Page 20 of Hot Mess Christmas Express

“Hey,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant.

Caleb’s head whipped around at the sound of her voice, his face a mix of shock and displeasure. Sienna took a step back, confused by his expression. Deep down she’d thought that he would be excited to see her. Even if he was giving his number to someone else, they had spent a fantastic few days together. But his whiskey-colored eyes were cold, and his lips were pressed together, like he was trying to hold himself back.

“Thanks, I’ll call and make an appointment,” the bartender said, backing away from them.

Sienna swallowed hard, Caleb’s icy gaze still trained on her.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“What’s the matter?” he repeated. His voice was just as stony as his face, sending a chill down her spine. “Where would you like me to start, Miss Sloan?”

“Miss Sloan?”

“Yes, Miss Sloan.” He turned in his chair so that he was fully facing her. “You can’t really think that after this last little stunt of yours that we would be on anything less than formal terms.”

Stunt? What the hell?

“What are you talking about, Caleb?”

“It’s Dr. Winters. And I had a nice little chat with your boss this afternoon.”

“Bob? About me?”

“Yes, about you,” he spat.

“What could you possibly…” she trailed off as it hit her. Bob had said one of the doctors on her route had taken exception with her. Said they “weren’t comfortable” with her, whatever that was supposed to mean. But there was no way that had been Caleb. Not after what they had just shared. Right?

“You…you were the doctor who complained about me?” she sputtered, finally finding her words.

“I didn’t complain. I simply told him the truth when he asked for a review. That you and I had never met to discuss Cosmas and that wouldn’t be changing.”

The room started to spin around Sienna, all the air seemingly sucked out of the place. What did he mean by that? The sound of his voice made it seem like she was no longer welcome in his practice. Even when he’d been unwilling to meet with her, it wasn’t like she’d been persona non grata. Until now, apparently.

“But…but…”

“But nothing!” he snapped, slamming his open palm down on the bar. His voice was loud enough to earn them a few stares, and Sienna could feel the extra eyes on her. “What’s that expression? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me? Yeah, well, shame on me. I fell for your bullshit twice. That was not bad thinking on your part—thinking I’d be so lost in a sexed-up haze that I couldn’t help but sing your praises. But it didn’t work, Miss Sloan.”

“Caleb, that’s not what this was. I had no idea he was going to be asking for reviews. If I’d known, then I would have told you.”

“You just expect me to believe that?”

“Yes! I’ve never lied to you. I’ve never used you. What we have is—”

“We don’t have anything, Miss Sloan.”

Sienna’s stomach lurched. Caleb didn’t think there was anything between them. Tears started to burn at the corners of her eyes, hurt clinging to her like a wet blanket. These last few days had been magical in her mind, and she’d thought he shared that opinion. Hearing that he didn’t was enough to make the earth quake underneath her.

“So Christmas with my family meant nothing to you,” she said, her voice taking on an edge she hadn’t seen coming. But the pain that was coursing through her veins was not going to be stopped. “Our conversation in The Live Oak, that night in the Summer Shack, nothing.”

“The sex was decent,” he commented, shrugging one shoulder.

He did not just say that…

“If that’s what you really think, then you’re not the only one who was deceived. So shame on me for thinking that you actually were a decent guy and that we had a connection. For thinking that I could love you. I guess I was wrong. So you know what, Caleb?” The emphasis on his name came out shrill, drawing even more attention to them. Sienna couldn’t bring herself to care though. She was heartbroken, and she didn’t care who knew it. “You can fuck right off.”

Turning on her heel, she stormed off, passing the onlookers as she made her exit. Her chest tightened, the breath she was holding desperate to escape, but she knew the second she let it out, the tears would come with it. And the one thing she wasn’t going to do was to cry in front of him.

No matter how badly he’d just shattered her heart.