Page 91 of Take Me Home for Christmas

“Duh!” She looked up at him, her eyes shiny. “Don’t mind me. I’m happy for you. Really. And I have Gabby now. It’s been seven years since you saved me. It’s about time I learned to stand on my own two feet.”

Hayden placed his hand over one of hers. “You’ll always have my extra foot to keep you balanced,” he told her, repeating a joke they’d shared since meeting at the rehab hospital years before.

It had the desired effect. Simone laughed. “Get away from me before I make a sloppy mess all over these presents.”

He patted her on the shoulder, then weaved through the crowd toward Elle. Just as he walked up, Emily scurried away to fetch a new gift to wrap, allowing them a moment of privacy.

“Livi and Jeremy?” he asked quietly while brushing Elle’s hand with his fingers.

“I know. Nobody had that one on their bingo card,” she murmured. “Imagine my surprise when I arrived at breakfast, and my mom hit me with that bombshell.”

“Should we be concerned about her?”

Elle’s eyes grew soft as she smiled at him. “Don’t worry, Captain America. I spoke with her this afternoon.” She chuckled. “It sounds like we ought to be more worried for Jeremy. Livi may give him a run for his money. Literally. She’s eager to land a husband. If she doesn’t marry before she’s thirty, she’ll lose the trust her grandfather set up for her.”

Hayden didn’t know whether to be insulted or relieved he’d dodged that bullet. “Wow. A trust fund match made in heaven.”

“Your mom doesn’t think so.”

“Mm.” He laced one of his fingers through one of hers. “She doesn’t dictate how I live my life.” And if she didn’t get onboard with his plans, she was going to miss out on his life.

“I found another ball, Aunt Elle.” Emily raced back to their workstation.

Elle groaned. “You’re killing me, Em. Why must you pick the hardest things to wrap?”

The little girl giggled.

Hayden glanced around the room. “Is my aunt here?”

“She was earlier, but she was swamped,” Elle said. “I wanted to ask her if she knew where I could find West. He’s been playing least in sight all day.”

“He’s probably tired from all the dancing last night,” Emily remarked. “We got a standing ovation, you know.”

“And it was well-deserved.” Hayden leaned down to brush a kiss over Emily’s head. “I’m going to look for my aunt. Save me some of the hard presents. We’ll wrap them together.”

“Yay!” Emily exclaimed.

He found his aunt in the front of the store waiting on the last of the day’s customers. When she’d finished, he followed them to the door, locked it after they were outside and turned the open sign to closed.

“That was a helluva long day,” Aunt Kitty said. “Christmas Eve is the day after tomorrow, and everyone has decided to knit their last-minute gifts.”

“My mom wasn’t here helping?”

Aunt Kitty’s face told him everything he needed to know. “She wasn’t feeling well today.”

He swore.

“She loves you, Hayden.” His aunt rubbed her forehead. “She hasn’t dealt with your life’s difficulties as well as you have, that’s all. The only way she can think of how to handle things is by overcompensating. Trying to ‘fix’ everything so your life is perfect.”

“Her idea of perfect and my idea are not the same.” He loathed the anger in his voice. His mother was the only one he had. And for the most part, she was a good mom. Her contempt of Elle wouldn’t be tolerated, however.

“All she wants is for you to be happy,” Aunt Kitty said.

“Let’s hope so, because odds are she won’t like my next act.”

Aunt Kitty plopped down on the stool behind the counter. “How so?”

Hayden sighed. “Uncle Theo’s brother, the woodworker with the storefront. You mentioned he was looking for an apprentice to take over his business. Do you think you could reach out to him and see if he still has an opening?”

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