A strange, awkward moment passed between them, and then she tossed the notebook on the couch. “You’re right. They take this really seriously.”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Hayes said. “Are we really going to go stalk Peggy until some magical man materializes out of nowhere?”
Pru stilled.
“What is it?”
She shrugged. “I know you don’t live here, but do you know Peggy Swinton?”
“Not really,” he said. “I mean, I’ve talked to her a couple of times over the years.”
The look on Pru’s face turned thoughtful. “I think she’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Inherently kind, you know, not someone who has to try to be nice. She’s really involved in the Nantucket Historical Society, and she’s taught third grade for over thirty years.”
“Never married?”
Pru shook her head. “There was a rumor a few years back that she was engaged once, a long time ago. I wonder if she just had her heart broken and chose not to put herself through that again.”
Hayes looked away. He knew a little something about that. “Well, it can be hard to put yourself out there when you know what you’re risking.”
She nodded. “I know.”
But did she? Far as he knew, Pru had never really given her heart to anyone. “Must’ve been some broken heart if she never tried again.”
“Or maybe she never stopped loving whoever it was?” Pru picked her mug back up. “I mean, if it was real, maybe she’s hoping he’ll find his way back?”
Hayes frowned. “That would be crazy.”
A smile played at the corners of her lips. “Why? Because you can’t imagine loving one woman that much?”
He rolled his eyes. “Because there’s not just one person for everyone.”
Her brow knit into a tight line. “Is that right?”
He leaned back on the couch but didn’t respond.
“Then why haven’t you settled down?” she asked. “If any old woman would do, why not pick one and make it official?”
They didn’t talk much about the women he dated. Occasionally, Pru made a remark that let him know she had opinions on his love life, but it was a topic they mostly avoided, though he wasn’t sure why. Same with her love life—if she’d ever fallen in love, she certainly hadn’t told him about it.
And yet, he felt so close to her. She was maybe his only true friend other than Hollis. How could that be when there was such a big part of their lives that seemed to be off-limits for discussion?
She looked away. “Unlike you, I do believe there’s one person for everyone.”
“Like a soulmate,” he said, thinking back to his conversation with Aunt Nellie.
She found his eyes again. “Yeah, like a soulmate.”
Something inexplicable passed between them. Something he hadn’t felt before. He remembered the first time he ever saw Pru, riding a wave that had taken him out at the knees. She was so confident, so stunning, he’d asked her out then and there. Before Delilah. Before Kara. Before every other leggy blonde that had found her way onto his arm.
And she put him in his place—hard. It made her that much more interesting to him, but it was clear by their next encounter she had no interest in dating him, so they became friends. She taught him to surf a whole lot better that summer, and when he left the island at the end of the season, they stayed in touch.
He’d never been friends with a woman before, not like this. And it was nice. And while they never got into the nitty-gritty of his relationships, she gave him insights into the way the female mind worked. Never mind that most female minds he encountered didn’t seem to work like Pru’s.
She was different. Special. He supposed that’s why they’d stayed friends when all of his other relationships fizzled out before they ever began. And that’s why they were nothing more. He wasn’t worthy of Prudence Sutton, though at that moment he wondered if any man was.
“I never took you for a romantic,” he said.
She smiled, turning the air between them light again. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Mr. McGuire.” She poked his thigh with her foot, playfully.
That simple connection between them changed the mood in an instant.
“What else?” She nodded toward the notebook.
He picked it up and flipped to the next page. “There’s more.”
She took a sip and set her mug down, then wrapped her arms around her knees. “I’m listening.”
“It’s a letter.” He read it out loud while Pru sat in silence.
Dear Noni Rose,
This is a great responsibility, and one you must treat with the utmost care and consideration. Any time matters of the heart collide with a person’s entire future, it’s not to be taken lightly. You have been chosen, not by a person but by the matchmaker’s magic, which will, whether you believe it or not, also come to you when you need it most. You see, matchmaking is not for the faint of heart. You may have some bumps along the way. But when you pause and let the magic work and you learn to trust yourself a little, wonderful things can happen.
There is nothing better than seeing how perfect two people are for each other and then giving them the proper nudge so they can figure it out for themselves. If you’re asking why you have been selected for this task—if you’re thinking this isn’t something you’ll be good at, you’re not alone. Every Noni Rose before you has felt the same. But let me assure you, the magic has chosen you. Like a sprinkle of fairy dust.
Best of luck to you.
Magically yours,
Noni Rose
When he finished, he closed the notebook and set it on the table. “So, you’ll help me?”
“Exactly how do you want me to help?”
“Help me find Peggy Swinton’s soulmate.”
Her face brightened into a wide grin. “There’s hope for you yet, my friend.”
“Well, don’t tell anyone,” he said. “I’ve got a reputation to protect.”
She laughed. “You and me both. I can’t have the guys who come into the shop thinking I’ve gone soft. I’ll lose all credibility.”
And just like that, the easy banter was back.
But as he lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, it wasn’t the banter that he replayed in his mind. It was the strange shift between them when they were talking about soulmates and the faint, nagging question that asked if maybe he’d already found his.
Chapter 6
Pancakes and Bacon
Prudence Sutton had not gone soft. She was not now, nor would she ever be, the kind of hopeless romantic who made poor decisions. She’d built her business on relationships with men who regularly hit on her, and the only way she’d done that was to prove to them she wasn’t going to go weak in the knees because they told her she was pretty.
Why, then, did she see the need to admit she was holding out for a soulmate to the one person she believed might actually be her soulmate?
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
She had a feeling that conversation was going to get brought up again, probably in the form of mockery, and she’d regretted it the second she said it. Hayes, like the guys in the surf shop, had an opinion about her—and that opinion kept her cover intact. An opinion that said Prudence Sutton had no interest in romance.