Page 56 of A Christmas Duet

Wait a minute…

“Three years,” she repeated slowly. That meant Zach had lost no time in going from breaking her heart to dating someone else. “Anyone I might know?” she asked, her suspicions escalating.

“No,” he said, far too fast to be believable.

Hailey took a few seconds to think about who his recent ex-girlfriend might be. She was enjoying this. “Come on, Zach, confess. Was it Janey White?”

He scoffed. “Hardly.”

“Lilly Wilson.”

“No, stop. You don’t know her.”

“Another lie.” She waved her index finger at him. “Come on, own up and tell me who she is.”

“Stop it,” he snapped. “All right, if you insist on knowing, it was Kate Mulligan.”

“Kate?” Now, that was a shock. Kate had been a friend of Hailey’s. Zach had adamantly disliked her. Because of his attitude, in the last year of college the two friends hadgrown apart. “When did you two get together?” Highly amused, she couldn’t keep the grin off her face.

Zach’s mouth narrowed. “Why do you find this entertaining?” he demanded.

“Seriously, Zach, you claimed Kate was a drama queen and completely self-absorbed.” Now that Hailey thought about it, they were a perfect match.

“She is,” he huffed. “Nothing’s changed. After being with her I realized what a mistake I made when I called it off with you. I came here to make things right. That’s all I want.”

“Zach, listen,” she said, growing serious now. “I’m sorry about you and Kate. It’s difficult to lose someone you assumed was your soulmate.” She should know. When they broke up, she hadn’t been herself for months.

He lowered his eyes, bowed his head, and exhaled slowly. Clearly, Kate had deeply hurt him. Hailey didn’t need to read his body language to see that he was in a lot of emotional pain.

Because she felt bad for him, her words were filled with warmth and kindness when she continued. “I’m sorry this happened to you. It hurts. But looking to recapture what we once shared is a lost cause.” She didn’t feel the need to say anything more.

Zach released a long sigh and seemed to accept her decision. “You’ve found someone else,” he said. “Is it theguy who was in the video with you? I should have known from the way you looked at each other that there was something brewing between you two.” He released a slow breath. “Tell me about him.”

Hailey shook her head. “We’ve only just begun seeing each other. There’s not much to tell.”

“All right,” he said, although he sounded disappointed. It was as though if he had more information about Jay, he could figure out his competition in case the relationship fell through. He reached for his coffee and stared into it for a long moment, as if seeking how best to proceed now. “I’ve made a fool of myself, haven’tI?”

“Not entirely. It was good for us to clear the air.”

He snickered softly, as if he found it difficult to believe her. “I’ll leave in the morning to spend Christmas with my parents. Did you know Jazmine is married now and pregnant?” he told her, mentioning his sister.

Hailey had always liked Zach’s younger sister. “You’ll make a wonderful uncle.”

“I plan on it,” he said, grinning sheepishly.

Arriving as he did, Hailey wondered if he’d found accommodations. “Do you have somewhere to stay for the night?”

“Not yet. After I spoke to your mother, I headed out first thing and didn’t stop until I got here.”

“There’s an extra bedroom upstairs if you don’t mind sleeping in what must have been the grandkids’ room.”

“Bunk beds?”

“You got it.” Grandma Stockton would be pleased to learn how well utilized the cabin had been over the holidays.

He chuckled. “As they say, any port in a storm.”

Hailey went upstairs with him and made sure he was comfortable before heading back to join her sister.

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