Her Second-Chance Family. Holly Jacobs

if on cue, Mr. Lebowitz called out, “Audrey, is that you?”

      “No, Mr. Lebowitz. It’s someone else entirely.”

      “Cheeky girl,” he called, laughter tingeing his voice. “Come in here if you have a moment.”

      She left the reception room, headed past her office door and Mr. Lebowitz’s public office to the back room she called his “cave.” He was in a white button-down shirt that was open at the collar and had its sleeves rolled up. He smiled as she walked in.

      Audrey set the cinnamon bun in front of him and his smile broadened. “Maggie was baking this morning.”

      “She made this from scratch?” he asked, picking up the roll almost with reverence.

      “She did,” Audrey informed him. “She said to be sure you ate it because you’re too thin.”

      “Other than seeing clearly,” he said, patting his slightly paunchy stomach, “is there anything that woman can’t do?”

      “Nothing I know of,” Audrey assured him.

      He took a bite and groaned. “Wow.”

      “You called me back because you wanted something?” she prompted.

      Mr. Lebowitz was lost in a cinnamon brain fog. Audrey watched as he tried to clear his head enough to remember why he’d summoned her.

      “Oh, yes.” He dug through a precarious-looking pile of papers and pulled out a neon orange Post-it. Audrey did the ordering for the firm, and chose the brightest sticker notes she could find so they would stand out amid the clutter.

      “Marcia James, the mayor’s assistant, and Ms. Wilkins, the educational enrichment coordinator for the school district, set up a tentative meeting for Friday. Marcia asked that you confirm.”

      She took the Post-it. “Sure. I can make that work.”

      “Great. Now, go get ready for the Castellinis. I’m going to sit back and savor my cinnamon roll. And when you have a minute, could you give me Maggie’s phone number so I can thank her properly?”

      Audrey tried to keep the speculation out of her voice as she said, “She’s at my house with the kids today, so you can reach her there.”

      “Great. I will.”

      And because the matchmaking bug had hit, she added, “You know, you should probably think of a way to reciprocate. Maybe ask her out to dinner some night?”

      She left before he could respond.

      What was with her? She had romance on her mind, and that wasn’t like her at all. Between the kids, work and now the Greenhouse, her life was full. She didn’t have time to date, which was good because her last attempt had been a disaster.

      She’d been held up at a meeting that ran late, and got home just in time for Maggie May to apologize profusely and say she had some stomach bug and couldn’t babysit. It was too late when... What was the guy’s name? Paul. That was it.

      He was a nice zoologist. It was too late to call and cancel. She opened the front door just as Bea told her she was feeling sick. He stepped inside and... Bea barfed on his shoes.

      She would have thought a guy who dealt with zoo animals on a daily basis could handle a little vomit.

      He couldn’t.

      That had been right before Willow came to stay with them.

      Audrey still got asked out on occasion, but she’d said no the past few months. She was trying to build a connection with Willow and didn’t want to divide her attention.

      So why, all of a sudden, was she trying to fix up Mr. Lebowitz and Maggie May?

      And why, when she thought about them dating, did she think about dating, as well?

      And the biggest question of all... Why was it Sawyer Williams she imagined sitting across a restaurant table from her?

      Clutching her orange Post-it note, she hurried into her office.

      She had a lot of work to do. Notes to pull together for her clients Marcia and Ms. Wilkins. The Castellini meeting.

      She was not going to think about fixing up Mr. Lebowitz and Maggie May.

      And more than that, she was not going to think about dating anyone herself.

      Especially not Sawyer Williams.