She nodded.
“Someone beat us to it. I saw a coming-soon sign for Busy Bee’s Espresso and Sweets plastered right by the ferry.”
“You’re kidding.” Gabby tied an apron around her neck and slicked back her hair.
“I wish I was. I’ve been so excited about us opening one up so close to home.”
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t sign the lease on the building we found. I’m not interested in coming into a town to battle it out. Things work out the way they’re meant to,” she sighed, looking completely disappointed.
“I guess.” Seeing the sign this morning definitely bummed me out. I’d been looking forward to managing an extension of Gabby’s Goodies so close to home. It allowed me to stay connected with a company I loved working for while taking the hassle of my commute out of the picture. Now I was left with a big decision, but it could wait until the new year. I didn’t need to burst Gabby’s bubble after her honeymoon bliss.
“So what changed your mind?” Gabby asked, arranging butter cookies on a tray.
“About what?” I asked, perplexed.
“Derek.”
“Oh him.” I went into the backroom and pulled a tray of cooled cranberry bread off the rack and came back out to arrange the sweets. I sliced the bread before placing it on the tray, which was really my way of procrastinating. I didn’t want to get into it all. The relationship was so new, I was afraid I’d jinx it. But maybe feeding her a tidbit would put a halt to the questioning.
“You know how Mr. Gibbs started dating again?” I asked Gabby.
“I remember you mentioning that to me.” She helped arrange the cranberry bread onto an ivory platter.
“Well, he said something that kind of made sense. The woman he’s dating doesn’t live locally, but he’s still giving it a try. He said it was better to have someone you’re fond of somewhere than have no one you’re fond of anywhere. It seemed perfect, considering.”
“Whatever the case, I’m glad you’re giving it a try. I know Derek’s really fond of you. I guess he can’t stop gushing about how perfect you are to Ayden.”
“Maybe it is better to keep him in Montana. Keep the mystery alive.”
Gabby chuckled and eyed her to-do list for the day.
“It’s good to be back. I missed this place,” she muttered, wiping her hands off on a flour sack towel.
“Was Jason getting antsy being away from the shop so long?” I asked.
Both Gabby and Jason loved what they did. She owned this bakery, and he owned a custom bike shop.
“A little, but I think we were both surprised at how easily we fell into island life. The sun would wake us up every morning and life was so relaxed. We love Katie to pieces, but raising a toddler is exhausting. It was so nice of Carla to watch her for our honeymoon.”
“She loves her to death. I honestly think if you’d offer shared custody with her, she’d be game.”
“So true.”
The door jingled, and I glanced up to see Chloe hurrying into the bakery.
“How was the honeymoon?” Chloe asked, nearly running up to the counter. “I’m sans kid so I can hear the dirty details.”
“Was that the oven timer? I better go check on that,” Gabby giggled.
“Eggnog latte?” I asked Chloe.
“That would be perfect.”
Chloe took a seat at the table closest to the counter while I made her eggnog latte. Gabby reappeared and gave me a curious look.
“So remember that man we tried persuading Emily to give a try?” Gabby began.
Now the look made sense. She was playing dirty and shifting the focus of the conversation to me.
“Yeah?”
“Well, it happened. After a rocky start, they’re officially dating.”
“No way.” Chloe’s eyes were huge, and she drank in the gossip like she was at an overflowing drinking fountain.
“There wasn’t anything rocky about it.” I dropped off Chloe’s eggnog latte and went back behind the counter as if it would offer me protection from her line of questioning. “I’m sure Gabby’s honeymoon is far more interesting.”
“How long have you been seeing him?” Chloe ignored me.
“Three weeks.”
“Plus two while you both were dating each other online without knowing it.” Gabby erased last week’s inspirational message on the chalkboard.
“Shut the front door.” Chloe was in heaven, and I had to laugh. I hadn’t heard that expression since my mom’s sister used to use it all the time, and she’d passed away several years ago.
“So I’d say you’ve been officially dating for about five weeks,” Gabby informed me as she wrote the latest inspirational message on the board.
I hadn’t really thought about it that way. Wow. I’d been with Derek for over a month. Yay me.
My phone beeped in the backroom, and I quickly excused myself while Gabby let me off the hook and started talking about the bluest of the blue waters of Fiji. I grabbed my phone out of my bag and saw a text from Derek.
I can’t stop writing. It’s like a nonstop stream. Good things are coming. How are you this morning? I would say I got up with the birds, but most of them were smart enough to flee before winter hit. I miss you.
My heart literally fluttered with excitement. Every time I got a text from Derek it was like Christmas morning. I never knew how early was too early to text or too late to text so I waited for him to initiate. Thankfully, he wasn’t one of those men who thought he was too cool and left me hanging. I quickly texted back.
I’m at work and we still have plenty of birds hanging around. I’m so excited. My parents are coming tomorrow for the holidays. I miss you. Looks like the bakery on Hound Island won’t be happening. I saw a sign this morning for one already opening in three weeks. xo
I saw that he was writing back and waited somewhat impatiently. Finally his response appeared on the screen.
Sometimes things work out for the best. This way you might have time to visit Santa in Montana. I’ll let you get back to the cookies.
I texted back quickly.
Is that an official invitation?
A message came right back.
Yes.
I shoved the phone into my purse and floated back to the main part of the bakery where Chloe was asking Gabby all kinds of questions about the sand on the beach. I rearranged some of the Christmas village pieces that had managed to tip over and get scattered. I always had to keep an eye on them whenever a teenage boy came in with his parents. Like clockwork, the village always took on an R-rated turn once they left. So far I’d found Rudolph drowned in a pond and Frosty in pieces near Santa’s workshop.
My mind drifted back to Derek and Montana. Would it be too soon to visit after Christmas? I didn’t want to look clingy, but I also didn’t want to look uninterested. I spotted the two women staring at me and realized I must have been talking to myself again.
“If you ask me,” Chloe began. “I’d go visit him sooner rather than later. Heck, I’d go now.”
Gabby shook her head. “I don’t know. We don’t want her to look like she’ll just drop everything for him whenever he snaps his fingers.”
“Exactly. Plus, tomorrow my family will be getting into town.” I moved over and glimpsed Gabby’s latest chalkboard message.
I believe…
The words warmed me up. I did believe. I believed in many things.
“My in-laws arrived this morning.” Chloe rolled her eyes.
“Is that the real reason you’re here?” I shook my finger at her.
“Maybe. But I really did want to find out about Gabby’s honeymoon.”
My phone beeped again, and I glanced at Gabby who nodded toward the backroom. I nearly slid to my purse and found my phone.
How about New Year’s Eve? I have something I want to talk to you about.
My hands trembled with excitement.
“Guys, he asked about coming to Montana for New Year’s Eve. Thoughts?”
/>
“Go,” both Gabby and Chloe blurted.
I texted a quick yes and could barely stay on earth as I worked in the bakery the rest of the afternoon. I wondered what on earth he wanted to talk to me about. Life had a way of working out in surprising ways. What if this was one of those surprises? It wasn’t until Gabby, touched my hand that I realized I really hadn’t been on this planet.
“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?”
I chewed my lip and shook my head. I suddenly felt like I’d been thrown back into high school, only somehow back then, I’d missed out on ever getting a crush like this.
“I’d said, if you’d like to go home early that would be totally fine with me. I know how it goes getting ready for company.”
Her words were music to my ears. I had so much left to do before my parents and sister arrived. I hadn’t even gone grocery shopping yet.
“You wouldn’t mind?” I asked.
“You’ve been holding the fort down for weeks for me. Besides, you just put six cups of salt in that batch instead of sugar.”
“Are you serious?” I glanced at the bag in front of me.
Sure enough.
“Oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry.”
Gabby grinned mischievously and shook her head. “It just makes me so happy to see you like this. Go.” She smacked my hand. “Go get ready for the holidays and daydream about Derek.”
“I think my work here is done,” I said, untying the apron from my waist.
“I think that’s safe to say,” Gabby agreed, giving me a hug.
I wasn’t even sure how I got to the grocery store, but I made it. It was hard to believe after six long years, I was in a serious relationship with someone who understood me. All of me. With my cart full, I pulled into the checkout lane. My eyes briefly flicked to a tabloid and my heart sank as I saw the headline. How could he do this to me?
Chapter Nineteen
This was why I never let anyone in. It was Bodie and me against the world. By the time I got home last night, the sadness had quickly turned to anger. I felt like I’d been possessed by the ice queen, and I was grateful for it. Even the blood flowing through my veins was frigid. I was officially done with men.
Now his words about love being nothing but betrayal made perfect sense. He was the betrayer. I should have known a teen idol, wrestler, and screenwriter meant nothing but trouble. And his whole Santa ploy? Psh.
If I’d just left it at sex and nothing more, I would have been fine seeing a cover like that.
I totally would have been fine.
Everything about the last month of being with Derek dried up in under a second when I saw him with another woman. The photograph on the front cover was plain as day. He was kissing a brunette’s cheek with his arm draped over her shoulders. She looked at him with pure love in her eyes. At least I figured out the real reason he moved to Montana before I went to visit.
My parents and sister were minutes away, and thankfully, I hadn’t divulged too much information about my relationship with Derek. Days ago, I told them I’d fill them in when they got here. The conversation certainly wouldn’t be headed in the direction I’d thought it would.
It didn’t help that the headline on the magazine read, “Elusive Screenwriter and Former Teen Heartthrob Finds his Muse in Montana” and then in smaller caps, “Does that mean The Fighters sequel will finally be released?”
Derek had texted several times last night and this morning, but I refused to answer any of them. It was done, and anything he had to say wouldn’t matter. I was foolish believing that true love existed, especially with him.
In my fury last night I’d managed to whip up several batches of cookies, quiche, and cranberry weenies for today. I’d just put the finishing touch on a turkey casserole and shoved it in the oven.
One thing was for sure. I needed my family now more than ever.
The doorbell rang and Bodie sprang off the couch and barked his way to the foyer. I wiped my hands off on a kitchen towel and ran to answer the door. The moment I flung it open, my sister dove into my arms, followed by mom and dad giving me a bear hug. This was what the holidays were about.
“Come on, get inside,” I told them, helping my mom with her bag. “At least most of the snow has melted. Was the drive over the pass an easy one?”
“It would have been if dad had put on the studded tires, but he had to get out and put on the chains because he refused to listen to his daughter,” my sister Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes.
“It scares me to death having him do that. Those big semitrucks speeding by and splashing everything with dirty snow. Next time your father will listen to me. Won’t you?” My mom questioned, eyeing my father as he beamed.
“Why start now? My way has worked for the last forty years.”
Bodie was jumping in circles, and I ushered everyone into the living room to get him to calm down. They arranged their bags in the hall, and my dad whistled when he saw the Christmas tree.
“Say, I noticed you have a whole bunch of lights outside on your house, but they’re not turned on. Is a bulb out?” he asked.
I was hoping my dad wouldn’t notice. As childish as it sounded, I didn’t want anything to do with Derek, including his Christmas lights.
“Probably, I just gave up,” I fibbed and felt extremely guilty, especially as my father began slipping his jacket back on to go find the cause. “Actually, it just dawned on me what happened. I plugged them into the wrong outlet. I’ll go try it again.”
My dad nodded approvingly and followed me outside. I wandered around the corner of the house, and my stomach knotted as I thought about the joy that had washed over me when I saw Derek hanging all the lights. The anger I wanted to feel slipped into an overwhelming sadness as I plugged in the lights.
“Wow, Em. You put these up yourself? This puts my show to shame.”
“Oh, daddy, nothing could put your shows to shame. But no. I didn’t do it. Someone else did it for me.”
“Maybe I ought to hire him for my house next year. Got his number?” My dad gave the jolliest of chuckles and patted my back.
“I thought you loved doing your Christmas lights.”
“The first year or two it was fun… What was that? Thirty-eight years ago?” He grimaced. “And then when you married that turkey there was an element of fun in it. I just liked crushing him in competitions, but no. I’d like to hire it out next year. Too bad I wouldn’t be able to get this guy to drive six hours to put ‘em up. I’d have the best ones in the neighborhood.”
“You already do.”
He winked and wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we stared at the twinkling lights. I tried to focus on the lights, not the person who strung them.
“I’m getting cold. Do you mind if we head back in? The casserole’s probably close to being done.”
“Of course.” He gave me one last squeeze. “But I’m going to stop off at the car first and bring in some of the gifts.”
“Want help?”
“No. Get inside and get warm. I know your mom and sister have been dying to ask you about your mystery man, and my gut tells me he has something to do with the lights.” My dad’s eyes glimmered with hope, and I actually felt bad. Once again, I was about to relay the same story. I thought I liked a guy, but I was wrong.
I shuffled inside, feeling completely defeated when I rounded the bend and saw my mom staring at the casserole dish.
“Honey, what did you put in this?”
“What do you mean? It’s a turkey casserole. I just put some breadcrumbs on top.”
“I don’t think you used breadcrumbs,” my sister said, staring at the casserole.
“It smells really sweet in here.” I glanced at the casserole and instead of seeing golden breadcrumbs, I saw a glistening substance coating the top of the dish. I looked on the counter and my stomach plummeted.
“I used brown sugar instead of breadcrumbs.”
My mom furrowed her brows and eyed my sister be
fore looking over at me.
“How in the world did you manage that one?”
Because I was crying so hard, I didn’t pay attention to which canister I grabbed, but I kept that bit of information to myself and just stared at them.
“Maybe it’s time to get my vision checked.”
“Maybe your sniffer too. How could you not smell the sugar? You work in a bakery.” My sister looked at me suspiciously, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to avoid things for much longer.
I heard my dad come inside, which gave me the perfect excuse to call for pizza.
“What kind of pizza does everyone want?” I asked, as my dad carried his armful of presents to the tree.
“I want everything,” Dad mumbled with the packages squishing his lips as he bent down.
“I just want cheese,” my mom said, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.
“I’d like one with chicken. Do they have anything with chicken?” My sister’s eyes were glued to me. I could never hide anything from her. I glanced at my mom and saw the same look. I could never hide anything from anyone in my family. Period.
“What happened to the casserole?” my dad asked.
“I accidentally poured brown sugar on top, instead of breadcrumbs,” I muttered, glancing at the pizza menu I knew by heart.
“Does that have to do with all the tissue in your wastebasket?” My dad wandered over to the sink and washed his hands.
My phone beeped on the counter, and my sister looked far too interested in the sender for her own good.
“Who’s that?” she asked, scooting forward.
I picked up my cell and glanced at the screen. It was Derek.
Again.
“Just someone I met at Gabby’s wedding. You remember her, right? My boss?”
“She’s a doll,” my mom answered for them all.
I dialed the pizza place and ordered enough pizza to last through the holidays, but at least everyone got what they wanted.
Beyond the Mistletoe: A Christmas Romance (Beyond Love Book 7) Page 16