Free All I Want For Christmas: A Sweet Serenade Christmas Novella by Janalyn Voigt

Chapter 1
     
    “A gift, if you want it.” Hailey plunked the mug she’d pulled from the kiln this morning in front of Matt, waiting for her at their usual table in Seattle Coffee. “It made me think of you.” She didn’t explain that the cobalt glaze matched the color of his eyes.
    He smiled. “Thanks. I’ll treasure it.”
    The way he was looking at her, you’d think she’d just given him the keys to the city. She shrugged. “The glaze bubbled a little on the inside, but other than that it came out okay.”
    “It’s more than okay. Honestly, I don’t know why you work in insurance when you make such beautiful pottery.” With his hair rumpled and a fiddle by his side, Matt looked more like a gypsy than the pencil-pushing cubicle worker he became during the work week. She’d picked on him about his mismatched clothing until he’d invited her to organize his wardrobe for him, personally.
    No way was she going to Matt’s place, especially not when he asked in that tone of voice. She’d made it clear when they’d first started coordinating their breaks two years ago that she thought of him only as a friend. Not that he was unattractive, the opposite in fact, but his lack of ambition bugged her. On more than one occasion, she’d made him aware of her opinion, but it never fazed him. Honestly, what kind of career could he expect to build while working for a chamber music association? She wasn’t quite sure what he did, exactly, but from the way he dressed it wasn’t running the company.
    “That’s easy.” She pulled free of his touch and settled into the sling-backed chair across from him. “I have to pay my bills.”
    His forehead puckered. “Must we talk about money again?”
    “Well, you brought it up.” She tried not to sound as snippy as she felt.
    “My mistake.” His smile crinkled his eyes at the corners, intensifying their blue. He handed her a red paper cup emblazoned with the logo for Seattle Coffee, the letters SC in a white circle.
    She hated it when he was annoying and endearing at the same time but gave him a grudging smile. “Thanks for the coffee.”
    “You are most welcome.”
    She didn’t miss the irony in his voice. They both knew he had to buy her coffee all week because she’d won their yearly bet by finishing her Christmas shopping first. Last year she’d purchased his hazelnut lattes throughout the Christmas season. She sipped her mocha with a sense of satisfaction.
    “What are you doing this weekend?” He trotted out their usual Friday question.
    “Wrapping presents.” She couldn’t resist a small dig.
    His eyes gleamed. “Need any help?”
    The smile tugging at her lips was genuine this time. She could never stay irritated with him for long, a fact he well knew and used to full advantage. “I do not, thanks all the same. How about you? Any plans?”
    “I’ll catch a Christmas concert Saturday night.”
    She grimaced. “You and your dinosaur music.”
    “I believe the word you want is classical.”
    “Give me jazz any day.”
    “Each has its merits.”
    “You’ll have to work harder than that to convince me.”
    “Maybe we should put it to the test. Come to a classical concert with me, and I’ll go with you to Jazz Alley.”
    She avoided his eyes. “You know I stay away from this side of the water on the weekend.” Commuting to work across Puget Sound on the ferry was hard enough without making the same trip during her off hours.
    “What about on a Friday before you go home?”
    “Maybe…”
    “I’m portable.”
    She lifted an eyebrow. “Meaning?”
    “The Bainbridge Chorale is quite good, and they are performing Rutter’s Magnificat this year. That, in case you need an interpretation, is a composition based on Mary’s proclamation of God’s goodness to her cousin Elizabeth.”
    “You’d be willing to come to my side of the water?”
    “Why not? I’ve heard it’s beautiful.”
    “It might seem quiet compared to Seattle.”
    “Sounds