Page 12 of Meet Me on Christmas Eve

“Your nose is literally in the air. Can you see me all the way down here?”

“You’re taller than me, dumbass.”

“See?”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re wasting my time.”

His eyebrows rose. “See?”

“That’s not—” I stopped. This was pointless. I took a step forward. Maybe I’d just try to push him. I was getting desperate. Ihadto leave. “Please move.”

He just looked at me, his eyes penetrating my soul. “Are you thinking maybe you can force me to move?”

How was he reading my mind? Infuriating man! “Maybe.”

“Go ahead and try. I’d enjoy that.” His eyes held a sense of daring.

I took a step back. No way in hell. “No, thank you.”

We stared at each other for a long time, and I hated how fast my pulse was racing, how red I knew my cheeks must be.

Finally, he moved out of the way. “I liked the old Mariana better.”

“Of course you did,” I said, my tone seething. “She adored you and hung onto your every word like a lovesick puppy.” I wanted to addwhom you then abandoned, but I still had some pride.

“Maybe. Or maybe I liked that she wasn’t an ice queen.” With that parting shot, he strode away.

Chapter 4

Agoddamn ice queen. I’ll give him an ice queen. If I ever see that jerk again, I’m going to make it clear how little he meant to me, how beneath my notice he is now—and not because of his financial status but just because of the asshole he is. I’ll show him the ice queen. I’ll—

“Mari, sorry I’m late,” Hazel said, striding into my office.

I jumped a bit, startled from my dark reverie. I’d been ruminating for far too long about the run-in with Terry yesterday. What I should be doing is assessing my emotions and determining how to avoid such a colossal emotional disaster again, but instead, I’m focusing on him. I frowned as I thought of all the time wasted this morning.

“You look like you’re in a bad mood. Or is it because I’m late?” she asked. She looked contrite, which was unusual for her. I was immediately suspicious.

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine. What’s up, Hazel?” I peered at her closely as she sank into the sofa in my office.

“Come, sit,” she said, waving me over. Once I was seated next to her, she started, “So, slight bump in the road. Jane is waffling.”

What I loved about Hazel was her directness. Though it was sometimes jarring, it never left me wondering or impatient. Still, I was surprised. “Huh. I really felt things were going in a great direction when we met. How serious is this?”

“It’s … well, could be serious. I don’t want to speculate. We have some work to do.” She kicked off her shoes and put her feet under her.

I inhaled and then exhaled slowly. “OK,” I said slowly. “Lay it on me.”

“She’s not agreeing to the initial proposed terms. She’s not sure if she wants to sell at all.” She paused. “We have to convince her.”

I wet my lips. “OK, let’s get Jeff, so he can run numbers—”

“Not with money. She doesn’t seem to care about that as much as she cares about the … legacy of the place.”

I nodded slowly. “Oh. So, she wants to see our business plan? I wasn’t quite prepared to put together something really detailed at this point, but I guess we could come up with—”

“Maybe, but I think you should start thinking about this in a more … holistic way. She loves this place and wants to see it grow or at least be maintained with the unique charm it has, so I don’t know if numbers and business plans are what will excite her. It’s probably necessary, but I get the sense … with her personality, you might have to win her over personally too. With yourself. Your ideas. You.”

I’m sure if I could’ve seen my own face then, it would’ve become a picture of horror, as I did not like what I was hearing. At all.

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