Page 34 of Naughty or Nice?

“This is how it has to be, Nick. Please… please just focus on your family. Forget about me. I’ll… I’ll be fine. I’ll be out of your hair by tomorrow morning. Flight or no flight. I’ll get a rental if I have to and drive home by myself. Anything to not ruin your family.”

Both men are getting up off the floor when I spin on my heel and rush toward the bedroom. The instant the door slams shut, I twist the lock and tune out any protests that come from the other side. No matter what they say—or how Nicholas pleads with me to open the door—I don’t give in.

This is what’s for the best.

CHAPTER 11

Nicholas

Kendall never answers the door.

Nate and I can barely meet each other’s eyes.

After what’s transpired this morning, neither of us know how to proceed. Nate storms out only a few minutes after Kendall’s locked herself inside the bedroom. His tires screech as his car swings out of his parking spot and zips down the street.

A heavy sigh rumbles out of me. I scrub a hand over my beard and conclude it’s a lost cause.

At least at this moment.

Kendall’s made it clear she wants nothing to do with us. Our fighting scared her; the tryst we’ve had makes her ashamed.

It doesn’t change how I feel.

I know what I want, and that’s her.

But I also deeply respect her, so if she wants some space, I’m more than willing to give it.

I’m sure Nate rushed off to tell the rest of the family. I’m not so quick to go home.

My stop after leaving the Airbnb is a stop I’ve made many times over the last nine years. My Range Rover pulls up outside the Morrow Cemetery and I twist off the engine. The layout of the cemetery is so familiar, I can find Laura’s headstone with my eyes closed.

Kneeling in the snow before her, I lay some fresh flowers and heave a great sigh. Her passing will always hurt on some level. I’ll always love and miss her.

No one will ever replace her or erase the loving life we created together.

All things that go without saying.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t move on from the place I’ve been in. From all the grief and heartbreak of losing her.

It’s taken me years. It’s been the most difficult time of my life. I’m finally in a place where I feel like I’m ready to move forward. I’ve finally met a woman who I believe I could potentially do that with.

“Laura, sweetheart, I’m sure you’re looking down on us, shaking your head. I didn’t intend to move on like this—not with Nate’s ex. You know what’s in my heart. You know I love our family more than life itself. But what am I supposed to do when I’ve met someone who can make me feel something for the first time since you passed? You told me you wanted me to go on living. Well… I… I think I’m finally ready to.”

Silence answers me. Nothing but soughing gusts of wind that brush against me and ruffle my white hairs.

Yet I know deep inside that Laura hears me. Laura’s answering me.

She’s reassuring me of what I already know.

My intentions have been pure. So are my feelings.

I’m a loving father and family man. I’m a man who loves the woman in his life with everything he has. Always have been, always will be.

More certain than ever where I stand and how to proceed, I touch the headstone like I can feel Laura. It’s my version of a goodbye ’til the next time I can come visit.

It’s only a few hours into the morning. Christmas is still salvageable.

I walk through the door to pointed stares and poignant silence from the rest of the family. Obvious clues that Nate’s already been here and told them everything.

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