Page 9 of A Tinsel Tale

“Or call me Mrs. B if you prefer. Mrs. Barrington is too stodgy.”

I look at the bright-eyed toddler staring at me. “Who’s this little guy?”

“It’s Taylor’s youngest, Henry.”

“Hi, Henry. I’m Evie.”

“I is a dog,” he says grinning impishly. I bite back a smile then glance over and catch Jamie’s intense gaze. Predictably, my cheeks heat.

“Doesn’t Taylor have twins as well?” I ask.

Sue Barrington is all smiles in stark contrast to her son’s broody stare. “Yes. Two girls. They’re four years old already. Time sure does fly. Jamie’s babysitting Henry so Taylor can take the twins to an appointment.” I nod at him then proceed to pretend he’s not here. Not easy when his muscly deltoids and biceps are on display in that tight t-shirt. He’s let his hair grow out a little, I hadn’t noticed before with his ballcap on. The copper curls brush the nape of his neck. There ought to be a law. His eyes are boring into me, and he looks decidedly grumpy. Apparently not happy to see me either.

“I’m going to have to put you down little man, so I can help Nana,” Jamie says setting him on the ground.

“We’ve missed you dear. We were so happy when Bill told us you were going to be here through the holidays. Weren’t we, Jamie?”

He leans against the counter and crosses his arms. “Ecstatic,” he says dryly. I ignore him.

Mrs. B continues, “Congratulations on your big case. AndDateline! Nowthatmust have been thrilling. It was all anyone here could talk about.”

“Thank you. I have to admit, it was a thrill. Surreal, actually. The satisfaction of saving an innocent man from a life sentence made up for having no life of my own outside of work. It’s hard to explain what a huge responsibility it is to represent someone when there’s so much riding on it.”

“We watched your interview onGood Morning Americatoo. Didn’t we Jamie?” I almost laugh when his cheeks turn a little pink. His mom tries her best but it’s about as subtle as a hammer to the head when she declares cheerfully, “I hope you don’t mind but I have to go check on something up at the house. Jamie will ring you up. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, honey, and don’t be a stranger. It’s been way too long. Tell your dad hi.” She scoops up Henry then bustles out before I can get a word in, leaving us warily staring at each other. My stomach sinks. All alone with Jamie. That was not on my bingo card for today.

“I saw your name on a couple of pies. Hang on a sec.” He turns to the fridge and pulls out two pastry boxes with Parker written in magic marker across the top. “One pumpkin, one apple, two pies,” he states.

“I see you hung on to your math skills,” I say. “Glad my tutoring didn’t go to waste.”

His jaw clenches and I smile inwardly with satisfaction. He’s so easy.

“Glad to see you’re putting your sharp tongue to good use,” he responds.

“It’s a skillset.”

“It didn’t used to be.” He winces and I can tell he hadn’t wanted that to slip out.

I’ll admit, it stings a little. Or a lot. Part of me wants to explainNo, I’m not like that,and you deserve everything you get for wrecking my life.But of course, I don’t say it aloud. Let him think the worst. Who cares?Me,a timid voice inside my head says. I ignore her.

“Got big plans for Thanksgiving?” he asks.

I frown. “Not really. Why?”

His brows lift and he nods at the white boxes. “Two pies.”

“Oh, yeah. One plus one,” I say cheekily. He squints at me. “Dee and Caleb and the baby are joining us.”

“Nice. Eloise is adorable,” he says.

I bristle feeling oddly territorial. “You see them much?” I ask snippily.Am I really feeling jealous of my best friend right now?I know Dee wouldn’t tell me if they’d been hanging out because I’ve been very clear I don’t want to hear anything about Jamie.

“Caleb and I hang out, catch a game here and there. We’re friends. We did play ball together you know. Small town… or have you forgotten what that’s like?”

“Hardly,” I say through gritted teeth. He is so annoying. Was he always like this? A memory of him kissing me senseless under the stars one hot summer night comes unbidden and I feel myself respond. Suddenly I’m sixteen again. Guess he wasn’talwaysannoying.

He nods at the basket I’m white knuckling and I loosen my grip. “You finished shopping?’

“Yes.” I set the basket on the counter. “You’ve got wonderful things. I found some great Christmas gifts and some ‘me’ stuff too. I’ll be back,” I admit grudgingly.

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