Page 9 of Take Me Home for Christmas

When he put it that way, it made more sense.

Sort of.

“We’ve been friends for practically all our lives. I would never think less of you for what went down that night,” he added.

Relief washed over her at his words. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. I’ve missed you.”

The grin he gave her nearly melted her heart. “I’m still here. And still very much your friend.”

Elle launched herself into the familiar embrace of his arms. “I’m so glad you don’t hate me,” she murmured against his chest.

“You know you could have said something sooner.” He braced his hands on her shoulders and stepped back, shooting her a stern look. “You’re important to me, too. Now tell me why you were so weird tonight. Maybe I can help you figure things out.”

She pressed her hands to her eyes. “I was so rude. But this whole thing with West is crazy stressful.”

“Come on,” he said. “It’s late. I’ll walk you back to the inn. You can fill me in along the way.”

He shrugged into a sweatshirt and motioned for her to lead the way out the door.

“He hasn’t finished his book,” she explained once they were on their way. “The publisher thought it would be a good idea for him to get out of New York and find someplace quiet to write. Jeremy suggested my mother’s inn.”

“Jeremy?” Hayden didn’t bother to keep the distaste from his voice. “I didn’t realize you two were back together.”

“Oh, we arenotback together. And we never will be. But his grandmother is the publisher, remember? For some reason, the subject came up, and Jeremy mentioned the Tide Me Over Inn.” She shrugged. “Beats me why he’d want to throw business my mom’s way.”

Hayden scoffed. “West might turn out to be the guest from hell.”

Elle laughed. “He can be quite contrary. And I was sensing some strong undertones from Lamar.”

“His book has rankled some veterans.”

“Ah. I’m just working my way through it now. Honestly, my only concern is that the man finish it. He doesn’t have time to be distracted by all the Christmas activities in town.”

Hayden steered them past a tree root sticking up in the path. “I thought you were a reporter. Since when is it part of your job to watch over authors who are late on their deadlines?”

“Apparently, my skill set involves helping others. Who knew?” she joked. “The truth is, if I can help West finish his book on time, there’s a huge opportunity waiting for me back in New York. I’ve been offered the position as a lifestyles columnist atVantage.”

He whistled. “Wow, Elle. That’s fantastic. And it’s about time.”

She felt herself puff up at the enthusiastic way he responded. “Mm-hmm. I’ll finally be doing something tangible with my life.”

Hayden let out a groan. “Not this again. You’ve got to stop measuring yourself up against the Fab Four. Any job you choose is tangible, as long as it fills you up and you enjoy doing it.”

“Oh, this job will check all those boxes.” At least she hoped so. “I’ve already got some fun ideas.”

They were silent for a long moment as they came to the part of the path that stretched parallel to the beach. It was low tide, and the ocean was peaceful. Moonbeams bounced off the waves as they crawled toward the sand.

“And best of all, it’s in New York,” Hayden eventually said.

“Of course. That’s where all the action is.”

“I don’t remember it being on your radar growing up. I wondered if you might relocate someplace else after things fell apart between you and Jeremy.”

He was right. Elle had never imagined herself living somewhere as big as New York City. She’d tested the waters one summer while in college when she interned forCosmo, but the city’s allure eluded her back then. Elle only followed Jeremy to New York after the Peace Corps because she assumed what they had would last forever.

It hadn’t.

The hustle and bustle of the city had grown on her, though, so she stayed. Given that she still hadn’t decided what to do with her life and her career options were limited to her job atVantage, she saw no reason to live anywhere else right now.

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