Page 72 of A Christmas Bargain

They both wanted to know more about Derek and Naomi, and I shared more about them. How Jenna passed away. How Stacy seemed like an overprotective sister.

“I haven’t even seen the property. I’ve been staying at his house, but we haven’t discussed anything about what he’d sell me,” I said as I wrapped the gift for Naomi.

Dad grinned and shook his head. “Then call that deal off. You won’t need it with Grace cleaning up her own mess this time. Go for what your heart wants and let business stay separate.”

I held that thought in my head on the drive back to Preston. My heart felt light. Hope lifted my spirits. The closer I came to him, I realized the true meaning of cominghome.

“Derek?” I called out quietly after I let myself in. It was late, later than I thought I’d be. Naomi was likely asleep.

He was sitting on the couch, looking at the tree. That vacant, uneasy expression remained on his face.

Uh-oh.I wasn’t sure if speaking up about my feelings would be smart now.

“I worried you weren’t coming back,” he said quietly.

I set Naomi’s gift under the tree. “No. Of course, I was. I stayed to wrap this and caught up with Grace and my dad.”

He swallowed and nodded. As I sat next to him, he cringed.

“I didn’t like thinking that I might never see you again.”

I sighed, taking his hand. Damn, he really was thinking about grief and remembering how he’d lost Jenna.

“And I hate that I might have done something that would make you not want to come back.”

I furrowed my brow. “What?”

He shifted to face me. “Claire, we need to talk.”

I held my breath.

It didn’t seem fair to come from such a high of hope and love to sink to a worried grip of dread. His troubled expression couldn’t bode well for this talk.

24

DEREK

“Okay.” She swallowed, nervous and uneasy. But she wasn’t running. Of course, she wasn’t. Claire had proven to be tough. Yet, I hated that I’d given her a reason not to smile and to look worried at all.

“In fact,” she said after she cleared her throat, “I need to talk to you as well.”

I held up my hand. “Please. Let me get this off my chest.”

“O… Okay.”

I drew in a deep breath then expelled it. “I don’t want to sell you an inch of my land. I never did.”

She didn’t react, staring at me like she was frozen.

“I deliberately worded it loosely like that as a loophole. I didn’t want to outright lie and say I’d sell anything because I didn’t want to. I never wanted to sell any of this land, but when I realized that you were in this area for business and you were actively looking for land to develop, I made that appointment just for an excuse to talk to you again.”

I waited, giving her a chance to let this sink in. I’d rehearsed all night, pacing and muttering. Naomi was invited to Stacy and Nicky’s house for a sleepover, and I jumped on the opportunity to have alone time with Claire. I wanted to do this right. Ifwe could be together, I wanted to do so knowing no secrets or regrets could stand between us.

“So when I emailed about that land…”

I nodded. “I replied knowing it was you.”

“But you had no intention to sell.”

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