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should be.
    Just the way he liked it.

Chapter Four
    ‡
    H e should have booked the first flight out of Greenville.
    Nothing had changed in Holland Springs, and that included his mother’s matchmaking tendencies. She was bound and determined that every single one of her children should be in a serious relationship.
    For the first two days, she had suckered him into accompanying her on errands into town and managed to introduce Heath to what had to be every available woman in Holland Springs under the age of fifty without actually accomplishing a single thing on her to-do list.
    Now it was Saturday, and she was jumping at the bit to introduce him to the ladies at the Holland Springs Junior Garden club. The club was holding their monthly meeting at Chesson House.
    So far, he hadn’t seen Haven once, but he had been introduced to the mayor’s college roommate’s aunt’s niece who had just moved here from Hendersonville. The woman was as interested in him as she was in the begonias on display. In other words, she’d been cajoled and guilted like he had been.
    It was so obvious that it was painful.
    Either his mother didn’t have a clue, or she was purposefully ignoring the pained looks. He was betting on the latter.
    Leah smiled, taking him by the arm as she began to lead him over to a trio of women. “Have I intro—”
    Oh shit. He couldn’t take another round of look at my handsome, successful, single son . “I think Dad’s calling.”
    Her forehead furrowed. “I would have felt my phone buzz.”
    “He’s calling on my phone.” He pretended to glance at his screen. “Missed his call. I’ll call him back. Might be important.” Before she could stop him, he kissed her cheek and gently extricated himself from her grasp before striding away. He headed to the front of the house, where there was nothing but cars and flowerbeds.
    Hopefully, he could sit on the front porch and play Trivia Crack on his phone until his mother was ready to leave without being disturbed.
    “Baseball emergency?” he heard Haven say.
    So much for being undisturbed.
    Stopping in his tracks, he turned and pocketed his phone. She sat in a double swing that hung from a side porch, a tabby cat in her lap. The shadows made her look mysterious. But there was no mistaking her pink hair and ruby-colored lips.
    Today, she wore a short-sleeved, bright green sweater with a row of white buttons lined up down the center and hot pink pants that ended just below her knees.
    “Actually, I was taking a break.”
    She tsked. “I can’t believe you abandoned your poor momma to deal with those ladies.”
    He bristled. “I didn’t.”
    Haven stroked the cat and for a wild second or two, he wished he were the one in her lap. “Too much estrogen back there for a big, testosteroney guy like you to handle?”
    “Testosteroney isn’t a word, brain girl.”
    She visibly flinched. “It must be hard to live in a world in which women are allowed to read.”
    Keeping a straight face, he said, “Well, since it’s legal and all, maybe you can pick one up about manners. I hear Emily Post is popular.”
    The cat hissed and jumped off her lap.
    Haven narrowed her eyes at him. “Great. You made Gotham angry.”
    “Sounds like a job for Batman.”
    A light-colored brow arched even as her luscious lips twitched. He knew she wanted to laugh, but her stubborn pride wouldn’t allow it. “How long are you staying in Holland Springs?” she asked suddenly.
    “Not sure.”
    “Is all that matchmaking your momma’s attempting to do driving you crazy?”
    She looked halfway sympathetic, so he answered honestly, “Yes, but I don’t want to hurt her feelings. Her intentions are good.”
    Haven’s shrewd gaze seemed to assess him as she stood and walked into the light. The afternoon sun shone on her face, making her skin glow and her eyes sparkle.
    “What if I told you that I could get Mrs. Ambrose off your back?”
    She told him a lot of things, and most of the