Who did this guy think he was? George stood. “Agatha is right. Stop touching the body, and let’s call the police.” He’d stolen Nicole’s line, but she was having a whispered conversation with Cara, and he wanted to move the attention away from Betty’s mistake. He’d have to make sure Betty went to the optometrist soon and got a new eye prescription.
Emma stared him down, the first time she’d made meaningful eye contact with him since putting Harriet and Elton next to each other, which only confirmed his suspicion that her matchmaking scheme for those two was way deeper than she’d let on. “No one is calling the police. We’d all be arrested and this place would be shut down. No, I say we find the murderer ourselves and let Mayor Graft deal with him. What say you, Mayor?”
Elton, looking self-important, as any corrupt mayor should, nodded his agreement. “We have ways of taking care of these things. Don’t you worry, Margaret O’Hara.”
Granddad groaned and stretched. “That’s about all my back can take.” He deposited the knife on the table and yawned. “I want all of you out of here by nine.”
Emma laughed. “Or close to that. Come on, Two Fingers.” She moved to his chair at the same time Harriet came around to help him.
“Let me, Emma. I don’t know the script as well and it doesn’t matter if I hear all the clues.”
Emma gave a small shake of her head. “We’ll be fine. You should stay and keep an eye on that mayor. Maybehe’sthe murderer.”
Harriet glanced at Elton. “Oh, I … uh… Well, okay.”
That reluctant submission in Harriet’s face was the last straw. The knot forming in George’s chest gave a mighty squeeze, and he carefully excused himself and followed Emma and Mr. Woodhouse down the hall.
Even watching her sweetly chat with Mr. Woodhouse while she helped him take his shoes off didn’t loosen that knot. He waited in the doorway, and Emma glanced his way, looking resigned.
She shut Mr. Woodhouse’s door and met him in the dark hallway.
“Just say it, George,” she whispered.
“Say what? What am I going to say?”
“Everyone has their complaints. I get it. Austin wanted booze. Nicole was hoping I’d invite more single guys. You want me to not use this perfect opportunity for matchmaking. Am I right?”
“Emma, this is not a joke. Your understanding of what I want is only skimming the surface of why you’re wrong about this.”
Her mouth dropped open slightly. “Chill out. I’m not making arranged marriages here. I used place setting cards to put two people next to each other. That’s not a crime.”
“Harriet has a boyfriend, and you are her boss. You’re putting her in an uncomfortable position by including her in your matchmaking. Trying to please you should not include dating the person you assign her. Can’t you see that?”
Emma glanced away. “Harriet broke up with her boyfriend.”
“And why is that?” George put his hand on her arm to get her attention and quickly let it go. Just that small touch was a distraction he didn’t need.
“I didn’t tell her to break up with him!”
“I bet you didn’t have to. Harriet looks up to you, she listens. I don’t think it was a secret you didn’t like Martin. That kind of power is dangerous. Sometimes, Emma, you just don’t read people well.”
“I don’t read people well? What does that even mean?”
“For one, stop flirting with Finn. He’s using you to get back at Jane.”
“I’m not flirting with him. He’s flirting with me. And I just met these people, so how would I just magically know his motives?Youtell him to stop flirting with me.”
Actually, those were good points. He shouldn’t have brought up Finn. It made him sound jealous, which he was mostly not. “If I say something, he’ll assume it’s because I have some claim on you.”
Emma’s dark blue eyes studied him intently, and his breathing picked up. “And you’ve made no such claim.” Her gaze dropped to his lips before flitting back up.
But they weren’t done talking, and he owed it to Harriet to make Emma understand.
“I get why you want Elton for Harriet. He’s a neighbor, and he’ll never get serious with her. That’s convenient for you, of course. But it’s not your place to rearrange her love life for your own comfort. Love is complicated, Emma. It’s not meant for the boxes you try to stuff it in. You can’t just flip a switch and fix things. Elton is no Band-Aid, and certainly, no replacement for the close relationship Harriet shared with her boyfriend.”
Emma’s jaw tightened. “She wasn’t happy with Martin, and I’ve given this a lot of thought. Elton and Harriet make sense together. Maybe you’re the one who’s wrong. Have you ever considered that?”
“I’m not wrong, and you’ll come to see it.”
