Evan Taylor was a friendly guy. It was clear within the first minute of meeting him. He extended a hand to Claire and thanked her warmly for the recommendation she’d given him for a reliable mechanic who could winterize his car. Like most people new to Alaska, he hadn’t known what needed to be done to make sure it worked throughout the winter when temperatures could reach as low as fifty degrees below zero.

“Did you put together an emergency kit to leave in your car?” Hayley asked him. It was a staple of Alaska living, even in town.

“Evan, this is Hayley March,” Claire said. “Hayley, this Evan Taylor.”

They shook hands. Claire stepped away with a slight wave, her work done.

“What should go in an emergency kit?” Evan asked, continuing the conversation.

The others looked at each other. It was not a quick question to answer.

“I’m going to excuse myself and go mingle,” Misty said. “Hayley, nice to see you.”

“I’m going to join her,” Clyde said. “I’m getting some good scoops for my next column. But first, Hayley, what’s this I hear about Devotion.com?”

“Oh, my gosh, Clyde!” Hayley couldn’t believe it. She’d only told a few people. “You know everything!”

He smiled mischievously. “Don’t I?”

In his mid-fifties with a large frame and ill-fitting clothes, Clyde came off like an enthusiastic, overgrown child. He usually wore a tweed sports coat two sizes too small and waved around a pipe he never lit. But he was good at his job, and fun to have a few drinks with.

“I’ll tell you,” she said. “But first tell me how you know about it.”

“I’m buds with Elizabeth Armstrong. Best bartender in town.”

“Ah, of course.” Hayley had told Elizabeth, and Clyde camped out most afternoons on a bar stool at the brewery.

As she filled him on her partnership with Devotion.com, she was aware that Evan Taylor was listening closely.

“A matchmaker, huh?” he said after Clyde and Misty left. Hayley noticed he had cute dimples. “I don’t think I’ve ever met one of those before.”

“We’re few and far between,” Hayley said, trying to make it sound both glamorous and mysterious. “So, an emergency kit …”

“I can look it up online,” he said quickly. “It seems like a question that drives people away—and I wouldn’t want to drive you away, at least not before I offer to buy you a drink.”

The man had game, and Hayley liked it.

“I would love a drink,” she said.

“Then let’s take our conversation to the bar.”

“Deal.”

The room was crowded, and he put his hand on the small of her back to guide her forward. Hayley let him, even slowing so his hand touched her more fully.

“Gorgeous dress, by the way,” he said. “You caught my eye the second you walked in.”

“Thank you!”

His words gave her a happy flush. Josh had been right about the dress.

At the bar, she ordered another Rob Roy.

“And I’ll have another Moose Droppings,” Evan told Mark, setting his empty pint glass on the bar. When he got the seasonal dark IPA, he held it up to the light as if to inspect it. “Quite the name for a beer,” he said laughingly.

“If you haven’t noticed yet, we’re a little quirky here in Alaska,” Hayley said.

“Quirky’s good.” Evan waited until she had her drink and then touched her glass in a toast. “Here’s to quirky.”

Hayley took the first sip of her second drink of the night. “So how are you finding Golden Falls, Evan?”

“It’s charming,” he said. “Honestly, I appreciate any place with an independent movie theater, especially a town this size.”

“I agree,” she said. “Can I put in a plug for you to start showing classic movies on a regular basis? I love seeing them on the big screen.”

“Ah! You’re a classic movie buff?”

“A huge one,” she said. “I watch one almost every night. At least one.”

“What’s your absolute favorite?”

“It depends. How classic is classic?”

“Let’s say black and white.”

“The Philadelphia Story,” she said without hesitation. “How about you?”

“Well, my all-time favorite is North by Northwest, but The Maltese Falcon is a close second.”

They were good choices. Solid, manly choices. And she liked the sound of his voice. It was maybe not as deep or as self-assured as Josh’s, but it was nice. Polite.

“So you’re a matchmaker?” he said.

“Among other things,” Hayley said. “I’m also becoming part-owner of the staffing agency I work at.”

“Sweet,” Evan said. “So I have a question for you. What would you recommend that a single guy who’s new to town and doesn’t know a soul should do?”

“It depends what his goal is.” Hayley felt her phone vibrate again. Josh. Feeling a little thrill of excitement, she took a gulp of her drink and went into full flirt mode. “What, theoretically, would be his goal?”

“Say I wanted to pick up a woman in a bar,” Evan said. “At, say, a networking mixer at a craft brewery that serves beer with silly names like Moose Droppings.”

Hayley laughed. “Let’s hear your best pick-up line.”

Evan thought for a moment and then crossed his arms and leaned back, striking a pose. “Hey, baby, are you a parking ticket? Because you’ve got fine written all over you.”

She burst out laughing, almost spitting her drink in the process. “Nice. Has it ever worked for you?”

“I can’t say it has.”

“Let’s hear another.”

He pushed his glasses back on his nose. “Are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only ten I see.”

Hayley groaned, but said, “You’re quick. I’ll give you that.”

“Years of improv.” He searched her eyes. “What would work, if I wanted to ask out a woman I’d met at a mixer? Especially one who’s wearing a knockout green dress?”

Yes, Hayley thought. All hail to the dress!

“I think you should come right out and ask her on a date,” she said.

Evan nodded. Then he tilted his head and asked formally, “Hayley, would you go on a date with me?”

“Me?” She smiled coquettishly and placed her hand over her heart. “Why, yes, I’d be delighted.”

And she would be. She found him friendly, and he seemed like a happy person, which she realized was critical this time around. She couldn’t pretend she felt the same strong instant spark with him like she’d felt upon meeting Josh, but what did that matter if Josh wasn’t available?

They set a date for the upcoming weekend, and soon after, Hayley excused herself, put on her goofy blue parka and her decidedly-unsexy Ugg boots, and left the mixer.

Josh was waiting for her, and she had to get him out of her system before she could let Evan in.