Page 31 of Secret Santas and Holiday Dances

Jessie narrowed her eyes, lifted her heel, and brought it down in one swift move on the top of his foot. He yelped and jumped back, but still kept her from closing the door. His foot throbbed from pain, but he held his ground. “I’m not leaving. Even if I have to stay here all day. I can’t lose her.”

Jessie stepped closer to him, pointed over her shoulder up the stairs, and whispered. “Grace has spent the bulk of her life having her desires shoved to the side. If you want to fix this, then show her you respect her wishes and leave.”

His jaw dropped.

Jessie touched his arm. “Trust me.”

Reluctantly, he nodded and stepped back.

She shut the door, effectively blocking him from the piece of his heart he hadn’t realized he’d given away until now.

Chapter 15

Grace sat on her sofa, legs tucked up against her chest, straining to listen to Jessie’s conversation with Liam. She squeezed her lucky eraser in her palm, worn down for constant use these last two weeks. She’d left charcoal and pencil drawings all around her apartment, on the dining room table, on the coffee table, counter, on her bed, and on the floor. Her art had been her one source of solace since her mother arrived. Just like when she’d been a child. She’d need to get another eraser soon.

Emma sat beside her, rubbing her back, but she barely noticed. She felt all washed out. So many feelings were coursing through her, she found it hard to focus on one for long. Anger for her mother, frustration with Jessie when her voice dropped below a whisper talking to Liam downstairs, irritation for David for how he’d treated her, anxiousness for what people in town must think of her, and heartbreak for Liam.

And she felt grateful. Grateful for Jessie and Emma, who saw her peeling into the driveway and came running over to check on her. She’d needed that reminder when she’d gotten home, a reminder that there were people here who loved her, wanted her around and cared about her feelings. And she’d been grateful that when Liam had shown up minutes after her, that they’d been here to act as a buffer. She couldn’t talk to him. Not now. Maybe not ever again.

Emma grabbed a bowl of chocolate out from a pile of wrappers covering Grace’s ugly garage sale coffee table. “Want a chocolate?”

Grace shook her head. “No, thanks.” Chocolate couldn’t fix this for her.

Jessie finally closed the door, locking Liam out, jogged back up the stairs, and leaned against the banister. “Did you hear what he said?”

“Which part?” Grace asked, ducking her head between her arms.

She sucked her teeth at Grace. “The part where he said he didn’t kiss Charlotte—that she kissed him.” Jessie took a seat on the other side of Grace.

“I heard it,” Grace said. “I’m just not sure I believe it.”

Emma leaned back. “I’ve known Liam all my life, and I’m telling you there’s no way he would’ve kissed her. Especially in such a public place.”

Meaning he would’ve somewhere private?! “But he did.” Grace stood and paced the floor on the other side of her coffee table. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

“Come on Grace, that’s semantics and you know it. We all know it’s not like him to kiss her like that, but it is like Aunt Charlotte to kiss him,” Jessie said. “He said he pushed her off and I believe him.”

Grace scrubbed a hand down her face—really trying to scrub the image of her Liam’s lips on Charlotte’s. She hadn’t seen him push Charlotte off. The little girl screaming, “Secret Santa” had distracted her. But by the time she looked back, they weren’t kissing anymore. She breathed out slowly, trying to calm herself. It was too much. Too much to deal with right now.

From the coffee table, her phone rang for the third time since she’d gotten home.

Emma picked it up. “It’s David again. Do you want me to answer it?”

That fire she’d felt earlier came back, resting in her stomach, ready to burst out. She held out a hand. “No, I will.”

Emma handed her the phone, shooting a concerned look in Jessie’s direction. That didn’t feel encouraging. Neither did the nervous look Jessie returned. Ugh. She was tired of this!

“What’s up, David?” Grace forced herself to sound nonchalant.

The other end of the line was quiet for a moment.

“David?” It came out a little snappy. She didn’t have all day!

“Where are you?” David demanded. “Just because you had an article written about you in the paper doesn’t mean you can take off whenever you want. And we still need to talk about this Secret Santa thing.”

“No, we don’t.” She rested a hand on her hip.

“What did you just say to me?”