Page 43 of Sleighing You
Chapter 18
Chris
Fling. I couldn’t get that word out of my head. Or the way Avery had pulled away from me. A few days ago, if you had asked me if I would prefer a one-night stand or a girlfriend… without a doubt, I would have chosen a one-night stand.
But Avery was different in all the best ways. And if these past few days had proven anything to me, it was that I was better because of her. I didn’t know what our relationship would look like or how it would work… I only knew I wanted to try. I wanted Avery.
My dad settled beside me where I stood in front of the fireplace. It was the best view of the room… or rather the best view of Avery where she was currently making small talk with our marketing director. “So,” Dad said, rocking back on his heels. “You missing Boston?”
I took a sip of the beer that I was nursing and shook my head. “Not as much as I thought I would.”
“There’s something magical about this little town.”
“It’s not the town… it’s the people.” A lump had lodged in my throat, and my chest felt tight.
Dad’s gaze had shifted to me. Though I wasn’t looking at him, I could see him staring from the corner of my eye. “What?”
“You’re in love.”
I snorted and shook my head. “Please. I’ve only known her a few days.”And had only been with her one night.
I was met with silence. Finally, with a roll of my eyes, I looked over at my dad and he slowly replied. “I didn’t say withwhomyou were in love.” His brows were lifted; his cheeks were rosy, and his beard, although not entirely white as snow, was turning more and more gray every year. Damn, but he really did look like Santa Claus… even while balanced on crutches. “But I sure had hoped it would be Avery.”
What?“You mean… did you set this up?”
He laughed. “Not exactly. I had hoped you two would hit it off. She’s a great girl.”
Excitement churned in my gut. This whole time I thought for sure we would have to deal with the consequences of our relationship and explain ourselves to my parents. “Aren’t you worried about me dating someone who works for us?”
The crutches clicked against the hardwood floor as he shifted to face me. “Well, that would be hypocritical, wouldn’t it? Considering I met your mother when she was my boss when we were just teenagers.”
“I forgot about that.” Mom’s family had owned a department store… where Dad had gotten his first job. “I actually wanted to ask you about Avery. A work thing; not a personal thing.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Before we… she and I…”Ah, hell.This was not going as planned. I had wanted to bring this up outside of the context of me and Avery as a couple. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I had this idea before I became romantic with Avery, but I wanted to run it by you. I want to nominate her as an official board member.”
Dad nodded, but remained silent.
“She knows the company better than half of our board,” I said, dropping my voice to nearly a whisper. “Her ideas are incredible. And… I think she should head our nonprofit and charity department.”
Dad leaned onto his crutches and reached for his mug of hot chocolate which was resting on the fireplace mantle. “We don’t have a nonprofit and charity department.”
I pointed at him. “Exactly. But we should. Christmas is about giving back to our communities and if StoryBook is truly about the spirit of Christmas… this is something we should be doing.”
“That’s an awful lot of work for one person. She’ll be joining the board, running the charities for the company,andmanaging the flagship store?”
I swallowed, that lump growing thicker. “That’s why I thought I’d stay here in Maple Grove. She and I can share the duties of the store and the nonprofit. As long as Avery agrees, of course.” This plan depended on Avery, too… provided shewantedthese positions. And wanted to share them with me. My stomach roiled at the thought that she might not want me here with her.
Dad smiled and placed a hand on my arm, giving it a squeeze. “It’s a brilliant idea. Let’s propose it after your presentation for the expansion.”
I grinned at my dad, and in that moment, I saw myself a few decades in the future. It had never before occurred to me how alike we looked. “Avery’s presenting the expansion. More than half the ideas were hers anyway.”
“You look happy, son. Happier than you ever seemed with that witch of an ex of yours.”
My face twisted. “Helena?” My words faded. “What we had wasn’t real. It bruised my ego that she cheated on me so publicly. But I never really loved her.”
“I knew that,” Dad said simply.
I exhaled a quiet laugh and shook my head. “You did, did you?”
He nodded. “I did. Just like I know you love Avery. That girl is something else. Don’t screw it up.”
“I’ll try not to.” But something told me I already had screwed up. I just hoped it wasn’t beyond fixing.
