An Unlikely Match

people must come here.”
She grinned. “You might say that.” She leaned down and unwrapped the bloodstained apron square from around the horse’s foot,then straightened. “No more bleeding. But I’ll ask the vet to take a look, just to be sure.”
Jayce nodded, knowing he was running out of time. “How about tomorrow night at six o’clock? I’ll pick you up and we’ll eatand go see a movie.”
She was quiet. It was out of character for Jayce to be this pushy about asking a woman out. But he didn’t know much aboutthe Amish rules and worried he might not see her again. He held his breath and waited.
“I-I guess eating out and seeing a movie would be okay.”
She said yes!
“Where should I pick you up?” He heard the eagerness in his voice and wondered if she did too. This would give him somethingto look forward to.
She started walking toward the entrance as she rattled off an address, then picked up her pace and strode into the store.Jayce repeated the street and number in his mind over and over as he pulled out his phone and followed her inside. He punchedin the address and looked up.
Wow. His jaw dropped when he took a few steps inside.

Three
Evelyn tried to walk ahead of Jayce so it didn’t look like they were together, but he stayed close behind her.
“Am I the only person in here who isn’t Amish?” His eyes grew wide as he spoke in a whisper. “And there aren’t any men.”
Evelyn tried to ignore the people peering at them from every direction as she beelined toward the back of the store. Therewas a line of Amish women waiting to check out and several more in the aisle as Evelyn led the way.
“The kinner—children—are in school but will be out soon. The store usually fills up this time of day. The women will get their groceries then meet the children at the school, where most of them left their buggies. It’s close enough to walk. The men are at work.” She pointed to a door that read Employees Only. “I have to go get an apron. Hopefully you can find everything you need.” She nodded left. “The deli is that way. To the right, you’ll find household items and food.”
“Uh, yeah. Okay.” He took a few steps to the right before she closed the door. She found an apron, then scurried to the cashregister.
“Sorry I’m late. Millie got a piece of glass stuck in her foot.” Evelyn switched places with Katie. When she looked at herfriend, Katie’s expression mirrored those of the women in line, along with the ones who had stopped in their tracks, all ofthem ogling Jayce like he was from another planet.
“Who is that?” Katie asked as she kept her eyes on Jayce. It was impossible not to notice his athletic physique, and surelythey’d all seen those mesmerizing eyes when he walked in the store.
“He’s staying at the inn. Esther and Lizzie’s place. He found me on the road and helped with Millie.” She nudged Katie tostep aside and reached for the first item to ring up.
“Ach, I love mei husband, but that is possibly the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.” Katie shook her head. “I mean, for an Englisch man.”
Evelyn couldn’t deny how nice-looking Jayce was, but she regretted accepting his invitation to supper and a movie. She didn’teven know him, and he wasn’t Amish. He was age appropriate and handsome, but they had nothing in common. He came from a lifeshe knew nothing about. Clearly he didn’t know anything about Evelyn’s world either.
She would go to the movie with him, then not see him again. He would be working a lot anyway. She had to admit she was lookingforward to seeing a movie.
As Jayce rounded a corner and disappeared from sight, everyone got back to business, either shopping or waiting patiently in line. Katie walked toward the deli, where she was scheduled to work today.
Widow Byler gave Evelyn a curious look as she rang up the handful of items, but she didn’t ask about Jayce, nor did any ofthe other women Evelyn checked out. Everyone began rushing to get in line since the school bell would toll soon.
Jayce breezed past the women, raised a hand, and said, “I couldn’t find what I needed, but I’ll pick you up at six tomorrow.”
Evelyn lowered her head. He couldn’t have said it any louder if he’d tried. Now every woman in the store knew she was goingout with the handsome English man tomorrow evening.
She slowly lifted her eyes. Most of the ladies were eyeing her with speculation. Widow Byler crinkled her nose from whereshe stood near the exit. Evelyn didn’t say anything and continued ringing up the groceries. The entire town would be talkingabout Jayce and Evelyn by the end of the day. Montgomery wasn’t immune to gossip, and Widow Byler was the queen bee when itcame to spreading news.
Maybe she should cancel the date. Except most people wouldn’t know if she canceled, so the damage was already done. Maybeshe should tell the few ladies still in line that she was going to show him around because he was a guest at the inn. Butthat would be a lie. No matter which direction her mind traveled, a fib met her at every turn.
She pressed her lips together and stayed quiet. Everyone looked up when a long black limousine pulled into the parking lot.Even Evelyn’s mouth fell open. Is that the way Jayce always travels? She hoped he didn’t show up at her house in that fancy car tomorrow night.
She hadn’t factored in what her parents and brothers would think about her going out with an English man, particularly herfather. But she would tell them the truth. He helped her with Millie, and she didn’t feel like she could turn down his kindoffer of supper. Would omitting mention of the movie make it a partial version of the truth? Both of her brothers had takengirls to the movies.
No