Page 69 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

Ever the gracious host, Suzie had insisted that Ames visit the lake while she readied his room, telling him that the sunsets were often spectacular and to be sure and take his camera. He had arrived a night earlier than they had agreed on.

He was simply ready to get on with things.

He had expected the gorgeous view that she’d told him about. What he hadn’t expected was to see Patricia standing at the end of the dock, silhouetted against the light of a waning day, sun reflecting off her auburn locks, looking small and lost against the background of lake and mountain.

No, he hadn’t expected to see her, but his heart kicked up its cadence at first glance.

Make this right. Somehow, some way, make this right.

He raised his camera.

****

The voice startled her, but she knew exactly who it was.

“Ames?”

Backlit by the setting sun, He stood at the opposite end of the dock. With his camera to his eye, he clicked the shutter and then lowered it.

“I wanted to capture you just like that. The sun on your hair was awesome.”

He moved closer.

“What are you doing here, Ames?”

She wanted to say she was too tired to deal with this, too tired to fight it, not ready to see him—but that would be a lie. She wanted, no needed, to see him.

He shrugged.

“Taking in the sunset, same as you, looks like.”

She was too tired to fight this and didn’t even know if she wanted to. Her shoulders slumped.

“No, Ames. What are you doing here, in Harbor Falls?”

Her voice was small and low.

He stood directly in front of her now.

“I’m shooting Suzie’s cookbook. What are you doing here?”

“I came to escape, I guess.”

“Oh? Escape what?”

“You. Me. Us. Making decisions. Whatever.”

“Us?”

She glanced off into the water. The wad of paper was making its way toward the shore.

“I guess there is no us though.”

“There could be an us. If you wanted.”

“Oh, Ames...”

“Sh.”

He gathered her into his arms.

Leaning into his chest, she let him hold her, and she wanted like hell just to let it all go. He smelled good and he felt so solid and stable. That was nice. She’d been close to tears for a week and hadn’t let them fall. Suddenly, her eyes were brimming over.

“I miss you,”

she squeaked out.

He rubbed her back.

“Patricia, we need to talk.”

She stepped back to put some distance between them. Looking up into his face she said, “I know.”

He grazed her shoulders and arms with his palms, then clasped her hands in his. His eyes never left hers.

“Patricia, I did a horrible thing to you before. I was scared to death of falling in love and haven’t a clue why I reacted by cheating on you. But I did it, and I hurt you. I am so, so sorry. I never said that to you, and it is high time I did. I apologize and am here to tell you, I will never, ever, do that again.”

Even though it was nearly dark, Patricia could see the sincerity in his eyes. She believed him.

“Apology accepted,”

she whispered.

“Now, I need to apologize to you. I should never have reacted the way I did when you asked me—”

He interrupted shaking his head.

“It doesn’t matter. Marry me. Say yes.”

“I need to say something.”

“No, please. Let me ask the question first. Be my wife, Patricia?”

She paused, studying his face. “Yes,”

she whispered, finally.

“I can’t imagine living my life one more day without you.”

She couldn’t. She had tried all week long to do that—imagine living without him in her life—but couldn’t. Yes. She’d given it time this week, she’d contemplated, and she had promised herself that if she were given a second chance, she would take it.

“I’m sorry I walked away from you, Ames. It was too much. Out of the blue. I didn’t know how to react, what to say....”

“I know. And I was too abrupt. It was too soon for me to ask. But now?”

He cradled her face in his hands.

“Honey, my timing was all wrong. Seems my timing is never good. I just hope that right now we are in sync because all I want is for you to know how much I love you, and how much I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That is, if you’ll have me, Plummish.”

“Oh, I’ll have you, Coopsie. I’ll have you in ways you never dreamed. Perhaps with hot fudge and whipped cream.”

His lips captured hers.

“I like the way you think.”

“I like the way you love me.”

“Good. Because it’s not going away. Ever.”

“May I just say one more thing?”

He nibbled at her lips.

“Sure, honey, what’s that?”

“I just wanna point out that I’m really glad you aren’t on my list.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. I’ll explain later. Now, kiss me. Kiss me good and hard.”

****

Ta ta, Ta ta ta, Ta Ta TA TA!

Matchbaker, matchmaker bake me a match, Ta ta ta ta taaaaa….

Suzie Hart Matthews hummed the now familiar tune and leaned into the railing of the deck behind her house. Her view gave her a wonderful glimpse of the lake, the mountain, the moon, and a couple who couldn’t stop kissing each other. Watching Patricia and Ames meeting up on the dock was more than a satisfying successful conclusion for her, and she hoped for them. Time would tell.

Standing, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared off at the moon. Mentally, she ticked off her recent matches in her head.

There was her sister, Shelley, and her high school boyfriend, Matt Branson. Her first match and one that pleased her immensely.

Mary Lou Pickets was now Mary Lou Rhodes, having wed the country music crooner, Nash Rhodes, a couple of months ago.

Katie Long and Chris Marks recently tied the knot while on vacation and were now comfortably settled into Chris’ small house across from the Methodist church, awaiting the birth of their first child.

Mack Roberts and Lyssa Larkin were not only moving in together but had adopted another pair of golden retrievers from a nearby rescue shelter and were anticipating upcoming wedded bliss with their family of six (two humans, four fur children).

And Becca North and Sam Ackerman—what could she say about those two? Suzie would never have never picked Becca for Sam, but he had other ideas. Convincing Becca, however, had been a task. Good thing Suzie was able to give that relationship a little nudge.

She sighed, glanced back at the pair now meandering with arms wrapped around each other back toward the house, and smiled. Convincing Ames that he had to get his fanny to Harbor Falls before he missed the opportunity to make up with Patricia, had been the most difficult task with this pair. Still, as they all did, this couple finally made her heart happy.

Grinning as the two made their way up the back steps, Suzie wondered how long it would take them to realize that she’d given Ames the room adjoining Patricia’s. Hey, she couldn’t count on Ames stepping up to the plate as he had a few minutes ago, could she? The old adjoining room trick, however, always left things open for the possibilities….

As Patricia and Ames headed inside, her husband, Brad, squeezed through the back door beside them. Smiling as he approached, Suzie’s heart fluttered. She never tired of how this man made her feel.

He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her, crowding her backside up against the deck rail.

“Ready for bed?”

he whispered and nibbled at her nose.

Suzie’s heart swelled.

“My favorite time of the day,”

she murmured back, and kissed him deep.

The Heartbreaker

Dr. Sam Kirk broke Lucki Stevenson’s heart in high school. Years later, he’s moved back into his childhood home—the house next door to Lucki. Will he leave her heartbroken again? Or can the good doctor mend her broken heart of the past?