A minute later, her friend stepped into the kitchen. “How can a dog leave that much hair all over my house and not be bald?”
Hailey’s house was bright and cheery and, before she fell in love with an outdoorsy guy and his dog, it had always been immaculate. Now it was just really clean. “How’s the addition going? I saw it’s all sided now and blends right in with the garage.”
“It’s almost done. Finally.”
Tori had thought it was crazy to extend the garage to add a shower room until she was over one day when Matt got home after a work day that had ended with a long struggle to get a deer out of a bad patch of swampy mud. Then she understood why, even if he stripped in the garage, Hailey wouldn’t want him walking through the house and up the stairs to the shower.
Hailey peeled the plastic wrap off the plate of cookies so she could take one. “So tell me, why are we watching an old musical? I’ve heard that Sandra Bullock movie is funny and I’ve been waiting all month to watch it.”
“Somebody was talking about some professor and Eliza somebody and a makeover, and I was curious. That’s all.”
“Who was talking about that?”
“Max Crawford.”
Hailey’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s the second time you’ve mentioned Max Crawford.”
“I didn’t realize we were keeping track.”
“Why was he talking about My Fair Lady?”
Tori knew she shouldn’t say anything, but Hailey was her best friend. “You can’t tell anybody.”
She nicked another cookie. “Promise.”
“I’m going to help him find a date. You know, help him be more comfortable talking to women.”
“This might be a dumb question, but who do you think he’s going to date?”
Tori tried to come up with a name, but none popped into her head under pressure. “There are plenty of single women in Whitford. I think.”
“Women who’ll date Max Crawford?”
Tori frowned at her friend. “What’s that supposed to mean? Max is a nice guy.”
“Half the town thinks he’s a serial killer.”
“Oh, come on. Everybody knows that’s just a joke.”
Hailey shrugged. “Even so, it’s kind of weird that nobody knows how he makes his money.”
“Probably because it’s nobody’s business.”
“Maybe you should date him.”
Tori gave her an are you serious look. “Really? He’s looking for a wife and you know how I feel about marriage. And if you say I just haven’t met the right man yet, I’m leaving. Right after I tell Fran you’re the one who keeps rearranging the canned vegetables on the shelf so they’re not in alphabetical order.”
“You wouldn’t.”
They heard a knock on the screen door, and then the slight squeak of its hinges. “Hailey?”
“In the kitchen!”
Rose Davis walked in with her daughter, Katie, and a big basket of what Tori knew would be amazing baked goods. It didn’t even matter what was under the towel. It would be so delicious, Tori would be hard-pressed not to make herself sick.
“I’ve been crazy-busy, so I’m claiming credit for half of Rosie’s basket,” Katie said. “I didn’t have time to make or buy anything. What are we watching tonight, anyway?”
“My Fair Lady.”
Both women paused, but it was Rose who spoke. “What made you pick that movie?”
Tori tensed, giving Hailey a look she hoped would remind her she’d promised not to tell anybody about her Max makeover.
“I thought it would be fun to have a sing-along.” Hailey smiled. “And Audrey Hepburn never goes out of style.”
Tori’s aunt Jilly showed up next, with Gavin’s buffalo chicken dip, followed closely by Liz and Paige, who’d left Sarah home with Mitch. Nola Kendrick brought homemade soft pretzel rods with a sinful cheese dip, and Fran brought a bag of chips and the makings for margaritas.
As the movie went on, Tori realized several things. One, they’d all made fun of the movie choice but, strangely enough, they all seemed to know all the words to the songs.
Two, Liz Kowalski Miller did not have a single margarita. Since she knew Liz usually had a couple of drinks during movie nights and, combined with the mysterious daytime errand Drew had accompanied her on, Tori suspected the town’s gossip mill was going to have some good news to chew on very soon. But, since she wasn’t sure if Liz and Drew had told their families yet, Tori kept her mouth shut.
And, third—and most importantly—it occurred to her that Nola Kendrick was single. She was in her early thirties and worked at the town hall. Her honey-blonde hair was cut into a soft bob, she dressed somewhat conservatively, and she was a very nice lady. A little on the quiet side, but Tori had only really crossed paths with her when she was at work or at movie nights.
She just might be the perfect woman for Max.