‘I know,’ Angie said, unable to take a full breath. Nick couldn’t be engaged to this Ivy woman.
‘Hope you don’t lose your job over this,’ she said.
‘Why would I lose my job? I didn’t do anything wrong.’
‘Other than dating his son,’ she said, lowering her voice.
According to his father, she wasn’t dating Nick. ‘I mean we’re not technically dating.’ Or were they? Angie couldn’t help the tension in her chest building until she could barely take a full breath.
The hurt she had felt from Brett’s betrayal reared its ugly head. Nick had never said anything about another woman. But neither had Brett. Angie’s life backpedaled to less than a month ago. It was the same situation. She was with her boss and the ‘other woman’. Once again, she was the fool on the verge of getting kicked out of her job.
Bernadette frowned slightly before starting a new customer. No one was behind him, so Angie excused herself and jogged to the information booth. She needed a minute to herself. This wasn’t right. Why would Nick bother with her if he was with someone else? It didn’t make any sense.
Closing the door behind her, she raced over to the front of the booth and pulled down the front barrier for some privacy. She covered her face with her hands, choking back a ragged breath. Nick’s charm had slipped under her skin. His lies burrowed within her, given with a false smile.
Angie grabbed her phone from her purse and pulled up Nick’s texts. The tree, Charlie, their flirtation. It didn’t make sense. Brett had moved their relationship along quickly after they had met. The only step Nick took was holding hands and one kiss. If he was interested in a distraction from Ivy then wouldn’t he have pushed for more from Angie? The thought made her stomach flip. She sat in the chair, running over every single one of their encounters in her head.
What was with Mr Bower’s insistence on her not seeing Nick? If it were true, she wanted to hear it from him, no matter how hard it hurt. Angie wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. She had found out about Brett when his lies caught up with him.
Angie’s mind worked on overtime, going over every second she had spent with Nick. As much as she loved her wrapping station, her heart wasn’t in it. It was as if it started to build a barrier to protect itself. Angie wanted to give Nick the benefit of the doubt, but the situation was too similar and too soon.
Angie had texted Nick to take a break with her, but he didn’t message her back. They had plans to meet at Reese’s house for the party so at least she would see him then. She had a few hours until then. Angie had kept the secret about Nick to herself, wanting to hear the truth from him first. If she confided in Reese, she doubted her friend would let Nick in the house to explain anything. Angie wondered if waiting for the party was the best idea, but she wasn’t going to miss out because of a guy.
She wished it was all a misunderstanding. If not, Angie wasn’t sure how she would come out on the other side. If that were the case, she might swear off men for good.
Throughout the rest of her shift, she kept an eye on the crowds moving past the information booth. With her luck, Nick would visit her, and she feared she might blow up at him. She never had the chance to do that with Brett since she had been too stunned to find out about his fiancée and then leaving her job. The move took up the conscious side of her brain while she had quieted the part who wanted to kick and scream at him.
***
Later that evening, a lump settled in her throat, preventing Angie from swallowing her nerves while she got ready for the party. Maria and Emilia were on the couch watching another classic Christmas movie, while Donato snored lightly from the recliner.
Maria glanced over her shoulder. ‘You look great.’
Angie stood in front of the oval mirror in front of the door, putting in earrings.
‘Where are you going?’ Emilia asked.
‘Reese’s party,’ Maria shouted loud enough to make Donato stir. Their hearing aids were spotty at times.
‘Thank you,’ Angie said, fluffing her hair. Since she returned home, she let it go in her natural waves instead of the iron-flat locks she did in California. She tugged at the hem of her sweater. It was a bright red with white trim around the cuffs of the sleeves. The color of the shirt accentuated the blush in her cheeks.
‘Tell Reese we said hello, and to take it easy,’ Maria said. ‘She’s going to be busy enough when the baby comes.’
Angie couldn’t look at her mother, for fear of spilling all her emotions about Nick. She wasn’t sure who to believe anymore, so she lifted the tray of cookies from the table by the door, said goodbye to her family and walked to the house. Which Angie would come home later that night? One with or without Nick Bower in her life?
The music from the Thompsons’ display mocked her as she walked to the car. Angie watched the mechanical Santa move from side to side while waving his hand. Earlier that day, she smiled at the festive feeling. Now she knew how Dad felt each holiday season.
Christmas music blasted from the radio as she drove to Reese’s. She couldn’t be sad while singing about the red-nosed reindeer, but somehow heat moved behind her eyes with that familiar pinching sensation she always experienced before crying.
When she parked outside Reese’s house, she sat in the silent car for a moment, psyching herself up for what was to come. After several steadying breaths, she left the car, scanning the area for Nick. He wasn’t there yet, but it was only a matter of time.
***
Angie distracted herself from checking the door every few seconds by helping Reese with anything she needed and mingling with people she hadn’t seen in years. In high school, Jeremy had been the cheerful jock while Reese was the sullen outsider, which was why their party was more like a reunion than anything. At least it was for Angie. She hadn’t seen a lot of those people since high school.
When Nick finally arrived, a new type of fluttering filled Angie’s chest. One filled with nerves instead of anticipation. Now that the moment was here, she wasn’t sure she could go through with it. Nick’s brilliant smile weakened her knees as he walked over. He shrugged off his jacket revealing a tight-fitting black sweater and jeans. This was the Nick who went Christmas tree shopping with her, kissed her in his apartment, and held her hand the tree lighting. The secrets underneath were hard to see under the surface.
‘Hey, Angie.’ He leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek, but she stepped away from him. A flash of confusion crossed his face, but the turmoil inside of her was much worse. ‘Where’s Reese? I want to give her this.’ He lifted a small box in his hands. The wrapping paper crinkled at the edges, but she could tell he had tried. ‘They’re not as good as you and your mom’s cookies, but my sister-in-law swears by this bakery. And I’ve been looking for every opportunity to practice wrapping.’
Of course, he would bring her best friend a gift. Her heart softened to him, but not all the way. She scrutinized him, wondering if she had worried over nothing. Why would his dad lie about Ivy? ‘She’s over there.’ Reese hadn’t left the radius of the food table since Angie had arrived. Currently, she had her back turned toward them while picking out the little hot dogs from their pastry bread blankets.
‘Hey there,’ Jeremy said from behind Angie. ‘You must be Nick.’
Nick shook his hand and gave him the box of cookies. ‘A little party gift.’
Jeremy inspected the box. ‘Nice. Thanks, man. Help yourself to the food. It’s nice to put a face to the name. Angie talks about you a lot.’
Angie’s face flushed while Jeremy shot her a goofy grin.
‘Wow, you talk about me a lot, huh?’ Nick asked, grinning.
‘Not a lot. I mean, sometimes.’ Angie wanted to smile and flirt with him. She wanted to enjoy herself tonight. But she couldn’t. Not yet. ‘Nick, I wanted to talk to you about something.’
‘Can I grab a bite first?’ Nick asked. ‘I had to skip lunch today.’
Angie lifted her untouched plate of food, not wa
nting him out of her sight again. ‘I haven’t eaten yet.’
‘Thanks,’ he said, dipping a cocktail shrimp into the sauce. ‘What did you want to talk to me about?’
Angie opened her mouth, preparing to tell him everything which had plagued her all day. But before she could, the front door burst open and a couple walked into the living room blowing into party horns.
‘The party is here!’ the man said, tugging along the grinning woman on his arm.
Angie didn’t recognize Maya at first. Since reconnecting with her, she hadn’t seen a smile like that yet.
Everyone turned toward them, Angie and Nick included.
‘Maya and Maddox are here,’ Nick said.
Maya looked much different than the smart-suit woman who hired her. Skintight green leggings accentuated her muscular legs while a white belt cinched the waist of her red, billowy shirt. Mistletoe earrings dangled from her ears as she and her husband wove through the others in the room.
Maya’s lips pursed around her party horn. She stalked over to Angie with a small wave to Nick, plucking the horn from her mouth. ‘Hey.’
‘Hey,’ Angie said. ‘You look great.’
‘Thanks. What are you doing here?’
Angie waited for Maya to laugh or tell her she was kidding. She didn’t. ‘You know Reese is my best friend. She has been since high school.’
Maya bobbed her head. ‘Right. My husband, Maddox …’ she waved her hand toward him. He and Jeremy were shaking hands across the room. ‘He started working at the dental practice earlier this year. I guess I never put two and two together.’
‘Well, it’s good to see you outside of work,’ Angie said.
‘Yeah,’ Maya said, dragging the word out.
‘I didn’t know you would be here,’ Maya said to Nick with a smile. Angie had the idea that this wasn’t her first party of the night.
‘It’s like a work reunion,’ Nick said.
‘I’m going to get a drink. You two want anything?’ Maya asked.
‘I’m fine,’ Angie said at the same time Nick said, ‘Sure.’
‘Hey, I know you,’ Reese’s voice floated over to them. Maya skirted away from them toward the table packed with drinks.
Angie turned to her, as her best friend narrowed her eyes at Nick. ‘This is Nick. Reese, Nick.’
‘This is Nick?’ Reese asked, digging her hand into her hip. ‘Lipstick guy?’
Nick’s eyes widened, and Angie could have sworn his face paled. ‘What are you talking about, Reese?’ Angie wanted to ask Nick about what his father said, but she was more interested in what Nick had to do with lipstick. Her insides knotted, and she placed the paper plate on the table next to her.
‘The other night, at Jer’s holiday party, we were at the ice rink. I helped Nick get lipstick off his face from his date.’ Angie hadn’t seen Reese flash her teeth like that at anyone in a long time. She did it a lot in high school at bullies and guys who cat-called them in the hallway. No doubt she would have turned in Brett’s direction if they had ever been in the same room.
Angie tried to keep the tremble from her voice. ‘Your dad said you were engaged. Is that the same woman?’
‘My dad said what?’ Nick’s mouth pressed in a hard line.
‘He came to the booth today and told me about Ivy,’ Angie said.
‘What did he say about her?’
He almost sounded offended that she spoke of him. Was it all true? ‘Are you seeing her?’
‘No, Angie,’ Nick said. ‘We’re friends. That’s all.’
‘Didn’t look like it to me,’ Reese said.
As if Jeremy had a gauge for Reese’s moods, he walked over to them and placed a tentative hand on Reese’s shoulder. ‘Can I get you anything?’
‘I think Nick has been lying to my best friend,’ Reese said without taking her eyes off Nick.
‘Angie,’ Nick said, reaching for her hands again.
They went limp at her sides. With her suspicions confirmed, she didn’t want to be near him, never mind have him touch her. ‘Whatever my dad said was wrong. He shouldn’t have told you anything about her.’
‘You lied to me about your job, then about a woman you’re seeing,’ Angie said, wishing she had better control over her emotions. Tears sprung from her eyes as the rest of the party carried on around them. ‘I can’t trust you, Nick. There’s nothing you can say to change that.’
‘I thought we were over this,’ Nick said. ‘I’m sorry for not telling you about my job. But Ivy is not my fiancée. She’s just a friend. We just met a few weeks ago.’
‘Your dad said Ivy was close with your family.’
‘Well, her dad is, I mean, it’s complicated.’
Reese moved in front of Angie, blocking Nick with her body. ‘You’re not doing this to Angie. She’s been through enough this last month. I think you should leave.’
Nick swallowed whatever he was going to say next before releasing a breath. ‘If you just listen to me.’
Angie choked on a sob. ‘I’m not sure I can trust anything you say right now, Nick.’
Jeremy cleared his throat. ‘Reese is right. I think it’s time for you to go, man.’
‘Angie, please,’ Nick said, reaching for her again. If he touched her, she wasn’t sure if she could still be mad at him.
Instead of listening to more of his lies, she whirled around and stormed from the room. Charging into Reese’s bedroom, she closed the door behind her and sunk onto the bed, wishing she could wake up months from now when all of this would be a distant memory.
After a few minutes, Reese came in to comfort Angie, but she wasn’t about to ruin her friend’s night. She wasn’t going to allow Nick to have that power over anyone in that house.
When Angie returned to the party, Nick was gone. Reese said he had left quickly after Angie went into the bedroom. The rest of the night was an utter failure, but Angie used all her energy to push through and make it appear as if she was having a good time. Maya seemed oblivious to what had happened with her boss, but she wasn’t going to talk about it with her anyway.
At the very least, letting go of Nick gave her the push to get out of her hometown as soon as possible.
Chapter 20
For the entire ride home from Reese’s Christmas party, Nick debated on turning back. But Angie was so upset, he doubted anything he said would help the situation. Instead, he dialed his father’s number on the phone. He had to know what he’d said to Angie before he could put a plan into place to get her back.
The line rang until it picked up on the last one. ‘Nick, dear. It’s late.’
‘Hi Mom, is Dad there?’ he asked through gritted teeth. His hands curled around the steering wheel. With each passing second, his anger grew, but that wasn’t how he was going to get answers.
‘One moment,’ she said. ‘Quinn!’
Nick inhaled several slow breaths before his father picked up.
‘Nick, it’s late. Is there a problem?’
‘Yes, there is. What did you say to Angie?’
‘What are you talking about? Is this work related?’
‘She said you told her Ivy and I were together.’ At least that was what he’d gathered from the conversation with Angie. Her crying in front of him broke his heart in two. As much as Quinn tried to force Nick into a relationship, he had overstepped a boundary by putting his nose where it didn’t belong.
‘It was for the best,’ Quinn said. ‘This relationship wasn’t going anywhere.’
‘That wasn’t for you to decide, Dad.’
‘Well, what’s done is done.’
Nick jammed his finger against the screen to end the call with his father. He didn’t realize his dad cared that much about Nick’s personal life outside of his scheming to get him and Ivy together. He never expected his father to go this far.
Nick and Angie hadn’t made an official statement about their relationship, but the memory of her hurt expression wounded him more than any other breakup.
It was all his fault, and he had no idea how to fix it.
When he trudged into his apartment, Charlie trotted over to him. Her wet nose snuffled his clothes, and then she sneezed. He went her to the couch and collapsed on top. She curled up beside him, gently nudging his hand for a head scratch. Nick didn’t have much energy to put into it, but she didn’t seem to mind.
The tree stood there, unlit, adding to the depressed mood in the room. Lighting it wouldn’t do much other than reminding him of Angie. He tried to remember the happiness he felt when he and Angie moved around the tree, filling it with ornaments. The way she felt in his arms …
An ache in his gut overpowered the surge of bliss as the memory of Angie running away from him at the party flew to his mind.
‘What am I going to do?’ he asked Charlie.
She looked up at him with those brown eyes, staring into his soul. If she spoke human, then she could tell him what to do. But Nick had to figure this out on his own. That involved momentous changes in his life. His dad had no right to mess with Nick’s personal life, but he wasn’t all to blame. If he told her about his job to start, then she might have believed him about Ivy. Knowing of her past, he shouldn’t have ever been dishonest with her.
He tucked Charlie against him. She was the only one in his life who wasn’t upset or disappointed in him. He wanted to get Angie back, but he’d have to put the work in. He was dedicated and she was worth it. Nick only hoped that she would listen and forgive him.
***
The next morning, Nick logged onto his computer at work and located Angie’s schedule for the day. He needed to talk to her, and all his texts from the night before had gone unanswered. She had to understand that what his father said wasn’t true. Christmas was coming up next week, and he usually made a point of going into the office for the last two weekends of the year anyway.
He left his office, unable to even glance in the direction of his father’s. Before he met with Angie, he made a stop first.
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