Page 32 of A Christmas Mystery

“Well, yeah. Kind of. But it’s Tee’s fault. She’s the one who pressured him into helping me figure out my pen pal.”

“Why would Theo know?”

“He doesn’t know. But Tee thought he’d be a good person to bounce ideas off of. So he’s been helping me interview my potentials.”

Daniela laughs softly. “So you two have been going around conducting interviews with unsuspecting targets?”

I can’t help but giggle too. It is kind of silly when you think about it that way. “It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds. I mean, maybe it’s a little ridiculous, but I think it’s a legitimate mission. We’re being discreet about it.”

“And Theo also believes this to be a reasonable and rational way to spend his weekend?”

My shoulders stiffen. “Yes. I mean, maybe he was a little bit pressured by Tee, but if he thought it was too stupid, he would have said so. He’s been helping me for real.”

“He was good friends with Chris,” Tee puts in with an odd, overly casual manner. “No doubt he feels responsibility toward Maya because of that. After all, Chris would want her to be happy, and the Humphrey boy likely feels obliged to help because of that.”

This comment might make sense from a certain point of view, but it doesn’t sit well with me at all. It doesn’t feel right or true, and the fact that Tee is the one who spoke it is highly disorienting.

Tee is watching me with a sideways look, and Daniela is openly staring with a skeptical expression. “Is that what it is, Maya? He’s feeling obliged?”

“I... I don’t know.”

“Don’t you?” Daniela has a blunt manner that’s sometimes refreshingly direct and sometimes like a punch to the gut.

“Why else would he be helping?” Tee asks, her gazing moving down to her coffee cup. “It appears he devoted his entire weekend to you. What other reason could there be than guilt and responsibility because of Chris?”

She sounds light. Innocent. Guileless.

And Tee is never innocent.

My spine stiffens even more. “If you have something to ask, you can just ask it.”

“Yes. I know that. But if I asked it directly, you would never answer me.”

“I would too.”

“You would try, but you’re in protection mode right now. No one should blame you for that. It’s entirely natural and normal. But because of it, there are a number of things you don’t want to admit to yourself.”

The words hit me like a blow. Leave me stunned and breathless. It takes a minute for me to get even a few words said. “But... But I don’t... I don’t think that’s...”

“Maybe not. But that’s what it looks like to me.” Tee’s expression is gentler than normal. “I’m trying not to trap you in a corner with a host of realizations you’re not ready for. But that very serious young man would not have spent his entire weekend on such a dubious enterprise out of nothing more than secondhand responsibility.”

I swallow several times over a hard lump. “He... he’s just helping me.”

“Yes,” Tee replies. “He is. But why is he helping?”

“Because he...”

I have no coherent answer to give her because there’s only one answer that comes to me. Only one answer that feels right.

He must not dislike me anymore. He must have some sort of warm feelings for me. After all, there’s no other explanation for the way he held me in his arms all night.

Even if he’s a covert snuggler, he wouldn’t want to snuggle with a woman he doesn’t even like.

My face gets warmer and warmer as I come to this conclusion. As I remember how he was holding me last night. How he acted yesterday evening. How close to him I felt.

I have to use both hands to cover my face, desperately needing to hide for a few seconds.

Hide from... everything.

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