Free Home for Christmas (Willow Park #5) by Noelle Adams Page B

early editions and so they’re pretty
expensive.”
    Thomas opened the front flap to look at the price written in
very faint pencil. “This is fine. I’ll take these for her. I’ll make sure she
takes care of them.”
    Sophie perked up. She hadn’t even had to use aggressive
sales techniques, and she’d made the most lucrative sale for the store in
several months. “Great. I’ll get them packed up. It’s a wonderful present.”
    She was packing the books up and laughing about Thomas’s
account of how Abigail had crouched down to pick out a box of cereal in the
store and then had been unable to stand up again in her very pregnant state
when she felt a presence at her side.
    She glanced up to see Mark. He was looking between her and
Thomas, and there was something wary on his face.
    Sophie smiled brightly. “Mark, this is Thomas Morgan.”
    Thomas held out a hand in a friendly greeting. “I heard you
were in town. It’s great to meet you.”
    Mark shook the other man’s hand but didn’t smile. He turned
to Sophie. “Do you need any help?”
    She was a bit disappointed that he wasn’t returning Thomas’s
friendliness, but she wasn’t going to get discouraged. “Can you get a bag from
under the counter? One of the bigger ones, since we need to fit all the books
in.”
    “Are you all planning to stay in Willow Park?” Thomas asked,
his green eyes thoughtful and intelligent as they moved from Sophie to Mark.
    When Mark didn’t answer, Sophie said, “We’re not sure yet.
We’re still trying to figure things out.”
    “Of course.” He pulled out a credit card, not batting an eye
when Sophie gave him the final, very high total. While Sophie slid his card, he
added, “Well, I hope you all end up staying, if it works out for you. Abigail
will be so sad if you leave town.”
    Sophie smiled, ridiculously pleased by the comment, by the
evidence that Abigail valued their friendship as much as she did. “If we end up
leaving, I’ll definitely come back to visit. I’m not sure what I’d do without
her.”
    Mark was still silent, and he felt bristly for some reason,
although she couldn’t imagine why he would be so. Since his mood seemed
prompted by Thomas, she decided not to extend the conversation. So soon Thomas
was on his way with his large bag of books for Mia and the suggestion that they
get together for dinner sometime.
    When he was gone, Sophie turned to look up at Mark’s face.
She couldn’t read his expression as well as she used to—partly because of the
beard and partly because he wasn’t reacting in normal ways.
    “Who was that?” he demanded with a frown.
    No way to mistake that expression. “What do you mean? I told
you, his name is Thomas Morgan. He’s a surgeon at the hospital.”
    “He knows you’re married?” Mark was glaring at the door out
of which Thomas had disappeared.
    Sophie almost choked on her surprise. “What are you talking
about? Of course, he knows I’m married. He’s married too.”
    “He was very friendly for being married.”
    She was so baffled and astonished that she wasn’t as careful
as she normally was in her response. “That’s crazy! He’s a friend of mine, I
guess, but he’s mostly the husband of one of my best friends. He’s insanely in
love with his wife. He’s not remotely interested in me that way. You can’t
possibly think that I’d—”
    “Okay,” Mark interrupted. He still didn’t look happy. “You
just seemed very friendly.”
    Sophie was so flustered she couldn’t immediately respond.
She hadn’t been flirting with Thomas. She was sure of it. And he hadn’t been
flirting with her. Mark must have misread it and gotten jealous. He’d never
been jealous before. He’d never been that kind of man. He’d always found it
hilarious when men were interested in her, only to discover she was
unavailable. But Mark was still getting back to who he used to be and getting
used to their marriage.
    It was natural that he’d be a little