Page 40 of A Cozy Kind of Christmas
Meg didn’t trust herself to respond, so she nodded, stabbing the marshmallow with the pointy tip, and considered stabbing herself in the arm. Maybe that would take the sting of losing Matt away.
“Anyway, I hope you’ll come. Matt is obsessed with you. He won’t shut up about your writing. Like I mentioned earlier, we have a lot in common. Daddy issues.” She sighed and tugged on a braid.
“Daddy issues?” Meg hated that term. She’d spent years in therapy and a hefty chunk of her paycheck coming to terms with her dad’s decision to choose his job over everything else. She’d never fully get over him allowing his only daughter to believe he was dead for the sake of a story. As far as they’d come and as much as they’d healed, that betrayal would forever be a part of their story.
“I know our situations are different, but I have my own challenges. My dad has extreme expectations for me and the company that, um, well, let’s just say, don’t align always with my vision for my future. And Howard Hinton gets what Howard Hinton wants. But you know, at some point, you have to do your own thing and break the cycle. You’ve done that.” Lucinda paused and took a long drink. “At Matt’s prodding, I’ve been going to therapy and trying to work on it. I know it’s been tough on him for the two of you not to be close. You should have seen his face when I told him you RSVP’d. He was ecstatic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that happy.” There was warmth in her eyes, and she spoke so freely and earnestly. At least it was clear that she cared about Matt. “I know he was devastated after he tried to give you his take on the situation with your dad, but it’s like he said: ‘We can’t force our friends or family to care more about themselves than we do.’”
Meg’s entire body went cold.
She wanted to flee, run away through the snowy fields, and lock herself in her cabin for the rest of the night—or, better yet, the rest of the weekend. If Matt had shared this much with Lucinda about their friendship and falling-out, then he was obviously in love with her as well.
And ouch, those last words really stung.
He thought he cared more about Meg than she cared about herself.
TWENTY-FIVE
JILL
Owen would barely look at her. She watched him mingle from person to person, the flames of the bonfire lapping up to the sky and threatening to consume her. She felt like she was on fire. Maybe she should have just finished it then and there. His reaction was exactly as she anticipated. She couldn’t blame him. He was in the right. She should have told him when she first started daydreaming about an actual house or apartment, someplace that wasn’t on wheels.
Did it make her less of an artist?
Should she want to be an eternal free spirit?
But couldn’t she do that in one place?
She rubbed her hands together for friction and scooted over towards Matt. He’d been a sounding board and like a brother to her for as long as she could remember.
Maybe he’d know what to do or what she could say to salvage this.
But then again, was there anything left to salvage?
If he was this upset about a job offer in San Francisco, she couldn’t imagine how he would react to the news that she was pregnant.
“Hey, birthday guy. How’s the weekend thus far?” She plopped into the chair next to him, reaching for the blanket and wrapping it around her legs. “Lucinda sure knows how to throw a party.”
“Yeah, she loves this kind of stuff.” Matt nodded and sipped his beer, stealing a glance in Meg’s direction before he dragged his attention back to Jill. “It’s what she studied in school.”
“Party planning?” Jill asked. “Isn’t she next in line to run the company?”
“Technically, event management,” Matt clarified. “She wanted to start her own company, but her dad convinced her to come to work for him. And, yep, now she’s in line to be the new CEO of Blazen.”
“Oh.” Jill tried not to let her eyes drift toward Owen, but she couldn’t help it. “Is he stepping down?”
Matt shrugged. “It’s not official, at least as far as I know, but it sounds like he’s already easing into retirement.”
“That must be good for you,” she said carefully. “Are you still enjoying working for them?”
He hesitated, checking over his shoulder to make sure Lucinda wasn’t listening.
Jill followed his gaze.
Lucinda wasn’t paying any attention to Matt. She was locked into a conversation with Meg that looked serious.
Matt lowered his voice. “Let’s just say…I’ve had an offer. But I’m not sure if I’m going to take it yet.”
“Matt, that’s great.” Jill patted his arm. “As in an offer for what—a leadership role? Would that make things awkward with you and Lucinda? It must already be hard to balance working together and being so close.”
