Page 23 of The Holiday Ex-Files

Neville burrowed into my chest as if I’d told him a scary story. It wasn’t far from the truth. Admittedly, it frightened me that Ben could still get to me so much. It even had Miss Sparkly silenced for the moment. He’d hurt her the most. Ugh. There I went again talking as if I were two people. I was Cami. Just Cami.

I turned off Beverly Hills, 90210 before I headed back toward the front door and grabbed Neville’s leash from one of the hooks installed by the previous owner. They were convenient but an eyesore. I really needed to think about renovating this place.

Neville began to shake, knowing we were leaving the comfort of his sanctuary. I loved him, but I didn’t love him enough to let him do his business on puppy pads and clean up after him. I made exceptions for blizzard conditions. This evening, though, it was clear and just a little nippy.

In the glow of twilight, we made our way down to the designated dog area of the complex. By we, I mean I carried Neville. While strolling across the parking lot, Noah pulled up in his big black truck that advertised his company on the doors—Cullen’s Construction. I would add that it was tastefully done with no one’s head or ridiculous slogans. Just contact info.

I stood on the sidewalk and watched him park. On Sunday he’d said he would let me know when he was available to pick up his flash drive. I hadn’t heard a peep from him all week. Now wasn’t the best time. After dealing with Ben, I was done for the day.

Before he turned his truck off, I swore I heard, “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Wow. He must have it bad for this mystery woman. That’s adorable, Miss Sparkly thought. Great. I thought she’d skedaddled for the day.

He hopped out of his truck, all smiles in his signature tight T-shirt and jeans to match. For a guy who worked as a general contractor and liked to do a lot of the work himself, he always seemed to be cleaned up when I saw him. He looked me up and down, landing on what I assumed was my hair. His smile grew even wider.

Have you ever noticed how attractive Noah is? Miss Sparkly asked.

“No,” I responded to myself out loud. Then to make it more awkward, I disagreed with myself. “I mean, yes.” Oh. My. Gosh. I was an idiot. Of course I noticed how attractive he was. Every woman did.

Noah paused and tilted his head. “Are you okay?”

The obvious answer was no. I was beginning to think I needed to seek help. “I’m fine. Uh, my dog needs to potty.” Wow. Just wow. That made me sound even more intelligent. What was wrong with me?

Noah stepped on the sidewalk, chuckling. “Potty? I didn’t think people started using that word until they had children.”

“Yeah,” I whispered. I almost did. Did that count? I walked off toward the dog area.

Noah followed. “Cams.” He tugged on my hair. “I was just teasing. You can say potty if you want to. I won’t judge you. Okay, I might just a little.”

I nudged him with my hip. “Don’t worry. I’m already judging myself.”

“You seem out of sorts. What’s wrong?”

I sighed and kept on walking. Annoyed with myself, and impressed with him that he could read me so well. “It’s nothing,” I lied.

“Cams,” he said so sweetly. “It’s not nothing. You can talk to me.”

I stopped and looked into his entreating blue eyes. Not knowing what to say, or even if I should say it. He was Ben’s best friend after all. And more than anything, I didn’t want Ben to know he could still affect me. It was bad enough I had to know.

When I didn’t say anything, Noah flipped some of my hair. “I love the hair. It’s you.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know who I am anymore,” fell out of my mouth before I could stop it. I blinked a hundred times. “Whoa. Just forget I said that. Please.” I hustled off. Noah didn’t need to know I was going through a mini crisis and hearing voices. My own voices, but still.

“No, ma’am. I think that needs to be addressed.”

My brow quirked. “Who are you now? Oprah?”

“I was thinking more late-night talk show host, like Jimmy Fallon,” he teased.

“Funny.” I smiled. “Well, Jimmy, if you must know . . .” I paused for dramatic effect. “I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo of Neville.”

Without missing a beat, he responded, “Inquiring minds must know where.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I wagged my brows, playing along. The comedic relief was doing wonders for my mood.

“I think we all would,” he said sexily.

Wait. Did I just think sexily? Well duh, darling, Noah is sexy. How come you’re just noticing that? Miss Sparkly was getting way too comfortable in my head. And not to be nitpicky but she had never really noticed either. She was too obsessed with Ben. Gah, there I went again thinking like I’m two different people. Okay, playtime was over. I couldn’t think of Noah like that. No man really, but definitely not my ex-husband’s best friend. The man whose exes I was constantly removing from pictures.

---