Page 40 of One Foggy Christmas
I’d be gaining the world but giving up everything.
A new life with Nash would cost me my old one.
NASH
“Our first locumtenens will be ready to rock and roll on January one. Good work, everyone. I think we can call it a day.” I press my palms into my eyes, trying to rub away the blurriness staring at a computer screen has caused.
My employees laugh and chat as they clean up their stuff and tuck in their chairs around the conference table. I hated keeping everyone here past our regular work hours, especially the first week of December, but it’s better to work hard now then ease up the closer we get to Christmas.
“See you later, Sadie,” Harper calls as Sadie walks out the door.
“Bye.” She smiles over her shoulder, stopping her gaze on me before turning to go.
I’ve done everything I could today to avoid contact with her. It’s partly out of embarrassment for having a lapse of judgment at the party last week and telling her that I like her. What am I, five? And the other part is out of a broken heart. Her internshipends in three weeks, and watching her return to Skaneateles for Thanksgiving put it all into perspective.
She’s leaving…for good.
The ache that realization brings is beyond anything I’ve ever felt.
Lindy says I shouldn’t give up, that I should fight for Sadie until she’s mine.
But I’ve been doing that since day one at the Cubs game. The last six months feel like a boxing match. In some rounds, I didn’t fight as aggressively because I was trying to be the perfect boss, and then in other rounds, I went for the knockout, shamelessly flirting with her even when I knew I shouldn’t.
Either way, it’s the last round of the fight, and I’m throwing in the towel, accepting my loss. For the first time ever, my intuition was wrong. Sadie isn’t the love of my life—the one person I’ll spend forever with.
I just really thought she was.
“I feel bad that she called off her engagement,” I hear Josie say to Harper, and suddenly, I’m inserting myself into their conversation.
“I know! I was so surprised.”
“Wait.” I step between them, desperate for information. “Who called off their engagement?”
“Sadie did when she went home this weekend,” Josie says. “Didn’t you notice the ring was gone?”
I grab Josie’s shoulders, stopping short of shaking her for the information. “You’re sure she’s no longer engaged?”
Harper leans in with a knowing smile. “She didn’t just call off the engagement. She broke up with Stetson for good.”
The biggest bomb of excitement explodes inside my chest. My eyes skitter around the room, looking for encouragement.
“Now’s your chance, boss,” Reggie says.
“You know you want to,” Allen chimes in.
Harper bounces up and down on her toes. “Oh, come on. Everyone knows you’re madly in love with her. She probably called off the engagement because she feels the same about you.”
“You think?”
“Yes!” Josie pushes me toward the door.
Really, I didn’t need any encouragement. I was going to go after Sadie no matter what. I was just letting my head catch up to my heart.
I run to the elevator and push the button four times too many until the door slides open. Once inside, my phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out as the elevator jerks downward.
Sadie
Hey, it’s the girl from the Cubs game. I’d love to go out with you sometime. Especially since I don’t think you’re crazy, and I no longer have a boyfriend.
