“Thanks.” He snagged a champagne flute off the tray of a passing waitress. “You look beautiful. It’s hard to believe you had triplets not so long ago.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere. It’s nice to see you. I hear you’re flying solo for the holidays since the Jamisons and Connellys have travel plans. I hope you’ll be coming to the ranch.”
“My plans are up in the air right now.”
“You have to come. We’re going to have a ton of fun. Besides, you shouldn’t be alone for Christmas.”
“Solitude is good for the soul. Thanks for the offer though.” He looked around the room. “Cassie, have you seen Anna Beth?”
She squinted at him. “What’s it to you?”
“I don’t want to cause any trouble. I was hoping to…” he trailed off. What was he hoping to do? He was still trying to work that out in his head. He’d gotten as far as needing to see her. Then he’d taken action.
“You have to do better than that. Especially after the stunt you pulled on Thanksgiving.”
“Cassie.” He turned his full attention back to her. “I know you’re Anna Beth’s friend so I won’t bother asking you to hear my side. We’ve known each other for a few years. I hope you know that if our disagreement could have been avoided, I would have done so. Things got away from us quickly.”
“I know you’re a good guy. A great guy in fact.” She tugged on his tie. “Actually, you just missed her. She said she was leaving early to pack for her vacation tomorrow.”
He turned to leave, but she stopped him.
“Can I offer a suggestion?”
“Of course.”
“If you intend to talk to her, it would be a good idea to know what you’re going to say when you finally catch up with her.” Cassidy coughed.
“Thanks.” Corbett nodded and began hurrying through the room until he reached the elevators. Maybe there was still a chance to catch her before she left.
He smashed on the elevator button, but it seemed like an eternity as the numbers lit up, signaling another lift was on the way. Screw it. He headed for the stairs and by the time he reached the main floor, he was sweating. When he’d reached the ground floor, he could see her getting into a town car through the glass windows.
He raced to the entrance, but it was too late. The town car had pulled off. He sank against the door, defeated. It was just as well. He didn’t know what he would have said to her anyway. All he knew was that another person he cared for was going away for parts unknown and he’d be alone for the holidays.
CHAPTER TWO
Anna Beth scurried around the house, trying to remember where she’d put her new passport, growing more and more panicked with ever minute that passed.
It was seven o’clock in the morning, and she should have been calling for the car service by now, not searching for her passport. And it was all Corbett Connelly’s fault. When she got home from the party, she opted to drown her sorrows in a bottle of wine instead of going over her travel checklist, and now she was paying dearly for it. She was pissed with herself for her reaction to Corbett’s presence at the party. She wanted to be cool and whimsical when she saw him again, not running for the hills. But she’d ponder her clumsy exit later when she was on a beach sunning herself and gabbing with her friends. She really needed this vacation.
She hadn’t bothered to open the envelope containing the passport when she got it in the mail and had stashed it somewhere for safekeeping. Now all she had to do was remember which one of her infamous hiding places held the valuable document. Grammie Granger had drilled in her head the peril of burglars, especially being a single woman living alone. So she used the cookie jar, freezer, and a hollowed-out book on her shelf in her home office.
The freezer didn’t yield anything accept a half gallon of rocky road pushed so far back she’d forgotten she had it. She turned to the ceramic, cupcake-shaped cookie jar and took the lid off, saddened to find actual cookies. They were the good kind too. She and Cassidy had found a bakery a few blocks away from a museum they frequented. They both had a wicked sweet tooth and were horrible at discouraging each other from the empty calories. They’d bought an array of sweet treats that day, and she’d managed to resist temptation and stash a few in the jar. It had taken weeks of discipline to make sure she’d fit into that red dress last night.
She’d never had the confidence to wear something like that. She took a chocolate chunk cookie out of the jar and nibbled on it. She knew she had a reputation for being a stick-in-the mud around the office. She dressed very conservatively, and there was never a hair out of place. She took pride in her “prim and proper” appearance. A professional appearance was necessary when you worked for the men who ran the company. But last night she’d thrown caution to the wind and let her hair down. She had to admit it felt good turning heads at the party, but that’s not why she did it.
“It must be in the book.” She took another cookie out of the jar and replaced the lid. “One for the road.”
She went into her office and plucked the fake book from the shelf and opened it. She picked up the envelope that held the passport and put it on her desk. She turned back to put the book back on the shelf when a crash on the other side of the room startled her.
“Mr. Whiskers, you gave me a fright.” She went over and cradled her black and white tabby cat. Normally he followed her around the apartment, but the last few days he’d been scarce. He hadn’t been too happy about her vacation plans and had been knocking things over. “Are you still mad at me? I’ll only be away for a week, and Mrs. Porter promised to take good care of you. How about I fix you a special treat before you go over to our nice neighbor’s house?”
She went into the kitchen and opened a can of gourmet pet food for him and put fresh water in his dish. She stroked his head as he feasted on his favorite meal. Mr. Whiskers wasn’t the only person who’d put her on the naughty list. Her family was none too pleased when she announced she wouldn’t be going to Kentucky for Christmas at her Grammie’s house. But she’d had enough of their antics on Thanksgiving Day and needed a break. It was bad enough Corbett didn’t show, but the family badgering her about it was even worse. Sure, she’d talked him up while she helped her mom and Grammie prepare dinner the night before. She wanted them to like him. When he didn’t show, they were ready to kill him. Especially her overprotective big brother Kyle. She loved that he cared about her happiness, but the firefighter had a temper that was as combustible as the fires he extinguished. She’d tried to calm him down, but he said it was his duty to wring Corbett’s neck.
If only Corbett had come to dinner instead of taking Courtney to the emergency room. If only he’d charged his cell phone or tried to call her while she waiting like an idiot. Up until that point, she and Corbett had been in a great place. The most disappointing part about it was later that night at her apartment with Corbett refusing to see Courtney’s manipulating was far worse.
How could Corbett not see past her façade? She knew deep down Courtney didn’t want him back for the right reasons. Not because he had an infectious smile that commanded a smile in return. Or that he was smart, successful, and had a good sense of humor. Courtney wanted him back because it pissed her off that he was moving on with her.
All this thinking about Corbett was depressing her again.
She opened the envelope and pulled out the new passport. She looked at the photo and was happy she’d been having a decent hair day when it had been taken. The little book was more than her credentials, it was a symbol of turning a new page in her life. Now was the time to get rid of reminders of Corbett while she still had the courage.
She walked into her bedroom to find the teddy bear he’d won for her at Jake’s annual birthday carnival. On the wall above the bed hung a painting of cowboy boots he’d gotten her in Santa Fe. She collected all of the items in the bedroom, including notes and greetings cards he’d given her. This seemed more like a bonfire moment, but she had a plane to catch, so the shre
dder would have to do. Besides, Kyle would be livid if he ever found out she’d started a fire, no matter how small it was.
She hurried around the apartment, collecting everything he’d given her, including a photo of them at the carnival. But she stopped short at taking down the painting, not ready to remove it just yet. She proceeded to her office and dumped everything onto the desk, then turned on the document shredder. She gave the photo one more glance before feeding it into the machine.
The sound of the machine ripping her picture with Corbett apart was heavy on her heart, but it had to be done. Next, she fed it the notes she’d found in her nightstand. He was thoughtful that way. Leaving her little notes underneath her pillow or a sticky on the bathroom mirror.
She quickly realized this was going to take forever and she didn’t have the patience to feed everything into the shredder one by one. It would be better to just shred everything at the same time and make a clean break. She had an industrial document shredder because of the nature of her work with the Blakes. It could take the pressure. Anna Beth scooped up the rest of the items on the desk and crammed them into the shredder. As the sentimental mementos of Corbett purged, the boisterous churning of the blades was cathartic. She stood, content to let the machine finish, and decided to go back to her last-minute prepping for the trip.
She sent a text to the car service that she was ready to be picked up. They sent a reply that the estimated pickup time was thirty minutes. She headed back into the living room. The living room was spotless, but it did look lonely without a tree. She had used the excuse about her Costa Rica vacation not to decorate, but truth was, she just wasn’t in the Christmas spirit. The presents she’d bought friends and family had been taking up space on the couch for weeks. Including the gift she’d bought for Corbett. She’d shopped for him weeks before Thanksgiving and hadn’t felt like unwrapping his gifts so she could return them. She sighed. It appeared her eradication of an idiotic ex-boyfriend would carry over into the New Year after all.
She glanced at the clock on her fireplace mantle. She’d told Mrs. Porter she’d drop her cat off before eight. The suitcases were lined up near the front door, and she’d programmed the vacation setting on her alarm system. All she had to do now was coax her spoiled cat into the carrier and check her purse to make sure she didn’t have anything that airport security would make her throw away at the check-in area. She flipped through her wallet. She had money and credit cards. Now she just needed her passport and she’d be ready. Let’s see, she had it just before she decided to liberate herself from memories of Corbett. She had it in her hand just before she’d shredded those mementos, but she must have put it down somewhere in the office. Unless… No, she couldn’t have…
Dread swept through her as she dashed into the office, hoping she hadn’t accidentally done something catastrophic. Her eyes widened when she looked down at the shredder container and saw the remnants of the blue cover mixed in with crosscut squares of paper.
“Oh no!” she groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
She’d just shredded her passport. Because she’d been thinking about Corbett and not paying attention. And she had a flight to Costa Rica in an hour.
There was no way on earth to get another passport in time.
Anna Beth closed her eyes, trying to fight off the numb despair threatening to swallow her.
Her cell phone pinged. She slowly lifted it and stared at it blankly. After a few seconds, she realized it was a text from the car service informing her that the driver was fifteen minutes away. She frantically scrolled for the company’s number to cancel the car. But that was the easy part. Calling her friends, who’d gone ahead a few days ago, and telling them she wouldn’t coming was going to be dreadful. They’d swear she’d chickened out. On top of that, she’d needed this vacation. She wanted to get someplace where she wouldn’t be reminded of Corbett. A place where she didn’t have to pretend to be happy for the holidays.
That wasn’t going to happen now.
A half hour later, she’d made the calls cancelling the car and telling her friends she wouldn’t be coming. They were disappointed, of course, but they also surprised her by being very sympathetic, which almost had her breaking into tears. Cassidy sent her a text telling her to have a good time. She relayed the morning’s events and informed her she’d be home for the holidays. Like she’d expected, her friend extended an invite to spend the holidays with the Blakes, but she gently refused. Then she went over to Mrs. Porter’s apartment to let her know that she wouldn’t need to watch Mr. Whiskers. Her cat was the only one delighted that his mom wasn’t going away. She plopped down on the couch and reached for the remote, still in a bit of a daze that things had changed so quickly. Now she had a week with nothing to do except ponder the recent disappointments in her life. She could go back to the office, but she was sure J.J. and Bo would lovingly throw her out. And she didn’t have the heart to tell them what had happened. Still, she felt fortunate to have bosses that cared about her. That’s one of the things she loved about working for them. But staying away would be best, since she’d dodged J.J.’s attempt to talk to her at the party about her future with the company.
Damn that Corbett. If she hadn’t been so upset with him for showing up to her office Christmas party last night, she wouldn’t have shredded her passport. Even worse, she wouldn’t have reacted that way at all if she didn’t miss him so much.
* * *
Corbett scooted out of the way to narrowly escape being hit in the crotch with a huge shopping bag. He hated going to stores the week of Christmas, but here he was at the mall with Bo, looking for the perfect gift for their mom. This year they’d decided to get her a group gift, something she could treasure that came from all of her boys.
His thoughts circled back to the office Christmas party and to Anna Beth. When he’d dropped by Blake Enterprises today, he’d figured she’d left for her vacation, but he was surprised to hear from Channing that some fluke accident had kept her in Dallas. He felt like an ass for the hope that swept through him when he heard the news. She worked hard; she deserved to go on a vacation. Then again, what if she’d met some random guy while in Costa Rica?
He had to remind himself it was none of his business. When she’d reacted so badly to the mix up on Thanksgiving and accused him of being blind to Courtney’s schemes, he felt like he’d dodged another bossy woman who wanted to control his every move. Where she was and who she was seeing was none of his concern anymore.
And that was also a load of bull. Because he couldn’t stop thinking about her—
“Earth to Corbett,” Bo said, breaking his train of thought.
“What?”
Bo gave him a quizzical look. “You did come to help, right?”
“Yes. Of course.” He shook his head, annoyed that he was always so distracted lately. He loved the effort Bo was putting into finding something special for their mom, but honestly he hadn’t been paying attention all afternoon.
“What do you think about this?” Bo held up a heart-shaped diamond pendant.
“It’s nice. Mom will love it.” He nodded.
“This is for your mom?” the sales associate said. “How nice! We can also have this fitted with birthstones.”
“That’s a great idea.” Bo smiled and handed it back to the sales clerk. “We’ll take it.”
Corbett pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “Can you have this inscribed on the back?”
Bo looked at the note. “Corbett, you sentimental old fool. That’s perfect.”
The sales clerk scanned the note and smiled. “How sweet. It’s not a problem. Your mom is so lucky to have such caring sons like you. Can you give us an hour?”
“We can grab lunch.” Bo patted him on the back.
They exited the packed jewelry store and blended into an even bigger crowd of shoppers.
“When do you leave for Georgia?” Corbett asked as he stuffed his hands into his navy blue pea coat.
&nb
sp; “Tomorrow. That’s why I asked if we could shop today for mom’s present.”
“I don’t understand why we had to do it today. She’s going off with Bo Sr. in a few days. We won’t all be together to give it to her until next year,” he said, a little louder than he wanted.
“What’s going on with you? Wyatt called me and asked me to talk to you. He thinks you’re more upset about your breakup with Anna Beth than you’re letting on. He wants to make sure you don’t crawl into a hole because you’re going to be alone for the holidays.”
“That’s ridiculous. He worries too much. And I wouldn’t call it a breakup. We saw each other occasionally. Now it’s over.”
Bo pulled him over to the railing out of the way of the heavy foot traffic. “It was more than that, and you know it.”
“Can we drop this?” Corbett leaned against the railing, frowning at the crowds.
“What’s going on with you?” Bo asked again and folded his arms across his chest. “We’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s got your boxers in a bunch.”
Corbett opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Bo looked like he was serious. Finally, he eked out, “You’re not the boss of me.” There. It wasn’t a witty adult comeback, but right now he felt like he was twelve.
“Worse. I’m the big brother.”
He looked at Bo and resisted the urge to laugh. It had taken some time for them to adjust to the new dynamic when Bo came back into their lives fulltime, but Corbett had eventually learned to love having a big brother. Bo doled out advice to him and Wyatt, whether they wanted it or not. He also made an effort to spend time with them and was generous to a fault. He’d even bought Wyatt a multi-million dollar condo for graduation, for heaven’s sake. Not only that, but he’d given Corbett and Courtney a new home as a wedding present. Luckily, he and Courtney could never agree on a date to start construction. It was easy to return that gift. Whether it be big gestures or calling in the middle of the day to see how things were going, Bo was always there to lend a hand or give encouragement. The most cautious advice he’d ever given him was to tread lightly with Anna Beth.
Begin Again (The Blake Boys Book 18) Page 3