Page 6 of Hot Mess Christmas Express

Chapter Four

Walking into The Live Oak,Caleb wasn’t really sure what to expect. He’d seen the old stone building that was within walking distance of the Seven Swans Inn on previous trips to Somerset Island, but had never taken the time to figure out what it was. A basic Internet search probably would have settled the vague curiosity, but he’d never gotten around to it.

The large black front door was heavier than he had expected, and the familiar sound of a classic rock song greeted him as he stepped into the pub. The dark maple wainscoting was polished to a shine, with dark forest-green wallpaper. The whole place was done up for Christmas, with wreaths on the wall, twinkle lights lining the crown molding, and a large, well-decorated tree in the back corner. With all the fuss over the wedding, he’d almost forgotten the holiday was fast approaching. Not that it made much of a difference in his world, other than a day off from work.

Looking to his left, Caleb found the long bar taking up the entire wall. Also polished to a shine, it was the same wood as the wall and had a divot in the middle of it, making it look like a block letter B. And smack dab in the middle of that divot was the copper-haired beauty he’d come to see.

“So, explain something to me, please,” he said, sliding onto the stool next to her at the bar. He heard her loud exhale, even though she didn’t bother to turn and look at him. “The place is called the Seven Swans Inn. But I only counted five.”

“Friedrich died last year. Marta about eighteen months before that. That’s part of why Kurt is so bitter. Not only is he the only boy swan left, Marta was his mate.”

“He can’t just pick another?”

“Swans mate for life,” she said, her tone incredulous. As if this were somehow something he should have already known.

“You learn something every day.”

Caleb sucked in a breath, his heart pounding as he tried to think of something else to say. He needed to apologize. And not just because the maid of honor had overheard the conversation and read him the riot act for being a douchebag. Even though he had been a douchebag. A massive one at that. But Sienna was right; he’d never let her explain. Hell, it had never occurred to him that there could be an explanation other than her using him.

Trust issues, dude, you have trust issues…

“What are you doing here?” Sienna finally asked.

“I came to apologize.”

“You know how to do that?”

"I do. And I am. Sorry, I mean. I should not have implied what I did,” he said, hoping that despite his stumbling, she knew he was sincere. The look of hurt he’d seen in her eyes earlier had been a dagger to his gut.

“I never lied,” she told him, looking back down at her drink.

Caleb waited for her to continue, giving her the space to say what she needed to. He owed her that much. The bartender came over, and he quietly ordered an Old Fashioned.

“I really do have a master's in graphic design from SCAD. I really did have an internship with Pryce and Barnes, one of the top five design firms in the US. And I really was working on starting my own business.” Sienna’s shoulders dropped slightly as she let out a long exhale. He could tell that admitting all this wasn’t her favorite thing to do. “I was at that conference to try and meet clients, just like I told you. My best friend works for Cosmas and thought the conference would be a great place to network. She also introduced me to her bosses, who offered me the job. I only took it so that I could have some kind of income while I was getting my own stuff off the ground. Mostly because I needed the health insurance.”

Health insurance? That’s why she’d taken that job? Well…shit. Now Caleb felt like even more of an ass. Here he’d spent the last two years thinking that she’d hunted him down and seduced him, all so she could have access to his family’s surgical practice. Like she’d been some multicolored-hair bombshell Bond villain. Damn, he really was a douchebag.

“I’m sorry I thought otherwise. I’ve gotten used to someone always wanting something from me, and I didn’t realize just how much I’d stopped giving people the benefit of the doubt,” he said, taking a sip of his drink. “How’s the graphic design thing coming?”

Sienna threw her head back, letting out the loudest laugh Caleb thought he’d ever heard. Looking around them, he was sure she would have disturbed the other patrons in the bar, but no one seemed to notice.

“I still show up at your office every six weeks, don’t I?” she remarked.

“Yes, but—”

“But nothing. Let me introduce myself. I’m Sienna, the hot mess express. I work a job I hate so that I can pay off the student loans I took so I could start my own business, which has basically tanked. We won’t even go into my personal life.”

The sadness in her voice was unmistakable, and it made Caleb’s heart squeeze. Sienna had always seemed so happy, so full of life. All of the other doctors in his practice loved days when she came to visit, saying that she was the highlight of their month. Had she really been miserable this whole time?

“Truth be told, I don't really know how I got to this point. Everything was going to be so perfect, and then life just kinda took over.”

“I one hundred percent understand. Now that the practice belongs to me, it doesn’t leave as much time for all the things that used to be my reason for being in reconstructive medicine.”

“I’m sorry about your dad. He was such a nice guy,” Sienna said, flashing him a smile. Her bright blue eyes were soft, a caring look in them. Everything about her was radiant, making his dick twitch.

“Thanks. It was just him and me for so long. Mom passed when I was so young that I don’t remember her, but Dad, he was my best friend. Taught me everything I know and showed me that plastic surgery wasn’t just about the superficial. But I hadn’t realized just how much went into the actual running of the practice, not just the seeing patients part. It’s kinda taken over my life.”

“So have you not been doing as much with Operation Smile?”