The Reluctant Bachelor

“True Love. Yep.” Rick’s mother glanced at Elizabeth’s outstretched hand but didn’t shake it. “Thought I recognized you. What are you doing here?”

“Ma...” He should have known his mother wouldn’t be happy Lizzie was there. “She’s in town on business.”

“As long as she’s not here to mess with you again.” His mom looked back at Lizzie. “Are you?”

Rick put his hands on his mother’s shoulders. “It’s business, Ma.”

“I asked her, not you.” She moved around him and walked up to Lizzie.

“Ma...” Not that his mom would take the warning, but at least he could say he had tried. He braced himself for the confrontation.

Lizzie looked down at her feet, then up at his mother. “I assure you, Mrs. Allyn, I have the best intentions.”

His mom stared her right in the eyes and gave her the look he’d dreaded as a kid. It meant she knew what he was up to and she wasn’t having one bit of it. “And was it your best intention for my son to get dumped on television?”

“No, but it is my intention to find him a wife.” Lizzie took a step closer so that she could tower slightly over his mom.

Rick watched as the two women squared off, neither one conceding. “Ma, I’m going to show Lizzie more of the festival. But we’ll see you for dinner tomorrow?”

He leaned over and kissed his mom’s cheek. Then he held out his hand to Lizzie. “Now that you’ve tried the fried pickles, you have to taste the dill-pickle soup.”

Lizzie wrinkled her nose, but she followed him.

* * *

THISSMALLTOWNcould do things to a person. She’d only been in Lake Mildred two days, and part of her was wondering what living there would be like. People smiled and said hello. Acted as if she’d been one of them for years. She didn’t feel rushed or anxious. She hadn’t thought of her voice mail or email for hours. In fact, she hadn’t glanced at her cell phone since the parade two hours before.

Rick turned toward her when she sighed. “It gets to you, right?”

She shrugged and pulled on the hem of her dress. She should have changed after the parade. Or at least after they’d sampled the fried dill pickles, the dill-pickle soup, the gherkin mousse. She should have passed on that last one. But the pickle pâté had been fabulous. The lure of the festival had kept them in the park, enjoying the booths and the people surrounding them. “I guess it is getting to me.”

He stopped at the ticket booth and purchased two wristbands, then tied one to her wrist. “Which ride should we try first? The tilt-a-whirl or the scrambler?”

She put a hand over her stomach. “I’d like to keep my lunch down, thanks.”

Rick laughed. “Where’s your sense of adventure? Your joie de vivre?”

“It prefers not to spend life with my head in the toilet.” She looked around at the rides. There had to be something tame. “Why not the Ferris wheel?”

Rick glanced up at it, then grabbed her hand and sprinted toward the line. “You won’t believe the view up there. You’ll be able to see the whole town.”

“All square mile of it? Can’t wait.”

When they reached the beginning of the line, Rick let her take a seat first before joining her. They got locked into the seat, then took a deep breath as the operator gave a thumbs-up.

The view at the top took Elizabeth’s breath away. Trees grew lush and green. The sunlight glinted off the lake and winked with the promise of fun times. Small homes were built around the town square and farther beyond. Cottages lined the lakeshore. Part of her suddenly yearned for a place in this community.

Rick nodded. “I told you it was spectacular.”

“You weren’t kidding.” The camera would love it. She turned to him. “You understand that our coming here would forever change the peace and quiet. We couldn’t leave this place as it is now. For months, it would be chaos with the contestants and crew. We’d clog your streets and your businesses, and leave the mess for you to clean up. And then the gawkers would descend.”

“What I know is that it would bring jobs and money to people who need both more than you know.” He pointed at a home with a tree house in the backyard. “It would mean Steve wouldn’t lose his house.” He pointed to another with a covered porch. “Or that Shelly could feed her kids this winter.”

Elizabeth closed her eyes. She knew what it was like to be hungry. What it meant not to know if there would be dinner that night. “I can’t guarantee Devon will go for this idea.”

Rick settled back into the seat. “You tell him it’s either you have me here or I don’t do it at all.”

“That’s a pretty big threat.”

He reached out and touched her hand. “I won’t let you lose your job over me, but I won’t lose myself in the process, either. I’m not going to lie, the idea of doing the show again is making me quake in my sneakers. But as long as we can establish some ground rules, if we can do it my way, then everyone will be happy.”

Uh-oh. His way? She was the producer here, not him. “You ask for a lot.”

Rick shrugged. “So do you.”

She watched the emotions play over his face. He wanted to save this town, but at what cost to himself? He was a good man. Too good for this business. Elizabeth reached out and touched his face, then snapped her hand back as if he’d burned her. What was she doing?

“Lizzie.” The hoarseness of his voice seemed to shock even him.

“Elizabeth.”

He leaned back and looked out over the treetops. “Come to Sunday dinner tomorrow afternoon at my mom’s.”

After the confrontation in the food tent, that was a shock. “Why?”

He turned to her. “Because that’s what I do every Sunday. Spend it with my family. And maybe if we talk some more, we can figure this out. Give my mom a second chance. Isn’t that what you’re offering me here?”

Was it? Elizabeth wasn’t sure anymore.

* * *

ELIZABETHADJUSTEDher black skirt and straightened her pink linen jacket while wondering for the eighty-ninth time why she had agreed to do this. She’d gone to great lengths to secure contestants in the past, but this topped them all.

She exhaled as she saw Rick come down the back stairs from his apartment to where she waited by her convertible.

“Good morning.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

She glanced at her watch. “It’s technically afternoon.”

Rick grinned and shrugged. “Close enough.” He moved next to her to lean against the car. “Ready for this?”

Elizabeth’s insides vibrated with tension, and she clutched her stomach. “I’m not hungry.”

“We’ll eat. Talk. Maybe watch a ball game. And have a great afternoon.” He bumped her shoulder with his. “My family wants to get to know you.”

Why? She was about to change Rick’s life again. Maybe coming here hadn’t been a good idea. If she hadn’t been so worried about her job... Instead of asking, she smiled. “Then I’d love to.”

Rick’s shoulders sagged in what looked like relief. “Thanks. You’ll be saving us from a week of leftovers—roast-beef sandwiches, roast-beef salad, beef pâté.”