A Splash of Christmas Read Free

fabric, as if brushing a pest from his shirt front. “He’s just a little grumpy, but that ought to change in a hurry when he meets Miss Right today.”
    “You all are out of your gourds.” Ben interjected. “I am not going to meet Miss Right today because there is no Miss Right out there—at least not for me. The past is firm proof of that.”
    “Such a naysayer, all doom and gloom.” Colby, the youngest Ward brother, laughed as he tossed a grape from the food and beverage table Harry had ordered for this shindig into the air and caught it neatly in his mouth. “You might find your other half—the half God has planned for you to share your life with—if you’d simply give things a chance again. The past has made you cautious to a fault, Ben…all vinegar and no honey. And the women…well, I can personally attest that they like honey better than vinegar.”
    That stung, considering Colby was a solid three years younger than Ben and had been happily married to Trisha—with a kid on the way now—for going on another three. Samuel, on the other hand, had two years on Ben, with a pair of his own kids. Sam and Mandy would celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary come September.
    Ben, at thirty-one, was the lone hold-out of the trio of Ward brothers. He had yet to meet his match. He thought he had…for a glimmer in time. But that had shattered to pieces last winter when Ellie Sager sold him out for a headliner tabloid article, full of trumped-up fluff devoid of even the slightest glimmer of truth.
    Yes, the words had sliced through Ben, leaving gaping wounds that failed to heal. Now, he stood determined to enjoy his freedom and the benefits of coming and going as he pleased. He had things to take care of…things that left no time for pursuing women. Besides, no woman would rein him in and make a mockery of his trust—not now or ever—if he had any say at all in it.
    Which, apparently he didn’t. Hence the premise for this so-called audition today—to find a woman to act as Ben’s better half for the filming of the Poolside Oasis Christmas episode. Ellie had been slated to stand at his side for the filming, but her escapades had severed their relationship like a knife slicing through kite string. Ben thought that was the end of filming, except Samuel and Colby refused to settle for what was meant to be merely a ploy to enhance the show’s ratings. The brothers continued to insist that today’s audition would serve to reveal to Ben the woman who God meant to be The One for him.
    “Get back on the horse, Ben, and let God take the reins this time,” Samuel had chided. “He’ll lead you down the path that’s meant for you.”
    Well, Ben was having none of that nonsense. No one—not even God—would dare to touch those reins except for him . And he planned to remain in the barn—alone.
    “Settle down, son.” Ben’s mother, Valerie, murmured from the doorway as she peeked through the small slice of door glass, out at the crowd of women gathered and seated along the length of hallway. One by one, each woman would be invited into the room to recite the script—a short series of lines—they’d been handed by Harry’s assistant as they entered the venue. If all went as planned, one woman would earn the chance to stand in at Ben’s side during next month’s filming of the Christmas episode. “You’re like a panther waiting to pounce. You’ll frighten the women away.”
    “Good. I’m having second—no, third and fourth—thoughts about what we’re doing here today. It’s crazy, Mom.”
    “Anything truly worth doing usually is just a little bit crazy.”
    Harry strode toward the door, yanked it open and then quickly turned back to them. “Gather yourselves. It’s show time. I’m sending the first woman in.”
    “Wait. Just give me a minute here.” Ben’s pulse raced as he backpedaled from the doorway. “Like I said, I just want to get back to work. Mrs. Jendovani ordered a kidney-shaped