Midwife's Mistletoe Temptation - Chapter 3
They’d agreed a neutral place might be the best option. That had actually taken her by surprise. What also surprised her was the fact that he was right. They needed to work this out. Otherwise she was pretty sure she was going to find herself out on her ear. After all Matt had more tenure than she did and, from what she’d seen, he was well loved by the staff. Not that she’d want him to be fired either. He was great at his job. They just seemed to…approach things differently.
They were meeting at a local coffee house. She’d thought morning would work the best since it was after she took Ivy to school, and she wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone to stay with her. Even though, according to Ivy, she was old enough that she no longer needed a babysitter, not that Holly ever left her on her own. Her own parents had made Holly feel like a burden, and she’d practically raised herself.
She arrived at the Lever du Soleil just before nine and walked through the festive holiday greenery draped over the door to find Matt already there. Of course he was. His dark eyes met hers and something sharp speared through her belly. A kind of awareness that made her tense. Been there. Done that. Had a child to show for it. She’d only been in a couple of relationships since her first boyfriend had coaxed her to have sex with him before she was ready. And then, when she got pregnant, he’d urged her to get an abortion; otherwise he was out of there.
The rest was history. It ended up being her who ended things, even though he told all of their friends that it was him.
And her parents…
Well, her relationship with them had always been full of conflict. But to their credit, they had agreed to help with Ivy once the baby was born. Over the last several years, though, things had grown strained again...
‘They have a table for us. If you’re ready.’
Was she? God, she didn’t even know right now. What she did know was that this man could prove to be dangerous to her senses. Was already proving dangerous.
‘Yep. Lead the way.’ Said as if it were easy for her to let someone take charge of anything about her. Even something as simple as a table in a coffee shop.
Holly was independent in a way that probably wasn’t normal, but then again she’d had to fend for herself almost her whole life. It made her want to be there for women who felt alone, like she’d once been.
And for colleagues, like Matt? Had she sensed a loneliness in him as well?
She wasn’t sure.
Their table boasted two fresh pine boughs with a red candle nestled among them. Holiday cheer was definitely in the air. Almost before she was seated, someone appeared to take their order. He was getting a straight black coffee—which didn’t surprise her. It was how he came across: straightforward and not liking change. And her working at Sinclair was definitely a change.
Holly ordered an iced latte with ginger, cinnamon and orange.
When she looked up, he was staring at her. ‘I didn’t quite expect that combination.’
‘I like to mix things up.’
‘Mix things up.’ His face softened a bit, not quite as hard-edged as the man she was used to dealing with. ‘That’s unexpected as well.’