Lakeshore Christmas Read Free Page A

vain,” he replied. “I totally meant it.”
    She sniffed, filling her senses with winter cold, tinged with exhaust. “It’s just so…unimaginative. Not to mention disrespectful.”
    “And self-righteous to boot,” he said with a grin, handsome as a prom king. “It’s been real, but I gotta bounce.” He nodded in the direction of the bakery. “I’m meeting someone.”
    A soft burble of sound came from…it seemed to be coming from his jeans. He dug in his pocket and extracted a cell phone.
    Maureen glanced down at her own phone’s screen to see that it said Message Sent.
    Then she looked back at Eddie Haven. Despite his easy dismissal of polite speech, there was no denying the man had presence. Although he was almost inhumanly good-looking, the strange appeal went deeper than looks alone. He had some kind of aura, a powerful magnetism that seemed to suck all the light and energy toward him. And he wasn’t even doing anything, just standing there checking his messages.
    I am in such trouble, she thought.
    With a bemused expression, he touched a button. A second later her phone rang. Startled, she dropped it on the ground.
    He bent and scooped it up, holding it out to her. “Maureen, right? Maureen Davenport.”
    “That’s me.” She turned her ringer off and slipped the phone into her pocket.
    “What, you’re hanging up on me already?” he said.
    “I suppose that would be a first for you. A woman, hanging up on you.”
    “Shit, no, are you kidding?”
    She winced. “Don’t tell me you’re going to talk like that the whole time.”
    “Great,” he said, “so you’re one of those holier-than-thou types.”
    “I’ll bet a convicted felon would be holier than you are,” she retorted.
    “I’ve met quite a few felons who were holier than me. Wait a minute, I am a convicted felon.” He touched the heel of his hand to his forehead. “Does that mean I’m holier than me? Jesus, lady, way to mess with a guy’s head.”
    “I’m sure I don’t mean to mess with your head or any other part of you,” she said.
    He started walking toward the bakery. “So…Maureen Davenport.” He pronounced her name as though tasting it. “From the library.”
    “That’s me.” She couldn’t tell if he was surprised, disappointed or just resigned.
    He paused, frowned at her. “Have we met before?” Without waiting for a reply, he said, “It’s weird that our paths haven’t crossed, in a town like this. I guess we just move in different circles, eh?”
    She considered telling him their paths had crossed, but he simply hadn’t deigned to notice her. Instead, she simply nodded. “I guess.”
    “This is going to be fun,” he said, clapping his hands together, then blowing on his fingers. “And fun is good, right?”
    She didn’t think he expected an answer to his question.
    “I’m Eddie Haven,” he said.
    “I know who you are,” she said. Good grief, who didn’t know who Eddie Haven was? Especially now, with his anniversary DVD topping the charts. She knew it topped the charts because the library currently owned a dozen copies, and each of those had more than a hundred patron holds. She wondered what it was like for him to see his own flickering image on the small screen, year in and year out, all hours of the night and day.
    She’d have plenty of opportunities to ask him, because this holiday season, she was stuck with him. The two of them had been charged with codirecting the annual Christmas pageant for the town of Avalon. She had taken on the job because it was some thing she’d always wanted to do, and she was well-qualified for the task. Eddie washer partner in the endeavor thanks to a mandate from a judge ordering him to perform community service. For better or worse, they were stuck with each other.
    “Sorry I’m late,” he said easily. “I texted you.”
    “I…sent you a text message, as well.” She couldn’t quite bring herself to use texted as a verb. “And after I hit Send,”