Page 48 of Sleighing You
Chapter 21
Avery
He was planning to move here?I thought he said he was only planning to be in Maple Grove a few weeks? A few months at the longest with maybe a few pop-ins from time to time to check on the expansion?
I needed time to breathe… to think. And I really didn’t want to have to watch as they voted Helena onto the board. Not that I thought he would go running back into her arms… but it was glaringly clear that I didn’t belong here. I definitely didn’t belong at this party. And I didn’t think I even belonged on Chris’s arm.
I eased the bathroom door shut, betraying my urge to slam it. My lungs burned with each heaving breath. IlikedChris. Him staying in Maple Grove longer should be good news. But were we just setting ourselves up for heartbreak?
I looked into the mirror at my red-rimmed eyes, willing the tears away. Not now.Avery Pinkerton does not cry. Especially not at work andnotin front of her boss.Though I wasn’t sure if I was referring to Jack or Chris in that moment.
The porcelain faucet handle was cold against my fingers. With a quick push, it opened the valve and water flowed from the faucet. I splashed my wet palms against my heated cheeks. Chris wants to stay in Maple Grove… but did he want to stay only because of me? Because of the store? Or did he truly love it here?
I wasn’t sure which answer was better. If he was only staying because of me, he’d eventually grow bored and leave. Or worse, he’d stay, realize he hated it here and resent me for the rest of his life.
Don’t be crazy, Avery.Chris was a grown man who could make decisions that didn’t completely hinge on who he’d slept with the night before. Yes, he likes me. He likes me despite the difference in our upbringing; despite the fact that he used to date a supermodel. But the store was his life. Without the store, he wouldn’t make this decision to move to Maple Grove.The store is the catalyst, not me.
I felt strangely better. A crushing weight lifted from my chest.
I blinked, looking in the mirror and trying to see myself the way he might see me. Big blue eyes that were pretty despite the bit of mascara running, thanks to my stupid tears. Full lips. High cheekbones.
Maybe more importantly, what did I see when I looked at Chris? Though his striking green eyes and boyish grin came to mind first, it was his laugh that stuck in my thoughts. The way he loved Kringle and would take him for a walk for me. The sweet way he played with the kids at the store. His passion for numbers and business and travel.
Maybe Helena was wrong. He and I weren’t so different. We came from different lives, yes… but Chris and I? We were more alike than not. I took a deep breath and exited the bathroom as Mr. Wallace, one of our older board members, walked up to the door. I smiled and stepped aside.
His white hair held a tinge of yellow from the reflection of the overhead lights. He gave me a curt nod as he shuffled into the doorway I held open for him. “Aren’t you supposed to be using the upstairs restroom?”
I blinked, not understanding what he was saying. Did he know I’d been upstairs in this house? That I had spent the night with Chris just last night?
“Excuse me?”
“The caterers… aren’t you supposed to use the bathroom upstairs?”
I glanced down at my red skirt and white shirt as tears pricked the back of my eyes.He thought I was one of the caterers.I’d been to at least three board meetings over the years and several company Christmas parties. I’d met and talked to Mr. Wallace many times, including at this party tonight… not to mention I’d just given a presentation minutes ago on a project that he himself had voted to approve.
Was I so unmemorable? Because I wasn’t wearing Hermes and I didn’t come from some sort of American royalty bloodline, the board couldn’t even bother to remember who I was?
I clenched my fists painfully at my sides. “Mr. Wallace… I’m an employee of StoryBook—”
“Of course, dear. All our independent contractors are.”
He didn’t allow me to finish speaking before he shut the bathroom door in my face.
This. This was the kind of bullshit I had to face. The kind of thing Chris would never have to deal with. Mallery would never experience. And no one in their right mind would ever mistakenly think Helena was a caterer.
Which meant… Helena was right when she said I would never fit in here. She was also callous and mean and two-faced, but she wasright.
I needed air. Again. Only I had learned my lesson from last time… don’t go outside without a coat. Not even for a quick reset.
I walked toward the side room where Chris had put everyone’s coats. I was only a few feet down the hall, when Mallery’s voice stopped me, coming from inside the coat room. “But did you see what she’swearing? Chris, she looks like—”
“I know what she looks like. Believe me, I know,” Chris said.
The flush that had only been in my cheeks when Mr. Wallace mistook me for a caterer spread down my neck and cheeks until my whole body was heated. It was one thing for a senile board member to say anything about my outfit… it was a whole other ballgame when it was Mallery. And Chris.
I thought Mallery was myfriendat this company. I thought she respected me. Sure, we didn’t talk much. But we sent Christmas cards every year. And we always caught up at the Fourth of July party Jack and Cecilia hosted yearly… as well as at the Christmas party.
I swallowed against the thick lump forming in my throat. And Chris? He’d said I looked nice tonight. No… beautiful. He’d said I looked beautiful. Was that just a lie? Maybe I didn’t really know him at all.
