Page 50 of The Holiday Ex-Files

I didn’t even know they made coolers for makeup. What I did know, was that I was going to stop being jealous of this ridiculous woman. Claudia Cann can do a lot of things, but she can no longer have a hold on me. I even refused to see flashes of her and Ben under the tree.

I rubbed my arms for comfort, and because I was chilly. I was only wearing a long, button-down shirt that could almost pass for a dress with some leggings.

“I have a jacket in my truck,” a familiar voice rumbled next to me.

I turned to find Noah standing next to me, grinning from ear to ear.

I tucked some hair behind my ear. “What are you smiling at?”

“You. You were amazing up there.”

I let out a deep breath. “I surprised myself, that’s for sure.”

“And everyone else. I think that whole family needed to hear what you had to say.”

“I can’t imagine they’re too happy about it.” I headed toward my car to get warm.

“Half of them are.” Noah followed me.

I didn’t have to guess which half. “The question is if the other half will listen.”

Noah shrugged.

“Were there a lot of fireworks when I left?” I hesitated to ask.

“If you mean a major staring contest, some pacing and then blaming you, sure.”

I expected that Ben would blame me. “By the way. Thanks for sticking up for me. But I don’t want to come between you and Ben, even though sometimes I can’t understand why you stay friends with him.”

Noah tugged on my sleeve. “If you have time, I’ll tell you.”

I stopped, surprised by his response. “Um, I do have to wait for Mara. I’m her ride.”

“Excellent. I’ll grab us some jackets and we’ll walk and talk.”

“Okay.” I smiled. I could use someone to talk to and a good walk. I had all this nervous energy coursing through me, and Miss Sparkly was anxious to get to Hobby Lobby. It was then that we both remembered that Hobby Lobby isn’t even open on Sundays. Oh well. We would drive to Reno tomorrow and get our fix. Our first step forward in rediscovering ourselves. Well, me. I should really stop referring to myself as two people.

We had to pass by Claudia. She stopped mid-livestream and pursed her lips at me with such an evil glare.

I waved and smiled at her. “Don’t forget you’re live,” I sang.

She shook her head, all flustered. I had to admit, it was a beautiful sight.

“As I was saying,” she went on. “What was I saying?”

Noah chuckled deeply. Obviously, there was no love lost between the two even though she was his best friend’s wife.

Claudia didn’t take kindly to us and flipped him off. But she knew right away that was a huge mistake. She started to splutter, “That was just a joke.” She sounded as if she might cry, though she was fake laughing. “Anyway, I need to sign off. My dear mother-in-law is in the hospital. Please pray for her. And don’t forget, if Claudia Cann, you can. Toodles.” She scrambled to turn off her phone.

She was shameless using Kellie there at the end. She was shameless, period.

As soon as she was offline, she gave us a look that could melt iron. She was about ready to unleash on us when two women approached me. “Oh my gosh, are you Cami Jenkins?”

“That’s me.”

“We love you,” one of the women squealed. “Your posts are the best.”

“I totally want you to photoshop some pictures of me and my loser ex-fiancé,” the other woman said.

“I would be happy to. You can upload them to my site.”

“Seriously, this is the best day ever,” she responded.

I caught a glimpse of Claudia, and let’s just say this wasn’t her best day ever. She was furious, judging by her red face. It was like karma had blessed me.

The women noticed my line of sight and looked behind them. When they turned back around, they tried to whisper, “Who livestreams at a hospital?” but epically failed. Not that I was complaining. It had Claudia grabbing all her gear and marching off to probably eat some seaweed or something equally disgusting.

“Some people,” I responded with an evil grin. Inside I was saying, Buh-bye, Claudia.

It was then the women took notice of the handsome man by my side, who was patiently waiting.

“Is this your boyfriend?” one of them asked. “I thought you swore off men.” She sounded disappointed.

“Oh. Uh. Noah and I are just friends. Like platonic with a capital P, friends.”

The women giggled, but I noticed them eyeing him like he was a piece of candy, and they wouldn’t mind a lick.

Tell them to keep their eyes to themselves. We are not done discussing Noah as an option, Miss Sparkly scolded me.

How many times do I have to tell you he’s taken? Besides, we aren’t even close to thinking about a relationship with anyone. Let’s try Hobby Lobby and a few Halloween movies before we get carried away. Okay?

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