The whole town knew Ava Carlislelovedplaying matchmaker.What was it about this town that made them think everyone needed a special someone?Why couldn’t that someone be a friend or a niece or nephew.Or a dog?Why did it have to be a forever partner?
“Ava, I really do appreciate your efforts, but I’m not interested.I don’t care who the guy is or what he looks like… I don’t even care if one look from him freezes me in place.I amnotinterested.”
“Okay.”The shrug and half smile said Katie would change her mind once she saw the new guy.
“Fine, let’s get this over with so we can order our sliders and drink some wine.”
“Andtalk about the upcoming displays.”
Katie clutched her handbag and followed Ava inside.O’Reilly’s was a fun, laid-back gathering place where you could hang out with friends, drink if you wanted to, and sample chicken avocado sliders, hummus, and wings.She spotted Nick Borado carrying a tray of drinks, and when he saw them, he headed their way.
“Hello, ladies.Have a seat wherever you like, and I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Nick Borado was one of the kindest, sweetest men she’d ever known.Apparently, he wasn’t always that way.Hard to imagine him as a wandering playboy with a questionable past.The story of how he’d loved and lost Delilah and all the years in between that led them back to each other was straight-up romance-book stuff.And now Delilah was pregnant.Could it get any sweeter?
Not everybody got a happy ending.Sometimes, it just wasn’t meant to be…
She followed Ava to a booth, shrugged out of her coat, and glanced toward the bar.Her gaze caught the tall ponytailed man in an O’Reilly’s T-shirt and faded jeans.Long hair, bushy beard, lots of tattoos.Why would Ava think she’d be interested in this guy?Ava favored tattoos, probably because Law had them, and maybe that was the attraction to this stranger.But what did she know about him?How about a name?He looked like a Judd, or a Jedd…maybe a Justin.
Why would a guy like that land in their small town unless he had a story,ora past he wanted to keep secret?
Ava always meant well, but she’d definitely been off with this guy.Katie ignored the tattooed bartender and grabbed a menu.“Do you want to split the chicken avocado sliders and a side of roasted red pepper hummus?And maybe…” The music had shifted to an instrumental song.What was the title of this one?And the artist?She should know…
As she tried to recall the information, laughter burst through her brain, snuffed out the music, leaving only the sound of that laugh.Deep, full, unforgettable.
Katie’s head shot up, and she homed in on the direction of the laugh she hadn’t heard in years—ten to be exact.Her gaze landed on the ponytailed bartender; the broad shoulders, the tall frame, the lean body…and the hair color?It seemed darker, but it was difficult to tell from this distance…
“Katie?”Ava touched her hand.“What’s wrong?”
She opened her mouth, pushed out the words.“The bartender.What’s his name?”
“Ah, so youdowant to know more about him.”Her expression softened, her lips pulled into a smile.“I knew you would.”
It was at that exact moment that the man glanced up.
Ian Finnegan was back in Magdalena.
10
Ava hadn’t noticed Katie’s silence and continued with more commentary about the newcomer in town.“That’s Ian Finnegan, some distant relative to Jack and Dolly.He’s something else, isn’t he?Wait until you see him close up.He’s got the bluest eyes…and that voice?Goodness, but the women love to hear him speak.Apparently, he’s been here before…back when he was still in college.Nobody seems to remember much about that time, but I guess he stayed with Jack and Dolly and worked at Nate’s manufacturing plant.He’s kind of quiet and keeps to himself.”Her voice shifted, filled with curiosity.“Nick likes him, says he’s a good guy, which may be true, but I think he’s hiding something.”More information spilled, landed on the table between them.“He arrived in town about ten days ago, but you were in Chicago so that’s probably why you two haven’t met yet.”
Katie kept her breathing even, eyes fixed on a scratch in the table.Why was he here?How dare he come back to Magdalena!
“…So do you think you can help out?”
She shot a look at Ava, tried to concentrate on what she’d asked.Katie had been so busy trying to maintain a blank expression that she’d missed the question.“Help out with what?”
Ava’s eyes grew wide, her expression animated.“You know, find out information about the guy.Everybody talks to you.There’s something about you that makes them want to tell youeverything.I bet this guy will be no different.I’mverycurious about him, but my husband says I’m not allowed to ask.”Tiny huff and then “Why don’t men possess the desire to know like women do?All it would take is a little poking and if one of the guys would just ask a few questions, I could figure it out.”
“Men don’t usually like to get involved in the touchy-feely part of other people’s lives.”That she knew for certain.The guys she’d quasi-dated hadn’t cared about her past or why she had a hard time getting involved.They didn’t even ask what drove her to start Katie’s Soups.There’d only been one guy who’d asked questions, and she’d told him everything because she’d believed he cared…
And it had all been a lie.Katie pushed aside memories of the man she thought she knew, turned to Ava.“I’ll find out what’s going on with him.”
“You will?Wow, I didn’t think it would be that easy.”She glanced at the bar area, tapped a finger against her chin.“Look at him.He’s got the coolness of Cash Casherdon, the ruggedness of my husband and the style of Nick Borado.It’s hard to believe anybody could be a blend of them, but I think Ian Finnegan is.And wait until you hear him speak.Deep.Smooth.Tantalizing.Don’t tell my husband I said that, but women can feel it.He hasn’t even been here long and this bar is hopping.They’reallafter him, stopping by to invite him to dinner, a view of the sunset at Boone’s Peak…dessert.They might hand him a plate of tiramisu or apple pie, butthey’llbe the second helping.”
“You determined all of that by looking at a guy with so much hair on his face you can barely see it?And the sleeve of tattoos?And was that an earring I saw?”
“No earring, but I bet that would look good on him.You should ask about the tattoos because that could be very telling.”
