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But, at that moment, my heart soared.
“Yeah,” I said, proud as I’d ever been. “I’m Ethan’s Lexie.”
It only got worse from there.
Ethan
For the next four days my phone rang nonstop. Most people were calling to see if the rumor was true, while pretending to be asking about the inn or my dad or even if I could help someone get rid of a parking ticket.
“Should I just make a sign? Yes, I’m married.” I asked Matt who had stopped by my office…I wasn’t sure why he stopped by, actually. But it was nice to see his extremely grumpy face. “Why are you here again?”
“To tell you you’ve made a huge fucking mistake.”
“Oh, great. Have a seat why don’t you?” Matt collapsed into a chair across from my desk. “What mistake have I made?”
“What mistake haven’t you made?” Matt shook his head. “You haven’t been the focus of a whole lot of gossip in your life, Ethan. Because you’re a good guy and good guys are boring.”
“This is illuminating.” I sat back in my chair, enjoying myself just a little.
“But now you’ve gone and married Lexie and she’s not boring at all.”
“No. She’s not.”
“But you’ve messed up the messaging.” I laughed. “This isn’t funny, Ethan.”
“Messed up the messaging. Did Jasmine teach you that?”
“She did. So fucking what?”
“Nothing. Go on.”
“Half the town thinks you’re fucking an employee, half the town thinks you’ve put your high-end mistress to work at the front desk and the other half—”
“Three halves. Doesn’t work.”
“Stop being an idiot.” Matt said. “You think your phone is ringing off the hook, it’s fucking nuts at the inn. People are coming in just to get a look at her.”
I sat up, realizing my brother was serious. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve made her an attraction. And she’s rolling with it because she’s a fucking pro but it’s a zoo over there and she’s by herself and it’s wearing on her. Most people are decent about it, but some of the women are being assholes and some men are lingering a little too long at the desk, if you know what I mean.”
“Assholes are hitting on her?”
“Of course they are. Have you seen her?” He shook his head at me. “You honestly haven’t noticed?”
“It’s been busy,” I said. We hadn’t had lunch and it seemed the two of us got home later every night. I woke up in the middle of the night last night to her hand reaching into my boxers.
“Tell me you love me,” she’d whispered and so I’d told her. And told her and told her. With words and by fucking her for an hour until she was limp and exhausted and I felt like I’d won the goddamn lottery.
And she hadn’t said a word about what was happening at the inn. And I hadn’t asked.
“I’m just saying,” Matt said, getting to his feet. “Don’t be a dick. Look after your girl.”
“Thanks, Matt.”
“I’m not doing it for you,” he said. “I like her and she doesn’t deserve this.”
“Still. Thank you.”
He nodded at me. His love language seemed to be shifting from grunts to grunts and nods. Real growth. Matt practically crashed out of my office and I followed not too far behind him.
“Ethan,” Danny said from behind his desk. “You have a lunch date with the mayor and then the plumber is coming about the pipes.”
I glanced at my watch. Lunch was an hour away. “I’ll be back,” I said and headed out to the inn.
I found Lexie and her club out at the barn, rehearsing for the pageant, which was Christmas Eve, tomorrow night. God, the whole holiday season had flown by.
“All right, where are the reindeer singers?” Lexi called, and a group of kids came out wearing felt antlers with Christmas ornaments hanging off them. One boy in the back was spinning his head around trying to get the ornaments to whirl. One went crashing onto the floor.
“Avery,” Lexie said, patient as could be. “We’ve talked about this. You keep breaking the ornaments and you won’t get anymore.”
“Sorry, Ms. Lexie,” Avery said. Properly chastised.
“All right, kids, from the top.”
Ben clapped his hands for silence, Lexie pushed Play on the music on her phone and the group of unruly reindeer suddenly became…a kick line? Like a little kid kick line. The little girl with Rudolph’s red nose did the splits all while they sang “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
My jaw fell open.
“Not bad kids,” Lexie said. “Jill and Joel, you’re perfectly in sync with each other but not so much the whole group.”
“Sorry,” they chorused.
“Twins,” Ben said, like, what are you going to do.
“All right, Chelsea. Your turn.”
Chelsea came onto the stage wearing a cute red and green striped dress with what looked like a veil with a bunch of silver sequins sewn on it.
“Can you video me?” Chelsea asked.
“You bet,” Lexie turned her phone sideways and hit Record.
