The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection Read Online Free PDF Page B

part, her lessons had stuck. He kept the house fairly
neat. He and Angie wore clean clothes. But cooking remained a
mystery. He always managed to mess up even the simplest meals. Good
thing Angie wasn’t picky.
    Pushing the cart around the display of
onions, his cart bumped another head-to-head. He uttered an apology
before he recognized Sophie.
    “ Good morning, Miss
Sophie.”
    She turned those wide green eyes toward him.
“Oh, hi, Mr. Carson.”
    His eyebrows rose. “Mitch, please. Mr.
Carson is my dad.”
    The luscious eyes twinkled as her lips
curved upward.
    “ Okay, Mitch. I’m Sophie.
Only the kids call me Miss Sophie.”
    He nodded. “Point taken. So, uh, how is the
big Christmas show coming along?”
    Her smile faded a bit. Had he put his foot
in his mouth?
    “ I’m going to have to do
some rewriting, I think. And… I’m not used to working with kids.
But it’ll be great. Angie’s a real sweetheart. I hope she wasn’t
put off by all the time I had to spend dealing with those
boys.”
    “ No, she really enjoyed it.
She can’t wait to practice again on Sunday. So does this mean I
pick her up later than before?”
    “ No, I work with the kids
during the first half of the regular Sunday School hour, so she’ll
get out at the same time as usual.”
    “ Got it.” He paused, not
wanting the conversation to end, but unsure how to continue. When
had he ever been so awkward with a female?
    “ Uh, so… can I buy you a
cup of coffee?”
    Her look of surprise had him backpedaling.
His mind scrambled to find a reasonable topic of conversation. “I…
um, I thought maybe you’d have some ideas of people who could take
care of Angie.”
    She seemed to accept that. “Sure. Let’s go
to the café. I could use a good cup of coffee.” She led the way to
the store’s coffee kiosk. They put in their orders, and Mitch
noticed she stuck to a basic cup of black coffee.
    “ No flavorings, stir-ins,
or whipped cream?” he teased.
    “ Maybe later. I like
creamer, especially flavored ones, but right now I’m still trying
to wake up, so plain old coffee will do the trick.”
    “ I like plain old coffee
when I’m working on my photos.”
    “ Amy Michaels was really
happy with the way you handled her kids during her family’s
sitting. Is business picking up?”
    “ Not as much as I’d like.
I’ve got the Reinharts tomorrow, so I’m hoping they and the
Michaels family will spread the word about my studio.”
    “ Why don’t you try
something different? I’ve seen studios advertise something called a
mini-session. Just fifteen minutes, and the customer gets a CD with
like ten or fifteen images they can use on Christmas cards or as
gifts. Since you don’t have as much time invested, you can charge
less.”
    “ That sounds like a great
idea. If I get a bunch of those booked, I’ll definitely need help
in the evenings.”
    Her eyes crinkled as she smiled, and he
hoped his return smile wasn’t as goofy as it felt. “So, let’s take
a seat and I’ll give you the low down on the teenagers in the
area.”
    “ Right.” He spied a small
table and carried their drinks to it. She raised a brow when he
pulled out a chair, but said nothing as she sat. Curiosity finally
got the best of him.
    “ You know, that’s the
second time you’ve looked at me as if I’ve done something strange.
Apparently, opening the car door for you isn’t normal, and neither
is pulling out your chair. Is that not done in Michigan? Should I
give up those habits?”
    “ NO!”
    Mitch nearly jumped out of his chair at the
force of her answer. And then he realized she hadn’t spoken alone.
The barista who’d poured their coffee, as well as two other women
seated in the cafe tables around them had echoed Sophie’s
answer.
    An elderly woman seated behind him tapped
him on the shoulder. “Young man, you’ve been raised with good
manners, and you should never give them up. If Sophie was surprised
when you opened doors and pulled her