Page 19 of Holiday Surprise

I laughed. “You mean like you didn’t fight it?” I had a front row seat for that catastrophe.

She snorted. “I’m trying to tell you to do better than I did.”

“I went to see him this morning and tell him I was leaving Collier. I was going to ask Thomas to see if I could relocate to Westin Pack for a few years.”

“And...” she asked.

“And, I don’t know. It was so strange. I met a girl there, someone from his pack. Turns out she’s my cousin. I couldn’t hate her, Lil. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. It made me look at the whole run-down area in a different light. They aren’t so different from us. Hell, in my case they’re literally family even. I don’t know how Dad’s going to take the news.”

“Did you talk to Luke?” she asked.

“Yeah for about an hour.”

“And,” she persisted.

“And what?”

“Are you leaving us, Sydney?”

“No. I couldn’t, at least not yet.”

We said goodbye as I pulled up to my house. I had always loved my home, but as I walked in and really took a look around, it felt so lonely and empty. I had more things than Luke had at his place, but it felt just as sparse. It was missing him.

I curled up on my couch and pulled the pillow to me, and then I cried myself back to sleep. The idea of needing someone that much, and so quickly, terrified me.

I woke up just before sunrise and knew I wasn’t going back to sleep again. Peyton should be working the breakfast shift at the diner. I didn’t want to drag her into my mess of a life, but I desperately needed to talk to her. She was mated to a Larken, which meant she was the only person that truly could understand what I was going through.

It was a short drive over to Kate’s Diner and I still had plenty of time before I needed to open the shop. It had been busier than usual because of the holiday rush and last-minute shoppers. I’d even seen quite a few out-of-towners and my online store had blown up since Thanksgiving. Business was great and I loved it. While I knew the online store would be more than sufficient to sustain me, I would miss the day to day stuff and helping my friends find the perfect outfit for special occasions or even just because. The online store was so impersonal. I loved talking with my customers each and every day.

“Hey Sugar,” Kate said as I walked in. She passed me by with her arms loaded and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Not used to seeing you up this early.”

I groaned. “Pack runs always throw me off. Guess I just slept too much yesterday.”

She laughed. “The place is filling up quickly, so I’d say that’s the norm for today. Grab a seat anywhere.”

“Actually, I need to talk to Peyton. Is she in?”

“Sure, head on into the back. She’s a little busy, but that girl can cook and chat like no other one I know.”

“Thanks, Kate.”

I walked back into the kitchen and found Peyton flipping pancakes at the stove and barking orders to the rest of the kitchen staff.

“Hey Syd. What in the world are you doing in my kitchen at this hour?” she asked with a smile.

I frowned and tried not to cry yet again. I had been an emotional mess since the moment I first laid eyes on Luke Larken.

“Oh sweetie, what is it? It can’t be that bad.”

“It’s not. It is. I just, I don’t know.”

She gave me a knowing look. “Eddie, you’re on pancakes, and if you burn even a single one, I’ll have your hide. You hear me?”

“Yes ma’am,” Eddie hollered back.

Peyton grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into the back kitchen. It was a special room designed for date nights where she would do a live cooking presentation while entertaining her guests. It had been a huge hit and was booked way out for weeks in advance.

“Sit, and talk. What’s wrong? I know you would never come to me unless it was serious, or you thought I could help in some way. Spit it out quickly, cause I’m expecting a full house this morning.”

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