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Miranda
All the Christmas cheer evaporated when Jason entered the living room. His tart voice made me cringe, and his dark eyes on me made the hairs on my arm flare. Jason inside the St. James mansion was a mystery to me.
Perhaps there was more to him than a dark, ominous exterior. Then again, if that were true, why was mystranger-dangerwarning going nuts? My heart rate had escalated the instant I’d heard him.
I exhaled a deep breath as Will put his lips to my temple, rubbing my back. Will’s words in the car comforted me along with his reassuring touch. I had nothing to worry about.
With a sly grin, Jason strolled our way after greeting Will’s parents and relatives. “Merry Christmas, lovebirds.” Jason’s eyes raked over me. “You look festive in… the red dress.” He flicked his gaze at Will. “Lucky man.”
“Glad you could make it. Wondered if you’d changed your mind.”
“Nah, just had something to do. Missed me, did you?”
Lily grimaced at me, and I felt relief wash over me. I had honestly hoped she wouldn’t be interested in the joker. At least I didn’t have to worry about keeping her away from Jason.
“Why don’t you get yourself a drink,” Will suggested. “We’ll be eating in less than an hour.”
“A drink sounds splendid. What about you, princess? Can I get you a drink?”
My stomach churned.Princess?Yuck.
I shook my head. “No, thank you.”
Jason slinked off to get a drink and my first thought was,I want to leave. Of course, I couldn’t. We hadn’t even eaten yet, and I didn’t want to rub Will’s parents wrong. It was just so strange to dislike a person I hardly knew. I mean, Jason was Will’s friend, and Will was a remarkable man. The weird vibes I had about him didn’t make any sense.
I spotted Lily chatting again with Simone; they seemed to be hitting it off. And then Will’s dad looked our way, expressionless.
“Baby, I’ll be right back.”
I gripped Will’s wrist. My almost-panicked response surprised both of us.
“What’s wrong?” He looked down at me with concern in his eyes.
“Where are you going?”
“I need to speak to my father. We won’t be long.” He tried to pull his hand away, and I reluctantly released it.
“What’s so important you have to run off on Christmas?” What was wrong with me? Will leaving to talk to his dad shouldn’t be a big deal.God, get a grip, Miranda.
He hugged me. “This won’t take long, sweetheart. Go be with the girls or my mom. Hell, my grandpa would love to talk to you.”
I nodded, glancing at Lily. “Yeah… sure.”
Will lifted my chin, his safe eyes absorbing me. “I won’t be gone long.”
As he left, I stood there alone taking in the living room, trying to ease the ridiculous anxiety that had overcome me. I may need to make an appointment with my therapist. There was no rhyme or reason to be feeling this way.
An unabashed good cheer filled the mansion. Laughter and chatter melded with the Christmas music playing in the background. Lily and Simone were deep in conversation, Will’s grandfather and uncle bantered about who knew what. Claire was off directing her staff.
I felt the absence of Will acutely.
I faced the fireplace, closing my eyes. I breathed in a cleansing breath and then released it. When I turned around, Jason was walking toward me. I wasn’t sure what happened, but I darted across the grand room to Lily.
“Hi, sweets.” Lily smiled. “We were just talking about going to the Maroon 5 concert this summer.”
I nodded and forced a smile.
“Of course, I’d have to check the event schedule… Miranda works us into the ground.” Lily sighed, nudging me.
