Page 32 of Wrapped in You

Sophie nearly lost track of her tongs.

"Oh! Good morning."

Derek sniffed and set his hands on his hips. "I can't remember the last time I ate bacon. It was always one of my favorite foods."

Sophie felt a smile quiver over her lips. "Do you like it extra crispy?"

"Who doesn't?"

Sophie kept a few slabs of bacon on the griddle a bit longer than the others and then slid them onto a plate. Derek took it. "Thank you," he said softly.

Behind him, the cast and crew continued to set up for the day ahead, hurrying from one end of the set to the other, their eyesfrantic. Sophie hadn't asked the sound guys which scene they were filming today. Was that a question she could ask Derek? Oh, but he didn't have time for her silly questions. He was the director. He had a thousand things to do.

But before she knew it, she heard herself say, "Which scene are you filming today?"

Instead of flying off the handle, Derek perked up. It was almost as though he enjoyed talking to her about this Christmas film he supposedly hated. Almost.

"We're still in the scene from yesterday," he said.

"Right. The one where Natalie's and Brent's characters take time to themselves," Sophie said.

"It's a classic rom-com situation," Derek explained, crunching through the bacon. "They carve out space for themselves because they don't want to get hurt. They choose loneliness over risk. At least, momentarily."

Sophie filled her lungs. Was it just her, or did his words feel especially heavy right now?

They didn't want to get hurt.

Just like Derek.

Just like me.

"I can relate to that," Sophie offered, then clamped her lips shut.Why am I telling Derek this?

"I think most humans can," Derek offered. "We've all had our hearts broken. We've all had to find a way to get through."

Sophie smiled. "My parents got married at eighteen after never dating anyone but each other. I imagine romantic 'heartbreak' is just a fantasy idea to them."

Derek laughed gently. "Lucky people."

Sophie waved her tongs nervously. A blush crawled up her neck and cheeks. "When I went through my breakup, they tried to say all the right things to pull me through. They tried to offer 'perspective.' But I could feel how inexperienced they were."

Derek's smile widened. Why was Sophie talking so quickly? She felt like she was babbling.

"Do you remember what they said?" Derek asked.

"They used a lot of clichés," Sophie offered thoughtfully. "It was like they'd googled 'how to help my adult daughter through a breakup' and parroted everything the articles told them to say."

Derek cackled louder than she'd expected. "I'm sorry," he said. Tears glinted in his eyes. "It's obvious they love you so much."

"They really do," Sophie said. "And I'm so lucky to have them. But ice cream and films did a whole lot more for me and my broken heart than their silly clichés."

"What kind of movies did you watch?" Derek asked.

Sophie didn't hesitate. "Christmas movies, mostly. My sister and I watched about a million of them while her babies slept in the next room."

Derek rubbed the back of his neck.

What was it about Christmas he hated so much? His wife, Georgia, literally wroteSilver Bells. Didn't they celebrate the holiday together? Or was Georgia forced to decorate and celebrate by herself?

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