Christmas Delight
Автор
Heather Teston
Прочтений
232K
Глав
22
Scout swears off Christmas cheer when her engagement shatters in the most humiliating way possible. All she wants is to hide away in her cabin, lick her wounds, and avoid every bit of holiday sparkle. But the man in the cabin across from hers has other plans. Dylan is warm, persistent, and far too charming for her peace of mind. He won’t let her wallow, no matter how many times she tries to shut him out. Slowly, against her will, the spark of Christmas starts to sneak back into her world—and so does Dylan. Yet behind his grin lies a secret that could undo everything. As their connection deepens, Scout must decide: is Dylan the second chance she never expected, or the heartbreak waiting to happen?
Chapter 1
A short Christmas story: Scout was getting ready for work. She was one of the secretaries at Carson’s firm, which happened to be where Andrew was a lawyer.
She had met him there two years ago when she was hired. They started dating, and a year later, he proposed to her. But to this day, they still hadn’t set a date.
While she waited for her roommate to come out of the bathroom, she looked at the diamond on her ring finger. It was a princess cut, and she loved how it sparkled.
“Oh, man, are you staring at that damn ring again?” Vicky asked as she came out of the bathroom.
“I can’t help it. It’s so beautiful.”
“So, have you two set a date yet?”
“No, but our trip is going to be so romantic—we’re going to put up a tree and go skiing.”
“I don’t know why you want to go so far away from your family and friends with that man,” she said bitterly.
“I still don’t understand what you have against him. What has he ever done to you that makes you dislike him so much?”
“I hate the way he treats you.”
“What do you mean?”
“For a man who is supposed to love you, he sure doesn’t show it. I hate the way he treats all women as if they’re second-class citizens. He’s rude and arrogant, and lately, he’s been breaking dates with you at the last minute. I’m sorry, Scout, but you deserve better—someone who will treat you with love and respect.”
“I don’t want to argue with you, and I have to get ready for work.” She went into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
It bothered her greatly that her best friend disliked Andrew. Vicky was right in some ways; he did have a habit of forgetting about her when they went to parties. Lately, he would call at the last minute to break their date, saying he had an important client to see.
But there were times when he was so sweet, sending her flowers and little gifts. When they were alone, he was very attentive.
When she arrived at work, Andrew was nowhere to be found. She was told he had stepped out and wouldn’t be back until the afternoon.
All morning, she kept humming along to the Christmas music. She loved this time of year: the decorated trees, the bright, twinkling lights, and the homemade Christmas cookies.
This year was going to be even more special—he was taking her away, and it would only be the two of them. They would finally set a date for the wedding.
It was quitting time, so she went to Andrew’s office to see if he wanted to go out for dinner.
She knocked once and entered. “I see you finally made it to work,” she said, closing the door behind her.
He looked up at her and straightened his hair. “Yeah, been busy with a client.”
She walked over to him, putting her arms around his neck, and was a little hurt when he removed them and walked away from her.
She decided to let it go, not wanting to fight before their trip. “I thought we could go out to dinner, to celebrate going away.”
“Not tonight, I’m too tired,” he said, not looking at her.
“Oh, okay. Well, I guess I should start packing for our trip. I’m looking forward to it—it’s going to be so romantic.” She noticed how nervous he was and thought there was a problem with his client. “Did it not go well with your client?” she asked.
He finally looked at her. “Scout, sit down. We need to talk.”
“Andrew, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
“I won’t be going away with you.”
“Why not?” Now she was worried.
“Janet’s pregnant.”
She scrunched up her eyebrows, wondering what the office skank had to do with their trip. “I’m not surprised she got pregnant; she sleeps with every man she meets. But what has that got to do with us?”
“The baby is mine.”
She felt the room spinning and had to sit down. She knew she wasn’t hearing right. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly.”
He went and sat on the edge of his desk, facing her. “I didn’t mean for her to get pregnant; it just happened. So I will be spending the holidays with her in Florida. I also said I would marry her since she has refused to get rid of it.”
Scout felt sweat forming on her forehead, and a sharp pain cut through her heart. “How…how long has it been going on?”
He got up and walked over to the window, looking out. “I’m not sure, maybe six months.”
“I thought you loved me and wanted a life together.” She couldn’t stop the tears that filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
He turned back to look at her. “The sex was so amazing, and I was weak.”
“So you’re saying sex with me was boring?” Her voice came out high.
“Mm—no, not boring, but with her, it was different, more erotic.” He walked over to her and got on his knees in front of her. “Just because I’m marrying her doesn’t mean we have to stop seeing each other,” he said.
She could feel her cheeks flaming as she stared back at him. She tried to hide that her hands had started to shake. “So now you want me to be the mistress?”
“Sure,” he replied, smiling at her.
She slapped him so hard her hand stung. “You fucking pig.” She took off the ring and threw it at him, hitting him in the face. “I hope you’ll be happy with your little slut, but I never want to see or talk to you ever again.”
She stormed out of the office, fighting to hold back the tears. Grabbing a taxi, she went straight home.
Her heart was broken, and her whole life was torn apart.
***
Vicky was sitting at the kitchen table and looked up when Scout walked in. She could see that her friend had been crying.
“Scout, what’s wrong?”
She didn’t answer, just ran to her bedroom, fell onto the bed, and started bawling her eyes out.
When she felt a hand gently rubbing her back, she looked up. “I hate him so much.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?” It broke her heart to see her friend in so much pain.
She sat up, wiping her tears away. “He had the nerve to suggest that we keep seeing each other.”
Vicky hugged her, letting her cry some more. “Hey, let’s go open up a bottle of wine and think of ways to kill the prick.”
Of course, she didn’t mean it about killing him, though he would have deserved it. They sat down with the wine and talked.
“Go ahead and say it,” she said to Vicky.
“Say what?”
“Why didn’t I see what was going on right under my nose?”
“Is he even sure the baby is his?” Vicky asked.
“Does it matter? He admitted to cheating on me. He didn’t even look like he was sorry.”
Finishing the one bottle, Vicky opened the other one. “Is he taking her to the Swiss Alps?”
“No, they’re going to Florida to visit her parents.” Her eyes lit up when a thought hit her. “You know what?”
“What?”
“I have the plane tickets, the cabin has been booked and paid for, so why shouldn’t I go myself?”
“But you’ll be all alone at Christmas.”
“You could come with me. I do have his ticket on me.”
“Oh, honey, I’d love to, but my parents are expecting me. You should come with me. My folks would love to have you.”
“I’m glad my parents have gone to Paris for Christmas. I hate the thought of telling them Andrew and I broke up.”
“But they will want to know.”
“I’ll tell them when they come back. I just don’t want to spoil their holiday.”
“But you’ll be all alone.”
“I need to think about what I’m going to do after the holidays.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Whether or not I’m going to stay working at the same place where Andrew does or look for another job. I’m not sure I can face him every day—or her.”
They spent the rest of the night getting drunk on wine and taking all the pictures with Andrew in them and burning them.
It made her feel good seeing his face disappear under the flames. Now all she had to do was get over him and mend her broken heart.
