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Ignoring his hand, Caitie hugged him. “I’m so glad you could come. Breck’s told me a lot about you.”
“All bad, I expect.” Though his tone of voice was the same, David’s accent was different than Breck’s. Full of Boston character. He winked. “Don’t believe any of it.”
“You should believe every word,” Breck said. “It’s all true.” He smiled at Caitie, and she grinned right back. God, it was so good to see them again.
“Shall we sit down?” Caitie’s dad pointed to the table. Only Ember and Rachel were still sitting. “If we don’t eat all these dips, Deenie’s gonna be angry. And none of you will like her when she’s mad.” The way his expression turned to one of horror made everybody laugh. They followed him back to the wooden table where Daniel pulled out two chairs, offering them to Harper and Caitie, before sitting down beside them.
“Breck, come and sit over here,” Rachel called out, patting a chair next to her. “I was telling Ember about the restaurant we went to last week. The one in the hills.”
Caitie froze, sitting completely still in her chair. The hair on her arms stood up, goosebumps forming along her flesh. It took all the control she had to not let the dismay show on her face.
Breck and Rachel went on a date? She watched as he walked over to her side of the table, his gait easy and his expression neutral. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was too dry. The temptation to down the entire glass of champagne was almost too strong to ignore.
She took a deep breath and silently chastised herself. Why wouldn’t he date? It was a free world, after all.
“The Five Olives?” Breck asked, leaning on the table, next to Ember. He’d ignored the seat next to Rachel. For some reason that gave Caitie a grim sense of satisfaction. “It’s a nice spot. Not too pretentious, good food. It feels more like a café than a restaurant.”
“Did you think so?” Rachel said. “I thought it was beautiful. Really romantic, overlooking the ocean. And the food was to die for. We shared a platter, it was amazing. Breck, we should take Lucas and Ember there some time.”
Harper elbowed Caitie in the waist. “You okay?” she asked quietly. Biting her lip, Caitie nodded, trying to blink away the salt water stinging behind her eyelids. She was being stupid, she knew it. What did it matter if Breck was going out with Rachel, or any other girl for that matter? He could spend time with whoever he wanted to.
“Breck tells me you’re a Holiday Consultant,” Daniel said quietly.
She smiled at him, grateful for the distraction. “That’s right.”
“What exactly is that?”
Her laugh was almost genuine. “I get asked that a lot. It’s a bit of a niche job, I guess. Not one many people have heard of, but there are a few of us around. I advise companies on holiday trends and traditions. If a movie company wants to dress a set to look like Christmas in the 1940s, I help them, source the stuff, and give them historical background. But I also look at future trends, talking to retailers and letting them know what I think they should stock for the holidays next year. Whether red and green are in or out, if they should concentrate on silver and white. Which, by the way, is going to be huge this year, so start stocking up now.”
Daniel laughed. “We don’t really celebrate Christmas, so I don’t think I’ll be needing many decorations.”
Harper leaned forward. “You don’t celebrate? Are you Jewish?”
“Nah, we’re nothings. Christian if you really wanted to give me a religion. But Breck usually travels at Christmas, and I tend to spend a lot of time in the lab. Dad just holes up and watches sports.”
“That’s awful,” Harper said. “Why wouldn’t you want to all be together?”
“I don’t know. We’ve always concentrated on Thanksgiving. We spend it together every year. It’s our holiday, you know? Christmas has always seemed a bit overrated.” He cleared his throat. “And it’s the anniversary of Mom’s…” He blew out a mouthful of air. “It kind of puts a dampener on things.”
Caitie gave him a sad smile. “That’s understandable.”
“Hey, don’t look so sad,” Daniel told her. “You sound as though you’re great at your job. Breck’s told me how well you’ve done. It’s just that Christmas has so many memories for us, bad as well as good. Thanksgiving feels so much less loaded.”
Of course it did. After everything they’d been through as a family, it made total sense. It didn’t stop her from feeling sad. Christmas had always been a time of joy for Caitie. As a child, it had been full of magic and wonder, with dreams of sugarplum fairies and visits from St. Nicholas. As a teenager, it had been imbued with a deeper meaning, taking care of Daniel, and stealing that kiss from a sleeping Breck. Now it was her job – her life if she was being honest – and she loved everything about it.
“You don’t even watch movies?” Harper asked. “White Christmas? Miracle on 34th Street?”
Daniel shook his head. “It kind of passes us by.”
“Well jeez. These guys must be your worst nightmare, Caitie. They could put you out of a job.”
She laughed at Harper’s shock, even though she felt a bit of it, too. “I’ll try not to panic too much.”
There was a break in conversation as Caitie thought about them never celebrating Christmas. How they still must feel so much pain while everyone else is celebrating.
“Can I show you something?” Daniel asked, breaking the silence. “It’s stupid, but I’ve looked after it for all these years.”
“Of course. What is it?”
