Page 8 of Dumped for a Christmas Tree Farmer

The dimple is there. God knows he doesn’t deserve to be smiling right now. But even with a busted nose, purple splotches beneath his eyes from the punch he took from Mav, he still seems unreasonably happy. Anger curls low in my throat. He stole a man’s girlfriend, got punched in front of the whole town, and the guy is humming a Christmas tune.

James spots me first, his brow furrowing until Mav turns to face him, a shit-eating grin stretching across his face.

“How's your nose?” he asks him, lifting a finger to tap his own.

The cat lifts her head from the couch, hisses, and jumps down, weaving between Mav’s legs until she hops into his lap, sitting like she’s on guard as she watches James.

“What the hell is he doing here, Indy?” James splutters.

“The B&B was full.”

“Indy was gracious enough to offer her spare bedroom to me,” Mav adds, the grin remaining plastered to his face.

“Your mom’s room, Indy? Really? What would she think?”

I suck in a breath. That was a low blow, especially from a guy who’s been playing me for the best part of a year. Steeling my face, I attempt to keep the wobble from my chin.

Everything I’ve done for the last decade has been for my mom. Everything. This conversation right now is only happening because I’ve put her legacy above what I wanted.

“I hardly think she’d mind me offering a room to someone with nowhere to go, especially at Christmas, James. But given you didn’t know my mom, I’m not sure how you’d know otherwise.”

Mav looks at me, a hard line forming between his brows.

James rubs his hand over his mouth, his voice softening. “Can we speak in private?”

My lips part, but no words come out. After Mav asked me to sabotage, would talking to James alone be a show of weakness?

“Indy, would you mind if I just go and start my pentagon circle in your mom’s room? I’m hoping to get in touch with Beelzebub before the end of the day. He gets super cranky if I don’t check in with him regularly.”

I smile, grateful that Mav, at least, can take a hint, even if he’s aggravating James further by comparing himself to the devil. He picks up the cat, who hisses as they approach James. He flinches slightly, and Mav drops me a wink before heading to the back of the cottage, pulling the door to.

“Are you serious right now, Indy? That guy?” He scoffs, pointing at his swollen purple nose. “He punched me in the face last night.”

“Aren’t you sleeping with his girlfriend?”

He rolls his eyes as if the very question is ludicrous, when we both know it’s not. “It’s not like that. Holly and I, we’ve always had this connection, ever since high school. You know I was her first.”

My heart comes to a stop; it’s like the moment before the start of a race. Everything goes quiet, and then suddenly the gun goes off, and you’re sprinting so hard you can hear the blood in your ears. Your muscles are shaking, but you have to ignore it. Your heart is telling you to stop, but you can’t.

“You slept with Holly whilst we were in high school?”

“Yes, we were seeing each other right before I left for college. You know this.”

I am an idiot.

An utter, utter idiot.

Maybe this is why Holly doesn’t talk to me anymore. I’d always assumed I’d done something wrong, but maybe it’s actually that she did.

Rolling my eyes, I square my shoulders. “What were we doing for the last ten months, James? Did you even like me?”

“Of course I like you, Ind. God, you’re amazing.” He kneels in front of me, taking my hands into his. “With Holly, it’s different. She’s just got this light, you know. You’re so amazing, stunning, and God, that thing you do with your tongue, I’ll be dreaming about that until the day I die.”

I want to throw up.

“But Holly is endgame, you know? She’s marriage material. I have to pursue this whilst she’s here.”

“And when she goes back to the city, then what?”