Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 19091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 95(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 95(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
My heart beat fast. What did that mean? Obviously, he cared about me. But was that it? Was that why he threw himself off me on Halloween, as if he was disgusted? I tried to find my voice. “It’s temporary.”
Haydyn nodded with a heavy sigh. “Let’s get in the house.”
The garage was attached, so we didn’t need to trudge back out into the snow. Haydyn let us in through the side door and I followed him into the warmth of the house. “You can sleep in Michael’s room.”
His words reminded me that he was all alone today too. He’d apologized for his attitude, so I decided to forgive him and put it aside. “How are you doing? With Michael at his mum’s for Christmas?”
Haydyn shrugged out of his coat and scarf. “Honestly, it only hit me when I woke up this morning and he wasn’t here. On Christmas Eve, we have our traditions. In the morning, I make chocolate chip pancakes and we watch Rise of the Guardians. Then we venture into the village, grab hot chocolate from Flora’s, walk around for a bit, and then come home, have homemade chicken burgers and fries, and watch a marathon of Christmas movies until bedtime. Then I wait until he’s asleep to bring out his gifts hidden in the locked closet in my bedroom. It’s always been exciting for me too.”
His expression was unbearably sad as he took my coat and scarf to hang up. “It’s depressing knowing I won’t be doing that tonight for the first time in ten years.”
Sympathy ached in my chest. “It’s just one year,” I promised him.
Haydyn scrubbed a hand down his face. “Is it, though? And even then, I suppose this gives me a taste of what it’ll be like in a few years when he’s too old for this stuff. He already told me this year that Santa isn’t real.”
“Oh, he told me that too.” I strode toward the kitchen. “And I could see the hopeful, pleading glint in his eyes practically begging me to tell him different.”
“Really?”
I turned at the smile in Haydyn’s voice. “Aye. Really.”
“What did you tell him?” He watched me curiously as I pulled a pan out of the cupboard and set it on the hob.
“I didn’t want to outright lie, so I just shrugged nonchalantly and said, ‘I wonder how Santa would feel about you saying that?’ and left it at that.”
He chuckled. “Nicely maneuvered.”
“My point is,” I continued as I pulled a bar of chocolate and milk out of the fridge, “Michael is still a boy, and you still have plenty of time with him.”
“Hmm.” Haydyn leaned against the kitchen island, arms crossed, the position straining the fine knit of his cashmere sweater around his biceps. “What are you making?” I glanced back at the hob as I dropped the chopped-up chocolate into a pan and then poured in milk, cocoa, and light brown sugar.
“Homemade hot chocolate.” I glanced over my shoulder. “I thought we could keep some of your traditions alive. And it’s snowing, so hot chocolate is a must.”
His gaze searched my face almost tenderly. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Skin hot, I turned back to the hob. I was so confused. Haydyn had attempted to talk to me about Halloween, but I didn’t want him to say to my face that he wasn’t interested because I wasn’t sure I could take it. Usually, I wasn’t so fragile, but with Mum and Dad on my mind, that big gaping hole in my heart, I couldn’t handle emotions as well as I usually could. And the truth was, I’d fallen in love with my boss. I’d fallen in love with both him and Michael. For months I’d been trying to convince myself that I was just lonely and latching on to the first people who came along who seemed like family.
However, even desperation couldn’t fabricate the chemistry I had with Haydyn. It just was. I’d never wanted anyone the way I wanted him. I’d lost all sense of everything else but him that night on his couch.
I thought his springing off me like he was horrified meant he didn’t feel the same way and had just gotten turned on by the movie we were watching. But now and then, I find him staring at me with his heart in his eyes, and it confused me … because … he stared at me like he might feel the same way back.
Sighing inwardly, I stirred the mixture until it melted and then I whisked it. Haydyn reached into the cupboard and pulled two mugs down. “Whipped cream?” I asked him.
He retrieved the can of fresh whipped cream from the fridge while I poured the hot chocolate into the mugs. Our fingers brushed as I took the can from him, and tingles shot up my arm. I expertly topped the mugs with whipped cream and then shaved chocolate over the top.