It's a Wonderful Date Read online

  It’s a Wonderful Date

  Sweet Christmas Romance

  Sophia Summers

  Contents

  Read all books by Sophia Summers

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapters 1-2 of Miracle on 34th Floor

  Read all books by Sophia Summers

  Read all books by Sophia Summers

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  Other books in the Vacation Billionaires Series

  Her Billionaire Lifeguard

  Her Billionaire Professor

  Her Billionaire Bellboy

  Her Love and Marriage Brides Series

  The Bride’s Secret

  The Bride’s Cowboy

  The Bride’s Billionaire

  Read all the books in The Swoony Sports Romances

  Hitching the Pitcher

  Falling for Centerfield

  Charming the Shortstop

  Snatching the Catcher

  Flirting with First

  Kissing on Third

  Her Billionaire Royals Series:

  The Heir

  The Crown

  The Duke

  The Duke’s Brother

  The Prince

  The American

  The Spy

  The Princess

  Her Billionaire Cowboys Series:

  Her Billionaire Cowboy

  Her Billionaire Protector

  Her Billionaire in Hiding

  Her Billionaire Christmas Secret

  Her Billionaire to Remember

  Her Single Holiday Romances

  Taming Scrooge

  It’s a Wonderful Date

  Miracle on the 34th Floor

  Invited Home for Christmas

  1

  Sarah Lester turned the key in her front door for the first time. The small front porch made her smile, plenty of space for two oversized wooden slat rocking chairs. The door stuck a bit and she jiggled it until the key turned all the way. And then it opened into her own space. Her. Space. A girlish squeak exited her lips as she pushed open the door.

  “You moving in today?” A matronly looking woman with a friendly face approached up the front walk.

  Sarah paused, her foot almost stepping onto the new flooring, almost entering her first ever home she’d purchased with her own money. “Um, yeah. I am.”

  “Welcome! I’m Darlene Gempsey. We live next door. Anything you need, just come ask the Gempseys.”

  “Thank you so much. I’m Sarah Lester.”

  “When do we get to meet the other Lesters?”

  She kind of hated these sorts of questions. “Oh, I’m the only one. It’s just me here. I mean, there are Lesters in the world of course, my parents…anyway. Yeah.” She looked longingly into her front entry. The new wood floors warmly waiting for her first step.

  “Then all the more reason to come call on us. Tonight, come for family dinner. Six sharp.”

  “Oh well…”

  “Now, I won’t hear, no. Just come on in, no need to knock.” She waved. “We’re so happy to finally have a neighbor, even if it’s only just the one person.” She made her way back down the walk.

  “Bye. Thank you.” Sarah called after her new neighbor, though she couldn’t tell if the woman even heard her. She wondered how many Gempseys there were in the house, considerably larger than her own with a three car garage.

  She stepped in through the front door at last and breathed in the new wood smell of her new home. She flipped on the light switch and turned in a circle, drinking in her very first home, purchased all by herself with the money from her interior design company. A great feeling of satisfaction filled her. And now, she would get to design every space.

  Already a lovely chair was on its way. She made her way into the front sitting room to see again right where it would sit. By the fire. And the Christmas tree. She would be purchasing that next. The room boasted a lovely bay window that looked out on the street. It was so quaint, so cliché in many ways. A sweet house with a front porch, a large bay window, two small bedrooms upstairs, a perfect office down. She smiled. She loved cliche when it applied to her.

  She made her way through every room in a slow walk, just reveling in her accomplishment, imagining each area as an empty canvas. Her mind spun with ideas, a paint color here, a specific fabric there. Then, when she’d been through the place, bottom to top and back again, she went back to her car and grabbed one piece of luggage, a backpack, and an inflatable mattress. Shouldering her pack, she kicked the door open again with her foot and dragged her few belongings up the stairs to the room on the right. One had to start somewhere.

  At six o’clock sharp, she stood at the front door of her neighbor’s house, with a small package in her hands. She lifted her hand to knock and then remembered she was supposed to just walk in. Turning the knob, she pushed the door open. “Hello?”

  A couple of children were in the front room. “Mom! Somebody’s here!”

  Mrs. Gempsey came out of the kitchen, wiping hands on her apron. “Oh hello. Sarah. I’m so glad you could join us.” She waved her closer. “Come on in. We’ll be eating back in here. No need to sit in the formal dining room.”

  As soon as they were all gathered around the Gempsey’s large, thick, wood table, which Sarah found charming, The Gempseys joined hands and bowed their heads. The two siblings on each side of Sarah reached for her hands, and then Mr. Gempsey said a prayer.

  Sarah found it rather comforting. Her parents used to pray, and the moment helped her feel at home. But that is where the similarities between the Gempseys and her home life ended. She was an only child. And the Gempseys had at least four children. She said at least four because she thought they’d mentioned another off at university already.

  Mr. Gempsey filled his plate with pasta. “Tell us about yourself, Sarah. What brings you to Nethers Corners?”

  “It’s such a charming place, isn’t it? I’ve been watching this house for years and when it opened up, I did what I could to get it as soon as possible.”

  “We’re so happy you did. The old resident was such a dear, like a grandmother to the children. It’s time the place had some new life breathed into it.” Mrs. Gempsey smiled.

  Sarah was sure she meant what she said. She enjoyed the sincerity of the whole family, from what she could see. “I’m happy to be there. I’ve got plans for the rooms, fabric swatches coming, and I’ll start in on the paint this week.”

  “Oh, do you have a decorator?”

  “I do. I mean, I am, a decorator, Lester Decorating.”

  “Excellent.” Mrs. Gempsey eyed her husband. “Maybe you can help me with a few things around here.”

  “Of course, I’d love to.” She was pretty booked out. But they could talk about schedules and things later.

  Mr. Gempsey lifted his glass. “We’ll have to introduce you to the neighborhood. There’s Harriott and the Mellings, And Jessie, she’s about your age.”

  Mrs. Gempsey snorted.

  “What? Isn’t she?”

  “Not likely.”

  “Well, and who was I getting to, of course, our neighborhood doctor.” He wiggled his eyebrows at his wife, and the two looked overly pleased.

  “Yes, of course, we’ll have to invite Dr. McArthur.” They clinked their glasses together, and Sarah wasn’t sure
exactly what to think.

  After dinner, the kids got out a double pack of UNO cards, and before she could escape, she was pulled into the longest UNO marathon of her life.

  “Skip! Reverse! Skip! Draw Four!”

  “Goodness.” She was beginning to suspect the kids had some kind of ring, hiding the worst cards and sharing them between each other.

  But finally, they had all lost and backed out of the game, but one of the children, Tad, and Sarah. He laid his last card and Sarah leaned back. “Whew!”

  Mrs. Gempsey joined them again in the family room. “When we do UNO, we really play, don’t we? Kids, what do you say to Sarah for playing UNO with you?”

  “Thank you.” The four of them chorused together.

  “I enjoyed it. I haven’t played UNO like that in…well, ever.” She laughed. “Thank you for having me, Mrs. Gempsey.”

  “You’re so welcome, dear. Anything you need at all, you just come call on us. You have my number now, don’t you? Give me a call, come over, whatever you need.”

  “Thank you.” She knew she’d be joining a real neighborhood with real families, with kids. This wasn’t the kind of place singles hung out. She knew that, but somehow the reality of people living next door, of UNO playing kids, of friendly neighbors was different than she expected. They did things like invite you over.

  Instead of planning the décor for her rooms or working on her clients’ projects, she had spent the entire evening in their home. And that had to be a good thing, right? This kind of interaction was just what she was needing, she had told herself.

  Walking back through the dark, the street light illuminated her way.

  Across the street on the corner, someone moved, the sound of a garbage can dragging up a driveway caught her attention. She watched, while a man moved into the light of his own porch. He was tall, broad-shouldered, young looking, around her own age. She watched him move up his driveway. He stopped and turned to her. He must have felt her gaze. She froze, unsure what to do. The night forbade a friendly hello so she just lifted her hand.

  He nodded.

  Her feet hurried up onto the porch and into her house. So, their street had a neighborhood hot guy? She laughed. Well, that would make her front porch rocking chairs even more interesting. She pictured him with a cute two year old and an equally hot wife.

  The Gempseys had sent her with leftovers so she moved into her kitchen. It was large for a small house, one of the reasons she loved the house. She placed tomorrow’s dinner on the top shelf of her fridge. She reached in to a box sitting on her counter, pulled out a towel and folded it over the hand rail on her oven. There. A splash of color, something.

  She hurried up the stairs, ready to curl up in her blankets and work through Christmas decorations for her newest client when someone knocked on her front door.

  Just when she thought the neighbors might be too friendly, the neighborhood hot guy stood on the front porch. Up close, he was still hot, but there was a friendly wholesome look in his green eyes she couldn’t ignore.

  “Oh! Hi.” Breathless, she tried really hard not to check him out, sticking with his eyes.

  He lifted a basket.

  A basket?

  “Welcome to the neighborhood.”

  She reached for it. “Uh, thanks.” Definitely married. “Tell your wife I said thank you.”

  “Oh, it’s not…This is from me.”

  “Really? Impressive. Thank you.” She dug through. “Muffins, coupons, recommendations, even a good doctor. This is excellent.”

  “Well, I usually have my assistant deliver the welcome basket but since I saw you, I figured I’d run it over before too many days go by.”

  Confused, she wasn’t sure what he meant. “Would you like to come in?”

  “Sure, for a minute.”

  She stepped aside and led him to her kitchen. “I’m sorry I don’t really have somewhere to sit.”

  “This is such a great house.”

  “Did you know the previous owner?”

  “Yeah, she was my patient. I remember many a house call.” He shook his head.

  “Oh, you’re the doctor?”

  “I am a doctor. The doctor sounds a bit ominous.”

  She laughed. “No, the Gemspey’s mentioned something.”

  “They would.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Let me guess, you also played a ninety minute game of UNO.”

  “So, I gather you’ve been there before?”

  “Of course. Nicest family. And patients too, of course.”

  “Do you always do house calls?”

  “More than I would like, yes. So, if you do need a house call, think twice about whether or not it’s something you could take care of yourself or if it’s something that can wait until the next day during normal office hours.”

  “Oh wow, okay. But I don’t really need a doctor.” She eyed the scruff along his chin, his mussed up hair, still caught by his eyes. “I don’t know, maybe I do. Anyway, thanks for the basket.”

  “No problem, like I said, usually my assistant brings it over. She lives here too. Jessie Updike. You’ll meet her soon enough.”

  She nodded. “Okay, good to know.”

  “So, what do you do?” He looked around.

  “Ha, well, remember when I say this that I just moved in today.”

  He leaned one hip on the kitchen counter.

  “I’m an interior decorator.”

  “Cool. Do you have clients in the area?”

  “I do. They’re all over the greater metroplex.”

  “Excellent. I’m excited to see what you do with the place.”

  “Oh, thanks. Me too, actually.” She turned. “I don’t have anything to drink really. Can I offer you some water?”

  He shook his head and moved to the door. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you around. Welcome to the neighborhood.” As he moved out onto the porch, he turned and whispered. “Oh, and watch out for Mrs. Melling.”

  “Mrs. Melling?”

  He nodded. “Yep. You’ll see.”

  “Okay. Thanks again.” She waved.

  He jogged down the porch stairs and headed across the street. When he reached his front porch, he turned and she wanted to kick herself that she was still watching. He lifted his hand and she did the same and then closed her front door.

  As she turned out the lights and finally headed up the stairs for the night, she had only another moment to get some work done. But she couldn’t regret her time with neighbors. These were the people in her life now. She smiled thinking about how the doctor had certainly brightened her outlook. Every neighborhood needed a resident hot guy, she decided. Laughing, she pulled up her account on the computer.

  She was just about to begin her busy season. All her regular clients had already booked her for Christmas decorations. And she had more new house move ins to accomplish. But her favorite account of every year, her first client wanted to meet her to decorate her huge fairytale like house. She ordered four trees and had two stairway banisters plus three fireplace mantles. Her home was a decorator’s dream and she had trusted Sarah from the beginning. Lily Montrose was her name, and Sarah just loved her.

  She pulled up a search on sleighs. She had a new inspiration for this year’s theme room. Every year one of the rooms was always decorated by theme. Lily had a Christmas party, and she said her guests looked forward every year to see what they did for the theme.

  Soon she was lost in her plans for Lily. Hours later, her eyes shut too many times to keep working. She clicked out her light, closing her laptop and laying it beside her on the ground. Her blankets were warm. Her mattress fine. She’d order a bed tomorrow. And work on her own house for a change.

  Her eyes closed again before too many thoughts passed through her brain, but the last thought she had before falling asleep made her grin a big sleepy smile. Her neighbor, the doctor came into her thoughts. She didn’t catch his name. She’d have to find out tomorrow.
>
  2

  David MacArthur heard the sounds of his office staff arriving every morning. He liked to be the first one there, liked to set up the place the way he preferred and he liked to mentally prepare. He usually took his time, looking at the files of every patient coming in that day, reviewing the files of those he’d treated last week, and checked possible openings in his schedule.

  More often than not someone was calling his personal line trying to squeeze in an extra visit, or ask a question or get some reassurance about a medical concern. He needed to know when he was otherwise booked. His office manager, Candace Miller, got after him all the time about double booking himself.

  A knock at his door announced the woman herself.

  “Come in Candace.”

  “Good morning doctor. How are you?” Her friendly face and daily question made him smile.

  “It’s gonna be a great day, don’t you think?”

  “In this office, it always is.” She handed him a bagel sandwich. “Brought you some breakfast.”

  “Best office manager ever.”

  “I know. You don’t need to tell me just give me a raise.”

  “As soon as we’re rolling in the dough, you’ll be the first to benefit.”

  “So you tell me.” She clucked. “We’ve got the Hendersons today.”

  “We do?”

  “Yeah, they called at closing yesterday. You’d already gone.”

  “Are we ready for them?”

  “As ready as we ever are.”

  The Hendersons made him laugh on a good day, made him cringe on an average and gave him a raging headache on a difficult day. Six kids, and their mother brought them all at once. She never knew their birthdays and often confused their personal histories.