality time together. Get back to what you guys were before she went off to college. Can you do that?”
“Even if I do everything right, it’s not going to do any good. Wynter is?—”
“Stubborn, I know. But not even Wynter will be able to ignore the connection you have.”
Marcus opened his mouth to point out that Wynter was very aware of theirconnection,and she still wasn’t having any of it. But Isabelle held up a hand to stop him.
“Don’t argue with me. Don’t act like it won’t work. We’re playing the long game. Trust me. With Nora’s help, we’re going to help Wynter remember how good you two could be together. Whatever reasons she has for pushing you away won’t matter when she finally realizes she loves you and can’t live without you.”
His expression must have given away just how much he didn’t believe her because she scowled and pointed a finger at him.
“If you can’t believe in yourself or us, then it’s not going to work. How long is Wynter going to be in town again?”
“A couple more months.”
“So you have that long to show her how good you are together. That’s plenty of time.”
Marcus wanted to laugh at her optimism. He didn’t feel like he had a chance at all. But then he wasn’t a girl. Maybe Isabelle knew something he didn’t. So he nodded. “Okay. Cookies. Frosting. And romance.”
She smiled brightly at him. “And a little matchmaking magic.”
“And that,” he agreed.
The following day, he wasn’t feeling nearly as confident in himself when he stood on Wynter’s doorstep with a container of cookies. Isabelle stood beside him with a bowl of frosting, and Jason had a bag filled with sprinkles and other tools to decorate the cookies with. Marcus nearly bailed, but with his sister and future brother-in-law caging him in, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get far. So he knocked.
Wynter opened the door, and her eyes landed on him first before straying to his companions. Then she glanced at what they held, and her confusion grew. “Hi?”
Thank goodness Isabelle was on top of things. She stepped forward and handed Wynter the bowl of frosting. “We came over to decorate some cookies. Marcus said your grandmother thought it would be nice to make some for the folks over at the country club who attend therapy. And then there are a few other businesses that might like some Christmas cheer.” Without waiting for a response, she pushed past Wynter and entered the house.
Jason followed, offering Wynter a small smile, which left Wynter and Marcus in the doorway. He held up the cookies. “Hope it’s okay.”
To his relief, Wynter smiled. “I should have known Grams had something up her sleeve. She’s been a little twitchy all day.”
He chuckled. “If I had known she wasn’t going to tell you, I would have said something.”
“It’s fine.” Wynter gestured for him to enter. “Come on in.”
12
WYNTER
Cookies? Really? That’s the best you could come up with?
That was what she hoped the look on her face expressed when she entered the kitchen to find a smug Grams seated at the table. Apparently, her grandmother wasn’t fazed in the slightest. She went on grinning ear to ear as Jason started pulling out several different kinds of sprinkles.
Isabelle was chattering on about how perfect the frosting was for sugar cookies, and Grams was eating it up.
But it was Marcus who snagged her full attention.
