time. Men could be so
frustrating sometimes.
I forced myself to pull my attention from
Elias and turn it towards my friends. I smiled at Amy. “When did
you say that your flight was leaving?”
“Six,” she said, glancing at the wall clock.
“Which means I need to get going if I'm going to make it to the
plane on time. Good thing I can sleep on the flight because I have
a feeling my nieces and nephews aren't going to give me a minute's
peace when I get to my sister's.”
The grin on her face said that she was going
to love every minute of her trip to Wisconsin.
“How many of them do you have now?” I
asked.
“Six, but only four from my sister. The other
two are my brother's kids, so I won't see them until Thursday.” Amy
picked up her purse, then turned to give me a hug. “You be
safe.”
“I will,” I promised. I wasn't exactly sure
how I was supposed to keep that promise, considering I hadn't
exactly been looking for trouble when it'd found me before.
“I don't like the idea of you being alone on
Thanksgiving,” Bryson said as he came over, a frown on his handsome
face. It looked very out of place there. Other than when it was
called for in a script, I didn't think I'd ever seen him frown.
“Not with everything that's happened.” He reached out and took my
hand. “You're more than welcome to come over for as long or short
as you want, even if it's just for Thanksgiving. I know my parents
would love to meet you.”
“Thanks.” I squeezed his hand. “But I'll be
fine.”
“Are you sure?” Bryson asked. “I just don't
want you to spend Thursday alone.”
“She will not be alone”
Elias was suddenly at my side, his voice
even, though I could've sworn I heard a bit of steel in it.
“I will be watching her.”
Bryson's eyes widened slightly and he turned
to me, myriad questions crossing his face. Fortunately, he chose
not to ask any of them because I wasn't sure what was going on
either. Instead, he released my hand, took a step back and nodded.
“All right then. But if you change your mind, the invitation
stands. We're eating at two.”
“Thanks, Bryson. I'll keep that in mind.” I
really did appreciate the invitation, but I knew that I wouldn't
take him up on it. Not as long as Elias was still planning on being
at my house on Thursday. No way was I going to give up my
opportunity to have him all to myself.
Chapter Eight
My stomach was twisting itself into so many
knots that I wasn't sure I would be able to eat a single bite of
the fantastic meal I'd spent the entire day preparing. I hadn't
been able to sleep when I'd gotten home from filming yesterday, so
I'd done as much prep work as possible, which hadn't been as much
as I'd thought it would be. I'd been pacing, unable to sit still,
when I'd decided that I wanted to do something I hadn't done since
the first year I'd moved into this house.
I wanted to decorate for Christmas, and I
wanted to do it like my parents had done it. Not because I was
feeling particularly nostalgic about my parents, but because I'd
finally realized that it didn't matter. Just because I didn't like
the reasons behind what they'd done didn't mean I couldn't take the
parts of their traditions that I liked and make them my own. It was
time to stop thinking that I couldn't do things for the holidays by
myself because it was just me.
So, yesterday afternoon, I'd spent the day
digging decorations out of my attic and getting them sorted out.
Because my parents hadn't been able to pay back the court-ordered
restitution, I'd gotten the court to order a liquidation sale at
the old house. I'd saved a few things and had the rest auctioned
off. It had helped me put down the down payment on this house.
Most of what I'd taken had been things that
I'd collected as a child, but I hadn't been able to bring myself to
part with the boxes of Christmas decorations. I hadn't used or even
opened them before yesterday and it had been a bit emotional,
remembering those
frustrating sometimes.
I forced myself to pull my attention from
Elias and turn it towards my friends. I smiled at Amy. “When did
you say that your flight was leaving?”
“Six,” she said, glancing at the wall clock.
“Which means I need to get going if I'm going to make it to the
plane on time. Good thing I can sleep on the flight because I have
a feeling my nieces and nephews aren't going to give me a minute's
peace when I get to my sister's.”
The grin on her face said that she was going
to love every minute of her trip to Wisconsin.
“How many of them do you have now?” I
asked.
“Six, but only four from my sister. The other
two are my brother's kids, so I won't see them until Thursday.” Amy
picked up her purse, then turned to give me a hug. “You be
safe.”
“I will,” I promised. I wasn't exactly sure
how I was supposed to keep that promise, considering I hadn't
exactly been looking for trouble when it'd found me before.
“I don't like the idea of you being alone on
Thanksgiving,” Bryson said as he came over, a frown on his handsome
face. It looked very out of place there. Other than when it was
called for in a script, I didn't think I'd ever seen him frown.
“Not with everything that's happened.” He reached out and took my
hand. “You're more than welcome to come over for as long or short
as you want, even if it's just for Thanksgiving. I know my parents
would love to meet you.”
“Thanks.” I squeezed his hand. “But I'll be
fine.”
“Are you sure?” Bryson asked. “I just don't
want you to spend Thursday alone.”
“She will not be alone”
Elias was suddenly at my side, his voice
even, though I could've sworn I heard a bit of steel in it.
“I will be watching her.”
Bryson's eyes widened slightly and he turned
to me, myriad questions crossing his face. Fortunately, he chose
not to ask any of them because I wasn't sure what was going on
either. Instead, he released my hand, took a step back and nodded.
“All right then. But if you change your mind, the invitation
stands. We're eating at two.”
“Thanks, Bryson. I'll keep that in mind.” I
really did appreciate the invitation, but I knew that I wouldn't
take him up on it. Not as long as Elias was still planning on being
at my house on Thursday. No way was I going to give up my
opportunity to have him all to myself.
Chapter Eight
My stomach was twisting itself into so many
knots that I wasn't sure I would be able to eat a single bite of
the fantastic meal I'd spent the entire day preparing. I hadn't
been able to sleep when I'd gotten home from filming yesterday, so
I'd done as much prep work as possible, which hadn't been as much
as I'd thought it would be. I'd been pacing, unable to sit still,
when I'd decided that I wanted to do something I hadn't done since
the first year I'd moved into this house.
I wanted to decorate for Christmas, and I
wanted to do it like my parents had done it. Not because I was
feeling particularly nostalgic about my parents, but because I'd
finally realized that it didn't matter. Just because I didn't like
the reasons behind what they'd done didn't mean I couldn't take the
parts of their traditions that I liked and make them my own. It was
time to stop thinking that I couldn't do things for the holidays by
myself because it was just me.
So, yesterday afternoon, I'd spent the day
digging decorations out of my attic and getting them sorted out.
Because my parents hadn't been able to pay back the court-ordered
restitution, I'd gotten the court to order a liquidation sale at
the old house. I'd saved a few things and had the rest auctioned
off. It had helped me put down the down payment on this house.
Most of what I'd taken had been things that
I'd collected as a child, but I hadn't been able to bring myself to
part with the boxes of Christmas decorations. I hadn't used or even
opened them before yesterday and it had been a bit emotional,
remembering those
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