Page 11 of My Secret Santa Mason

“And it turned into a business?”

I nodded. “I never dreamed I would become an events coordinator. I think when I was young I wanted to become a teacher, actually.” I tapped my chin, trying to think back that far. “But when I started helping out with decorations and organizing events, it turned out I was pretty good at it, and I actually loved doing it. It just made sense to make a living of it.”

“If you do what you love…” Laken started.

“You won’t work a day in your life,” I finished with a chuckle. “Exactly.”

Laken opened another box with box cutters, carefully putting the blade on the shelf before she lifted the flaps.

“So, how do you go from a successful business in the city to leaving it all behind for lil’ ol’ Silver Ridge?”

I hesitated, the familiar knot tightening in my chest. It was a simple question—a normal one, even. But it was the question Ihated most. It made me think back to the past I was trying damn hard to forget. It reminded me of everything I’d lost.

“It was… complicated. Sometimes life just throws a curve ball at you and before you know it, you’re somewhere else.” I tried to keep my tone light, but I could feel the weight of the past pressing down on me.

Laken grinned. “I get what that’s like. Believe me, a few of us have stories like that around here. Silver Ridge has just as many newcomers as it has legacy families, and there are a whole bunch of us who know what it’s like to start over. It must have been hard to walk away from something you built yourself.”

“It was,” I said softly.

The memories of Denver flickered like ghosts in the back of my mind. My business had been everything to me. I’d thought Dylan and I could build an empire. His business and mine, running side by side. Our forces joined. A power couple. Serena had worked at the business with me. It had been a treat to have my best friend by my side as a business colleague. Hell, as a partner. We’d done it all together and we’d been inseparable. Like sisters more than anything else.

But then I’d found out about the two of them, and betrayal had twisted what I loved into something I couldn’t bear to look at anymore. The idea of my business being hers now, and with Serena and Dylan walking the path that should have been reserved for me, made me feel sick.

“Sometimes, you just have to start over. You know?” I hoped Laken wouldn’t see the despair and turmoil that still came back and slapped me in the face when I wasn’t looking.

Laken nodded, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of understanding in her eyes. “Yeah, I know. And for what it’s worth, I’m glad you ended up here. Silver Ridge needs someone like you.”

I smiled. “I love being here. Everyone is just sonice.”

“That’s what it’s like. They’ll kill you with kindness, if anything.” Laken laughed, and I joined in, glad to talk about the present again rather than the past.

Denver was a chapter I wasn’t ready to revisit, but it always lingered at the edges of my mind, a bitterness over what I’d lost.

“Let’s finish this up so that we can take a coffee break. Or an eggnog break—I think they still have a special on at the diner.”

I chuckled and finished up the last of the decorations while Laken chatted about the weather, about her boyfriend’s log-cutting business and how no work meant she could see him more, and a lot of other things that turned into a gentle hum that soothed me. It was easier to listen to someone else, getting lost in their world, than to think about my own.

If I’d been completely alone, my mind would have driven me crazy.

I flashed on Mason, on his intense eyes, the way he carried himself as if he was always waiting for something to happen. How did he manage being alone without his mind driving him crazy? Or maybe he didn’t have the kind of past that haunted him, lingering, never quite letting go.

And if that was the case, I was jealous.

6

MASON

Ihated town. Always had, always would.

Silver Ridge looked like Christmas had thrown up all over it, with merry lights strung across the streets, wreaths on every damn lamppost, and garlands wrapped around every storefront like the whole place was in a contest to out-Christmas the next.

It was too much—too bright, too cheerful, and way too fucking crowded for my liking. And today, thanks to Rae’s meddling, I was stuck here, pretending I gave a shit about Secret Santa and finding a gift for Cami.

Cami.

Just thinking about her made my stomach clench. She was a distraction I didn’t need—beautiful, sweet, and way too friendly. She was like Christmas personified, bringing cheer and brightness and all the sickening goodness right with her.

Except, she wasn’t sickening.

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