Free Christmas in Cupid Falls by Holly Jacobs Page A

a dozen times. In her fantasies, his reactions ranged from benign indifference to out-and-out disbelief.
    But no matter what his initial reaction was, in every scenario he’d left and gone back to Pittsburgh almost immediately.
    And in most of those fantasies, he sold her the Center.
    None of those scenarios matched what had happened.
    All day long, as she made floral arrangements and a few fruit baskets, her thoughts kept coming back to the realization that nothing was going the way she’d imagined.
    Thanks to Malcolm Carter the freakin’ Fourth.
    Oh, no, she hadn’t thought about it before, but if she had a boy, would he expect her to name the kid Malcolm Carter V? No way was she heaping that name or the expectations that went with it on any child.
    She didn’t remember much about Malcolm’s father, Malcolm Carter III.
    She did remember him at Malcolm’s graduation. Everyone in town turned out each year to see Cupid Falls’ newest graduates. Malcolm had been there, looking so handsome in his cap and gown.
    She’d long since given up hope of him noticing her by then, but she couldn’t seem to help noticing him. His mom and Pap had smiled as they hugged him and offered him words of congratulation. Their pride had been palpable.
    Then his father—who’d made it at the last minute—had walked over and joined the group. From her vantage point a few feet away, she saw Malcolm open his arms, as if expecting his father to hug him as well. Then after a few awkward seconds, his arms fell back to his sides and his father patted his shoulder. Even that seemed awk-weird.
    She smiled as she thought about her teenage version of the word.
    She’d used it so often Aunt Betty threatened to fine her if she didn’t stop.
    She hadn’t thought about that in years.
    “You can use whatever odd words you want, as often as you want,” she whispered to the baby.
    She wished she had something else to do around the shop, but she didn’t. So she bundled up and walked over to the Center.
    It was unfortunate that Malcolm worked next to her all day, then lived in Pap’s house next to her all night. Well, at least until he went back to his life in Pittsburgh. He had to go soon. A lawyer couldn’t take an indefinite leave. He had clients, responsibilities. That was his excuse for not coming home for so long. It made sense he’d have to get back.
    She let herself into the Center and called, “Malcolm?”
    “In the office.”
    He looked up as she walked in. “You okay?”
    “Long day.” She wanted to finish this and go home and collapse. She knew she’d have to take off some time after the baby came. She’d fretted about it for months and finally had teamed up with a florist in Erie. Calls to her shop would be forwarded to them, and they’d fill the orders for her. It was a huge hit to her bank account, but she’d been squirreling money away since she’d found out about the baby. She’d be fine. She had to imagine that working with a baby at the shop had to be easier than working when she was as big as a house.
    “Sorry to make to make your day longer,” he said, sounding genuinely contrite.
    “No problem,” Kennedy said, even though it was. “Did you look over my proposal?”
    “I did. Have you thought about mine?” He didn’t clarify.
    Kennedy didn’t really need him to. “Malcolm, I have. But I can’t come up with one good reason for us to marry.”
    He looked as if he were searching for that reason and finally said, “We should marry because we’re going to be parents.”
    “You’ve said that before.” She didn’t know much, but she knew marrying for the sake of a baby couldn’t work.
    As a florist, she was sort of a bartender of relationships. She knew who was in the doghouse, or froghouse in Clarence’s case. She knew who sent sweet gifts just because. When they came and ordered flowers, most people shared the reason. She knew what she wanted in a relationship of her own, and being with someone for a