Page 28 of The Holiday Ex-Files

“I know you think it was you, but don’t you dare think like that,” his gravelly voice begged me.

“You don’t know that.” My voice betrayed me and cracked. “Ben ended up hating everything about me.”

Noah’s face burned hotter than the Vegas strip in July. “No. He hates himself. As he should. He’s a prick for what he did to you. But this I can promise you,” his tone softened, “when Ben met you, he said, you’re the girl. The girl we each get. The one you change your life for. The one who makes you forget about all the other girls.”

A stupid tear leaked out of my eyes. I wanted to believe him, but how could I? “Apparently, I’m a short-term memory kind of girl.”

“Cams, you are a make-a-man-lose-his-mind, think-about-you-day-and-night kind of woman.”

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t have to say that.”

“You’re right, I don’t. I’m telling the truth. Ben knows it too,” he seemed reluctant to say.

“I don’t care what Ben thinks,” I spewed.

“Are you sure about that?”

I stood tall. “I’m one hundred and ten percent sure.”

“Do you still love him?” Noah seemed to hold his breath.

I spat out a maniacal laugh. “Not even an ounce.”

Noah went from a pensive stance to a much more relaxed one. “Good for you,” he said hastily. “We should eat the pizza before it gets cold.”

“Good idea.” We broke apart. I took a moment to watch Noah dish up two plates of ooey gooey goodness. He caught me staring at him and smiled. The kind of smile that said, “I see you.”

Hey, Me, please don’t let this friendship go. Please and thank you. Sincerely, Miss Sparkly.

I’ll see what I can do. Yours truly, Me.

Chapter Nine

My dearest Ex-Filers, you never cease to amaze me. I’m loving all the costumes and suggestions. I can’t wait to see so many of you at the Halloween Bash. Don’t forget to purchase your tickets online. There are only a few spots left. If you can’t make it in person, you can still donate online to the women and children’s shelter.

Lots of love,

Cami

P.S. I promise this is my last post today. Have a good night. And make good choices. There’s nothing wrong with being alone on a Friday night. Or any night for that matter.

I heard Noah’s phone buzz as soon as I clicked publish.

“Am I boring you?” He set his empty plate on my coffee table and grabbed his phone out of his pocket.

I still couldn’t believe he signed up for my notifications.

“Not at all. I’m enthralled with your caulking tips and tricks.” I grinned. “But I need to choose a costume stat, and my people are helping.”

“Is that what you call all your worshippers.”

“They don’t worship me.”

“Please. I read the comments. Or at least some of them. You have thousands for almost every post. There are a lot of bitter people out there.”

“Hey.” I tossed a pink Mongolian long-hair throw pillow at him. “We prefer the term indignant.”

He caught the pillow and chuckled. “That’s much better.”

“A lot of my followers have been through a lot of heartache,” I added.

“I don’t doubt that,” he said sincerely.

“Unlike you,”—I looked down my nose at him—“who makes a mockery of my services.”

He pretended to stab his heart. “Believe me, I take your services very seriously. In fact, I would be lost without them.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You’ll see.” He wagged his brows and tossed the pillow to the side so he could read my post. His brows furrowed more and more, the longer he stared at his phone.

“Something bothering you?”

He hemmed and hawed before scrubbing a hand over his face, which was covered in his signature five-o’clock shadow that all the women went gaga for, like he wasn’t sure what he should say. “I’m just surprised by how anti-relationship you’ve become.”

My cheeks started to burn. I don’t know why it embarrassed me that he would call me out about it. “I’m anti–bad relationship,” I tried to defend myself.

He perked up. “So, you’re open to being in a relationship?”

I shuddered at the thought. “No.”

Meanwhile Miss Sparkly was saying, Not so fast. I could really do with a good make out session.

Ooh. That did sound nice, but that was beside the point.

“What do you mean, no?” He was clearly agitated. “You just said you were against bad relationships. What about good ones?”

I rubbed my chest. Those kinds of thoughts gave me a serious case of heartburn. The hives would come next. “The thing is, any relationship can go bad. Believe me, I have firsthand experience.”

Noah scooted toward me on the couch with a sympathetic look. He picked up Neville on his way, making it so our legs were practically touching. His snickerdoodle-scented cologne hit me.

Who wants some cookies? Miss Sparkly interjected.

Are you saying you want to taste Noah?

Hmm. I just thought cookies sounded good, but that’s an interesting thought. I mean, look at those eyes and his lips. I bet he’s a good kisser.

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