I meant that. Every word. I thought living in Boston made me happy, but I’d been happier here for four days with Avery than I’d ever been in Boston. Maybe that’s why I traveled so much… it was my way of escaping a life that I had created for myself, but didn’t really love.
She shook her head. “It’s not. And you know it. Because no matter what, you’re still my boss. My millionaire boss and heir to a company. And I’m the orphan girl who wears Gap catering clothes to a party.”
“What the hell does that have to do anything?” What the hell happened in there? What did I miss? “We talked about me being your boss already… we’ll shift things around so you don’t report to me—”
She gulped and stabbed her keys into the ignition, starting her car. “And what do we tell them? Sorry Jack, I can’t report to your son anymore because I rode him like Santa’s sleigh all night long.”
I gave her my best smile, trying to lighten the mood. “Well, maybe don’t say it like that.”
“You know what I mean. Your entire family runs this business. We can try to keep things from getting messy… but the truth is, I think we’re already standing in the middle of the mess trying to tell ourselves it’s not so bad.”
Shit. This was falling apart… and fast. “You should talk to HR if you felt… pressured.” I couldn’t help the edge in my voice. Even saying that left me feeling hollow, and I couldn’t stand the thought that she felt like we were a mistake.
“HR?” Her laugh was a bitter crack at the back of her throat. I didn’t understand. How did this go so sour, so quickly? “You mean, your aunt? Or maybe I should take it all the way to the top and talk to your sister… Your sister who thinks I don’t belong here either?”
My head hurt. My teeth were chattering in the cold. “What are you talking about? My sister loves you.”
“I heard you two talking about me. About my clothes and not fitting in.” She sniffed and looked down at the wheel, unable to look me in the eye. “I expected Helena to talk trash about me. I even kind of expected it out of the older board members… but not you and Mallery.”
The coatroom. Oh, my God. She thought we were talking about her? “Avery, no. We weren’t talking about you!”
“I heard you, Chris. Just stop. This night was embarrassing enough.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, taking my hand off the door of her car. Which was a huge mistake. She seized the opportunity, slamming it shut and put the car into drive.
I stepped back just in time as she peeled out of the driveway, spraying wet snow around the whirring tires.
I didn’t get to toast to her new promotion—hell, I didn’t even get to tell her what she had missed at the rest of the meeting. We didn’t get to celebrate. All because of a stupid misunderstanding, she was willing to throw it all away. Well, if she wouldn’t listen to me, maybe she would listen to someone she considered one of her “own.” She earned this promotion. And I wasn’t letting her walk away from it… or us.
If there still even was an us. I just knew I wasn’t ready to give up on Avery yet.
Chapter 23
Avery
That night, I barely slept at all. I curled up on top of Kringle, allowing his fur to absorb my tears, and silenced my phone. But I could still see Chris’s name lighting up the screen every few minutes. He filled my voicemail with unheard messages until finally, I shut the damn thing off and tossed it on top of my pile of dirty laundry.
But even without the distraction of Chris’s constant phone calls, I couldn’t sleep.
And now, I had to wear the stupid Mrs. Claus outfit and stand beside him in the parade today. I groaned, looking at myself in the mirror. Why did I sleep with him when it just complicated everything?
I leaned down and slipped the reindeer antlers onto Kringle’s head. He whimpered and tried to paw them off. “Nu-uh,” I scolded him. “If I have to do this, then so do you.”
Knock, knock, knock!
The sudden hard rap of knuckles against the store’s door made me jump. The store wasn’t open yet… and everyone knew the parade was starting in a few minutes.
I gulped as Kringle let out a bark and charged downstairs. Almost like we both knew who it was. The only person who would knock on our closed door early in the morning.
Only, when I got to the bottom step, it wasn’t Chris’s face peering in at me through the window. It was Ed’s.
My stomach twisted and I lurched for the door, unlocking it. “Ed! Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?” There was no logical reason for him to be here other than an absolute emergency.
He swatted at the air between us. “I’m fine. Sheesh. A guy can’t show up early for work?”
“But… we’re not open until 10.”
“The parade! I’m riding the float in the parade.” I winced. Of course. Riding the float was part of Ed’s ‘prize.’ “Also, I thought I’d get some cookies for the road.”
I sighed, but a smile curved on my lips. Even though Ed was a grumpy ol’ coot, he was still perfectly lovely in his own strange way. I slid the plate of cookies his way and he grabbed a couple of handfuls, shoving gingerbread cookies into the pockets of his elf costume. “Where’s your boyfriend?” Cookie crumbs spewed from his lips as he spoke.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I said simply, and clipped Kringle’s leash to his collar. “We should go. We’re going to be late.”
Ed snorted. “Don’t have a boyfriend? Who are you kidding? We all know you’re dating fancy pants!”
I sniffed and tears welled up in my eyes. Dammit, I told myself I wouldn’t cry. “I’m not,” I said firmly. “Not anymore.”
“Well, damn.” Ed lifted a gift bag and set it onto the counter. “That makes this gift a bit awkward.”
“You got me something?”
Ed shrugged. “A thank you. This town has been seeing through me like I was some kind of a ghost for years. Mr. Fancy Pants offering me this job,” he paused, gesturing at his elf costume, “helped me feel alive again. Made me feel needed again.” He waved his hands in the air in my direction. “Now don’t get me wrong… you were always kind to me. As were many people. But I always felt like I was a burden. This week was different, though. I helped the store… contributed to Christmas Fest for the first time. I have you to thank for that.”
I wrapped my arms around Ed’s frail body and hugged him tightly. “You were a huge help,” I said. “Such a help, that I think I want to keep you on as an actual employee. One who gets paid in money… not just cookies.”
He pressed his lips together, rolling the thought around in his head. “Can I still eat the cookies?”
“Of course. I can even show you how to bake some of them.”
“Good, good. I can make them to bring over to my girlfriend’s house for Christmas Eve.”
My jaw nearly smacked the hardwood floor. “Girlfriend?”
He nodded. “That’s right. And I’ve got you and your boyfriend—” He held his hands up in front of his body like a shield. “Sorry… your boss to thank for it. Without him, Mary Lou and I never would have gotten back together. I never would have had the guts to ask her out.” He nudged the gift back toward me. “Well, go ahead. We ain’t got all day. Like you said, we’re gonna be late.”