divorced woman staring down her biological clock. “Man of her dreams” was silly nonsense. Hadn’t the supposed man of her dreams dumped her almost two decades ago as if she’d meant nothing? Ha, like that was part of the dream?
Matt Fielding was not the man of her dreams.
If she said it enough, she might believe it.
And if there was no such thing, then what was she looking for in a partner?
She’d never put much stock in checklists, since she could rattle off a list of adjectives, like kind, and nonnegotiables, like doesn’t rip apart his exes or his mother on the date, but everything came down to chemistry. How you felt with someone. How someone made you feel. If your head and heart were engaged. She’d never experienced chemistry the way she had with Matt Fielding. But her motto ever since she’d started volunteering for Furever Paws was: Everything is possible. The most timid dog, the hissiest cat, could become someone’s dearest treasure. Everything is possible. Including Claire finding love again. At thirty-five.
She peeled off her waterproof gloves and tossed them in the used-gloves bin, then headed toward the door to start filling bowls with kibble and sneaking in medicines where needed.
“Oh, Claire,” Birdie said. “Some advice. In the first five minutes, ask your date if he likes dogs. If he says no, you’ll know he’s not for you.”
Bunny tilted her head. “Now, Birdie. Not everyone loves animals like we do.”
Apparently, the entire Whitaker family loved animals to the point that all their nicknames were inspired by animals. Birdie’s real name was Bernadette. Bunny’s was Gwendolyn. There was a Moose—Doug—who’d sadly died long ago. And a Gator, aka Greg, who advised the sisters on financial matters.
“The man of Claire’s dreams will love dogs,” Birdie said. “That’s nonnegotiable. If her blind date says dogs slobber and bark and are a pain in the neck, she can tune him out the rest of the night.”
Claire smiled. As usual, Birdie Whitaker was right.
Matt held his niece’s hand as they entered the Main Street Grille later that night, the smell of burgers and fish and chips reminding him how hungry he was. His sister, Laura, and her husband, Kurt, had insisted on taking him out to dinner to celebrate his homecoming.
“His homestaying!” Ellie had said, squeezing him into one of her famous hugs.
He adored the eight-year-old. He barely knew her—had rarely seen her since she’d been born because of his tours—but the moment he’d arrived yesterday, she’d latched on to him like he was the fun, exciting uncle she’d missed out on, and of course, he couldn’t let her down. He’d played soccer with her. He’d read her two bedtime stories last night, then she’d read him one, and he’d almost fallen asleep right there in her pink-and-purple room. This morning, he’d played Hiker Barbie with her in the backyard, his Barbie falling into a ravine, and her Barbie saving her with her search-and-rescue skills and the help of Barbie’s golden retriever, Tanner. She’d spent a good hour talking to Matt about dogs, after she’d instructed Tanner to grab his Barbie’s jeans cuff and pull her up to safety. The girl was dog-crazy. And he was Ellie-crazy. He was determined to help her find just the right pooch to love.
With Claire Asher’s help. Amazing.
“We love this restaurant,” Laura said as the hostess led them through the dimly lit space to a table for four near a window. “During the day, it’s more of a diner, but at night it transforms into a pub. Apparently, it’s quite the nostalgic place to get engaged.”
Matt glanced around the restaurant. There were quite a few obvious dates.
And, oh hell, was that Claire?
On an obvious date.
He turned away so that his staring wouldn’t draw her attention. Then, as he sat down, he took another glance. Dammit. Yes, it was. Four tables away, diagonally. She was sitting with her own sister, Della, and two men were across from them. The one across from Claire looked slick. He had gelled hair and trendy eyeglasses and was holding court, making Claire laugh.
Crud. He used to make Claire Asher laugh.
At least she’s happy, he told himself.
“What are you having, Uncle Matt?” Ellie asked. “I’m getting the mac and cheese. No, the cowabunga burger. No, the mac and cheese. Or should I have the spaghetti and meatballs?”
He focused his attention on his niece. The poor thing had an incredibly crooked strawberry-blond braid with weird tufts sticking out. Ellie had asked him to do the honors for tonight’s “special dinner,” and Laura had given the tutorial as he went. When he was done, his sister had had to leave the room to keep herself from bursting into laughter. But Ellie, checking out his handiwork with a hand mirror and her back to the hall mirror, declared her braid just perfect!
“Well, I know your favorite is mac and cheese,” he said, “and since this is a special night, I think you should get your favorite.” Matt forced himself to look at the menu and not Claire.
But she looked so damned pretty. The candle on the table just slightly illuminated her. She’d dolled up a bit since her shift at the shelter. Her pink-red lips were glossy, and her light blond hair was sleek to her shoulders. She wore an off-white V-neck sweater, and a delicate gold chain around her neck.
“That’s right,” his sister said, smiling at Ellie. “This is a special night—celebrating Uncle Matt’s long-awaited homecoming.”
“Homestaying!” Ellie said with a grin.
That got his attention. Because was this something to celebrate? Thirty-six and living in his sister’s guest room? No clue where he was headed, what he’d do. Visiting his family while he figured things out made sense, he reminded himself. He had ideas, of course. And skills. But he felt wrong in his skin, suddenly adrift in this different life.
You’re an American hero and don’t you forget it, his sister had said when he’d mentioned that earlier. You’ll adapt and build a new life—hopefully here in town.
With Claire Asher to run into everywhere he went? No, sir. He was two for two on his first full day in Spring Forest. He couldn’t do that to himself on a daily basis. But until he decided where to go and what to do, Spring Forest, it was.
He took one more look at Claire out the side of his menu. Oh please. Her date was offering her a bite of something. As Claire smiled and leaned forward to accept the fork—with her hand, thank God, and not with those luscious lips—Matt felt his gut tighten and his appetite disappear.
He’d help Ellie find her dog. Which meant seeing Claire one more time tomorrow. And then maybe he’d leave town. There was no way he could figure out what the hell he was going to do with his life if he was going to constantly run into her—and be unable to stop thinking about her.
Dammit.
Now she was laughing at something Slick had said. Great. Tonight was a real celebration.
Claire’s
