Page 97 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

“Oh, dear Lord.”

If she had counted the steps it took her to race to Matt’s side, it might have been three. Or maybe even two. She leapt like a startled deer crossing the road.

“Matt! Matt! Oh, hello, Matt!”

Why am I repeating myself?

Matt spun as she grasped his elbow.

“Well, hello, Matt!”

The repeating again.

“Fancy seeing you here this morning?”

The local cop eyed her.

“Sydney, I’m in here every morning. In fact, I was in here this morning. Your first customer, as usual.”

She gave him a slow nod and hooked her arm at his elbow.

“Yes! And that is why I’m surprised to see you again. Coffee?”

If she had to drag him away, she would. Mystery Man was her best customer so far today. She didn’t want to lose him.

Matt uncurled her arm from his.

“Syd, I’m here on business. Not coffee.”

“Seems I’m loitering.”

The voice came from her left.

Sydney looked to MM, who had said those words, then back to Matt. “What?”

Matt gave her a cop-like stare.

“Got an anonymous call, Syd. Said there was a cagey loiterer here at the bakery.”

The voice to her left intervened again.

“Cagey? Well I’ve been called a lot of things, but cagey?”

Sydney turned and connected with his gaze.

Then to Matt, she said.

“Mistake. No loiterers here, Matt. Must have been a prank call.”

“But this guy?”

“My best customer all day!”

Sydney sidled up to MM and smiled. She even went so far as to give him a Southern Belle-like pat on the arm.

“Oh, puh-lease, Matt. He simply loves my scones!”

Turning, she practically tucked the man back into his seat.

“Never you mind now, you hear? Stay if you like. Oh, my goodness. Your coffee cup is empty again.”

She reached for it.

“Let me go fill that up and...”

MM’s hand circled her wrist, stopping her. Hot, his palm was hot. Suddenly, it was like she was having a hot flash. Except she was too young for a hot flash. Still, he was hot…

“That’s fine, ma’am. No worries. I was just leaving.”

His gaze skittered across hers.

With that, he pulled a couple of dollars out of his pocket and deposited them on the table. Glancing up, he tipped his ball cap toward Sydney, and skidded his gaze past Matt as he passed. The jingles on the door sounded his exit.

For a moment, Sydney was held spellbound by his touch, and that brief connection they’d made with their eyes.

Oh. Boy.

Blowing out a pent-up sigh, Sydney looked at Matt, and then shouted.

“Suzie Hart Matthews! Get your fanny out here. Now!”

****

Stone made a beeline for his car parked across the street. Head down. Hands pushed deep into his jeans pockets.

His brain rattled through the revelations of the past hour or so—macadamia nut flour, Grand Marnier, and something tart—and that damned local shop cop and the innocent Southern Belle routine of Miss Sydney Hart.

At least she had saved him.

He chuckled to himself and smiled.

He needed to be more careful. The cop appearance was not an accidental thing. Had someone reported him hanging around? He hadn’t thought anyone in this Podunk town even noticed his presence.

Should have known better. He was from a Podunk town himself, deep in the heart of Georgia. Podunk town people always notice newcomers. He’d been living anonymously in the city for way too long.

“Careful, Stone,”

he said aloud, then fished his car keys out of his pocket. He clicked the key fob to unlock the door, crossed the parking lot next to the library, and glanced over his shoulder toward the bakery.

Sydney, and that cop, and that baker friend of hers who looked a little familiar, although he couldn’t place her, were outside standing on the sidewalk. They faced the bakery, looking up over the door. His gaze traveled up, too.

Best Scones of the South, the banner above the door read. There was small print below that, he knew. Southern’s Best magazine had awarded Ms. Sydney Hart their coveted scone award. Just looking at it made his stomach roil.

Then her strawberry-blonde sidekick snaked her gaze his way and scrutinized him from across the road. Their gazes held for a moment, then he got in his car and left.

Yes, he was going to have to be careful.

****

Closing her eyes, Sydney sank into her tub, bubbles up to her neck, warm bordering on hot water swirling from the jets surrounding her, and a nice glass of Pinot Noir sitting on the edge of the tub. Billie Holiday crooned I’ll Be Seeing You from her stereo in the bedroom. Billie’s distinctive voice, the tickle of ivory, and the bluesy instrumental rolled over her body, lulling her into a definite state of tired bliss.

I’ll be seeing you.

Mystery Man’s eyes suddenly swept into her head. Her own eyes flashed open and she sat up a little. Even immersed in hot water, she suddenly got the shivers.

What if Suzie was right? What if he truly was a stalker? Although she couldn’t imagine such a thing, she had to wonder why he was here in Harbor Falls.

The man had appeal. She had to admit that. And she liked his looks. Tall, nice build, and carried himself with assurance. Maybe she’d just ask around. Everyone knew everybody in Harbor Falls. Surely someone knows who he is. And maybe, just maybe, he’s somebody’s visiting cousin who just likes coffee and scones.

But he picked apart that scone like he was dissecting a frog in a high school biology class.

Weird.

Sometimes people just eat like that, she justified. She had a boyfriend once who would only eat one thing on his plate at a time. Turned out he had both an obsessive-compulsive disorder and was bi-polar—but he was a nice guy.

She swallowed. Who was she kidding? The old boyfriend ended up drinking himself into oblivion and they put him away when he assaulted a woman on the street in over in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Shit.

But that had nothing to do with Mystery Man. Absolutely nothing. She was just letting her imagination get the better of her. MM was a tourist, likely. Sometimes when people come to the mountains, they don’t like to stay in Asheville or even Harbor Falls. They like to be on the fringes. Usually they stay at the Lodge.

But this guy? She sat straight up again, sloshing a little water and some bubbles to the floor.

“Is he staying at the Lodge?”

Her brain raced. Where else would he stay in town? There were no hotels, except for the Sweet Hart Inn, and were he staying there, Suzie would know. Unless he was with friends or family in the area, he had to be a guest at the Lodge.

She slid back into the water.

“Okay, that’s it. Tomorrow morning when Suzie and I deliver the pastries to Brad out at the Lodge, I’ll scope out the guests at that writer’s retreat. That must be it. He’s a writer. He’s just visiting. He’s checking out the local haunts. Maybe he’s a travel writer or something, or… Or, a food writer. A food critic maybe.”

A gurgle of excitement burst up insider her. A food critic!

She’d already snagged a little fame from Southern’s Best magazine. Perhaps, someone else was interested in featuring her? Maybe he was a feature writing for a food magazine?

“Oh, Suzie, my dear, you are so wrong. The guy is not a stalker, he’s doing some subtle research on my bakery. Hot damn!”

She slapped the water, feeling very confident and happy with herself, having worked through this loitering/stalker dilemma on her own. This had to be the reason he was checking her out.

Had to be.

She closed her eyes again and settled her head back against the tub. Almost immediately, her cell phone rang, and she reached to the small table next to the tub to punch the speakerphone button.

“Hello?”

“Sydney?”

“Yeah, hey Suze. Guess what? I have this thing figured out.”

She smiled up at the ceiling, picturing Suzie on the other end in her mind.

“Sydney, bad news. Brace yourself.”

The image popped away and Sydney opened her eyes. “What?”

“He’s in jail.”

“Who?”

“Your stalker.”

Confusion scrambled her brain. “What?”

“Matt arrested him.”

“Oh, Suzie. What did you and Matt do?”

If they screwed up her chance at another magazine interview, she would disown them forever!

The voice on the other end grew louder.

“Listen to me, Sydney. Your stalker! The man with the scones this morning. Matt took him in. He’s in jail. Found him sneaking around in the alley behind the bakery trying to peek in the back windows, just ten minutes ago.”

A strange buzzing shot through Sydney’s ears.

Her apartment sat directly above the bakery.