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“Take care.”
He hung up the phone and placed it on the counter, then turned to face Dianna. “Where’s Kimberly?”
Dianna’s brows lifted. “Oh, right. She got a phone call and needed to head home—something about a family emergency. She asked me if it was okay, and I told her to go ahead.”
His chest tightened. “She should have called me. She can’t just leave—”
“Tristan,” she said. His name on her tongue did strange things to him. His head snapped around and he met her gaze. “It’s fine. We didn’t want to bother you. I knew you’d be back soon enough, and Mathew was well-behaved.” She offered Mathew a grin. “You did amazing today.”
Mathew beamed. “Does that mean you’ll stay for dinner?”
She frowned. “Not today, buddy. But I’ll see you again next week.”
“Next week? I thought we had a couple more sessions before Christmas.” Tristan moved forward. Was this another tactic to distance herself from him?
She folded her arms, standing her ground. “I wanted to talk to you about that. I’ve got some family traditions. If it’s okay with you, we can start back up the day after Christmas.”
It was just as well. If she wanted space, he needed to give it to her.
As hard as it was to agree, he nodded. “Sure. Whatever you need.” It would be nice for her to notice how hard he was trying. But to point it out would defeat the purpose.
Her gaze darted to his, as if she was doing just that. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I guess I’ll see you next week.” She reached for the door, and he stepped toward her once more.
“Will you be going to the Christmas Eve party at the club?”
She glanced at him briefly. “I’m not sure.”
“I hope so.”
Dianna ducked her head. “Then maybe I will.” She offered him a small smile. “Thank you for the flower.”
28
Dianna
Christmas music drifted through the club as someone played the piano in the ballroom. Shane had spared no expense with the decorations. Much like the outside, which included a life-size nativity scene, the interior was overdone. There were wreaths, boughs with holly, and a huge Christmas tree decorated with ribbon and shiny ornaments in blue and silver that nearly reached the top of the twenty-foot vaulted ceilings.
It smelled like pine and peppermint, and Dianna knew the moment she stepped through the doors, she would regret her decision to come. She didn’t know what she was thinking when she told Tristan she would.
And the second she mentioned it to Brielle, there was no going back. If there was one thing her older sister loved, it was spending time with men and flirting with them.
Dianna’s other sisters had come as well—most of them, anyway. Adeline was home with the baby. And Grace had opted to keep her company.
Brielle nudged her in the side. “Do you see him?”
“Who?”
Her older sister snorted. “You know exactly who I’m talking about. We can all see it, Dianna. You’re the only one who seems to be in denial over this whole thing.”
“I’mnotin denial.” But even as she said it, her focus swept through the room searching for that one person. Okay, so there was a chance she was in denial. Dianna shut her eyes and turned toward Brielle. “I’m not in denial. I just wanted to say hi, that’s all.”
Brielle laughed. “Oh, I’m sure that’s all it is. You haven’t been moping all week long because of the state of your relationship; you’ve just been in a bad mood.” She patted Dianna on the shoulder and shook her head as she let out another laugh.
Dianna scowled at her. “I don’t see you going out of your way to make any long-term connections. Nothing ever came from that kiss you and Shane shared.”
Brielle sobered. “There’s ahugedifference between the two of us.Idon’twantto be tied down, andyoudo.”
“Donot.”
