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I don’t even want to think about all the money I’ve spent on therapy attempting to reach this level of peace with my family. A plane ticket and growing a pair of lady balls has proven to be a lot less expensive.
Me: Yeah. Good busy.
Jake: Want to come over to do…stuff?
I stare at the words.The lizard part of my brain—and my vagina, let’s be honest—is primed and ready to go. That vixen part of me that showed up from out of nowhere last night wants to go over and have another sexy slumber party with no slumbering involved.
But Landon’s right.
I have to put a stop to the “just sex” thing. Not because Jake’s heartmightbe involved.
But because mine definitely is.
NINE
Jake
I turnthe key to start up Santa’s truck. The engine rumbles to life, making me smile.
The first real smile I’ve had in six days.
This week has been hell.
Most years, the weeks leading up to Christmas are quiet. Everyone is so busy with the festival, we see very little action.
But this year?
I swear every car in town needs a tow, a brake job, or a new battery. Any other time, this is music to my ears. But with the shop being part of the festival, the timing couldn’t be worse.
Worst of all, I haven’t had a moment alone with Lia since I dropped her off at her house six days ago.
Yeah, I’m keeping count.
She’s been at the shop every day, handling the finishing touches. Including the trees we never got to decorate.
By Wednesday morning, I realized it wasn’t just the shop being busy that kept me from getting Lia alone. When she came in early, she always had a cousin with her—which wasn’t hard for her being related to half the town—and with the weather getting colder, she always had a ride home before the shop closed.
Those walls she had up before are back in full force now.
The difference now is that she does it with a smile. And now I know what it feels like to be inside the grown-up version of Lia Gray.
Fuck my life.
With the news that my small business loan came through, I countered her aloofness with throwing myself into work and getting contractors set up to start the expansion in January.
With a heavy sigh, I pull the truck out of the garage and drive it around to the front where I was instructed to park it.
I step out of the truck, slamming the door behind me. I stop and look at the shop, shaking my head.
The building looks like a set out of a Christmas movie. Clear lights are strung up, garland wreaths with red bows adorn the windows, those skinny-ass trees she insisted on buying actually look pretty damn good decorated and set up on either side of the door. A wood sign with faux snow along the top points toward the front door, promising Santa’s workshop is just ahead.
Lia really outdid herself.
“Oh my God, this looks wonderful!”
I turn to find Mom, Emily, and Stella, Lia’s aunt and head of the Chamber of Commerce, crossing the parking lot.
I shove my hands into the pockets of my jeans and turn back to the scene in front of me. “Lia did an amazing job.”
