The Bachelor Takes a Bride (Those Engaging Garretts!) by Brenda Harlen Page A

because they were the same color as Anna’s new shoes.
    “Okay, let’s see if we can find a pair that fit.”
    Luckily they did, and both girls were smiling as they carried their purchases to the cash register.
    “Two pairs of shoes sold in my first hour on the job,” Jordyn mused. “I think I should ask for a raise.”
    “I don’t doubt there would be a lot more customers in the store if you were here every day,” Marco told her.
    “I prefer my real job. Besides, Rob already has a new employee.” She put each pair of shoes in its own bag so that Anna and Bella could each carry one. “A yoga instructor.”
    He took out his credit card to pay for his purchase. “You don’t like yoga?”
    She lifted a shoulder. “It’s not my thing. And it’s not Roxi’s fault that she’s gorgeous and about twenty years old.”
    Before he could respond to that, he heard a voice call out.
    “Marco Palermo?”
    He turned around in time to see a slender ponytailed blonde in stretchy capri pants and a sports bra beelining toward him.
    * * *
    “Apparently you’re acquainted with my brother-in-law’s new employee,” Jordyn remarked to Marco after Roxi had gone upstairs to teach a class. “Ex-girlfriend?”
    “No,” he said quickly, firmly, adding a shake of his head for emphasis. “Just someone I knew, vaguely, in high school.”
    She seemed to absorb that for a minute. “Roxi went to high school with you? She barely looks twenty-one.”
    “I’d guess she’s twenty-three or twenty-four,” he said. “Because she was a couple of years behind me.”
    “So you’re...twenty-six?”
    “Almost.”
    She frowned.
    “Is my age a problem?”
    “Not at all,” she said. “Why would it be?”
    “I don’t know,” he admitted, though he was starting to have his suspicions. “How old are you?”
    “Older than you.”
    He nodded, finally understanding the reason for her tone. “You’re not comfortable with the idea of dating a younger man.”
    “Which isn’t an issue, because we’re not dating,” she pointed out.
    He glanced over at Anna and Bella, to ensure they were still occupied with the basketballs they were attempting to dribble. “Okay, you’re not comfortable with the idea of kissing a younger man.”
    Jordyn’s cheeks flushed. “It was one kiss.”
    “A first kiss,” he clarified.
    “First
and
last,” she insisted.
    He just smiled. “So how old are you?”
    “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to ask a woman that question?”
    “And I wouldn’t have except that it seems to be a matter of some concern to you.”
    “I turned thirty in April,” she admitted.
    “Oh, wow, you are old,” he teased.
    She glared at him.
    “And unmarried? Does that make you a spinster?”
    “It might—if that term weren’t even more archaic than me.”
    He chuckled. “We’ll have to continue this conversation at a later date—when I don’t have two little girls tugging on me.”
    “You’ll find me at the nursing home.”
    “I’ll find you,” he said, holding her gaze for a long moment. “You can count on that.”
    * * *
    It bothered her that she did count on it.
    She’d become accustomed to seeing Marco show up at O’Reilly’s at least a couple of times a week. He wasn’t always there on the same day or at the same time, but it was rare for three days to pass without him making an appearance.
    So when she left for home after work Thursday night, Jordyn was suddenly aware that she hadn’t seen him since Sunday afternoon—and annoyed with herself for being aware of that fact. And even more annoyed to realize that she missed him.
    She dreamed of him that night, as she’d dreamed of him every night since that single kiss they’d shared. And every morning, she woke up aching for something she wasn’t sure she wanted and knew she couldn’t have.
    Tristyn was humming along with the radio when Jordyn shuffled into the kitchen in search of a much-needed cup of coffee the following