Page 45 of Another Christmas from Hell

“I was kidding!” Sean yelled as Bryce paused with Sean’s legs hanging above the stairs. “She doesn’t talk about it, but I think she’s terrified of getting hurt so she avoids men that make her nervous and settles on the ones that have no chance in hell of breaking her heart.”

“That really doesn’t explain why she said yes to the asshole,” Bryce pointed out even as he found himself wondering what he was going to do if this was true.

“Doesn’t it, though?” Sean asked only to bite out, “Shit!” when Bryce took one step back, pulling Bryce closer to the edge. “I told you that she was never going to marry him. She settles for safe relationships with assholes that have absolutely no chance in hell of breaking her heart, but they never last.”

“It lasted two years,” Bryce pointed out.

“Only because she didn’t think that she could have the one thing that she really wanted,” Sean said, dropping his head back against the hardwood floor with a sigh.

“What’s that?” Bryce murmured absently as he debated dragging his brother down the stairs for the hell of it only to swallow hard when Sean said the one thing that he never expected.

“You.”

CHAPTER24

“Son of a bitch!” came the pained shout from her best friend that she should probably look into, but…

She had other things on her mind at the moment, Cayley thought, biting back a sigh as she continued nibbling on the delicious gingerbread cookie that she’d hoped would help her figure out what was wrong with her, only to sigh when Johnny plucked the cookie out of her hand and finished it in one bite as he made his way to the kitchen to find out what was going on. Biting back a sigh, Cayley selected the sugar cookie with green frosting and white sprinkles and sighed when Brian plucked it out of her hand as he followed his brother, leaving her sitting there, staring down at the piece of fudge that she’d managed to grab before they’d devoured the entire platter and found herself once again sighing when Craig plucked the paper plate out of her hand and joined his brothers in the kitchen.

“Stupid James brothers,” Cayley mumbled sadly, only to frown when a plate overflowing with delicious treats was placed in her hands.

Frowning, she looked from the plate filled with all of her favorites up to see Mr. James joining her. “Any idea why Bryce is beating the shit out of my youngest son?” he asked, not really sounding all that concerned as he sat down next to her.

“I have a few theories,” Cayley said, helping herself to a piece of fudge off the plate while he did the same.

“Any of them involve revenge?” Mr. James asked, looking lost in thought.

“A few,” Cayley murmured absently as she found herself thinking about that beautiful office he’d built for her, how much she liked spending time with him, the way that he’d held her at night, and-

She had no idea what she was supposed to do, Cayley thought, swallowing hard as she watched Bryce walk into the room, his intense green eyes searching for something as he slowly took in the large living room filled with partygoers until they locked on her. She watched as his jaw clenched tightly, his gaze never leaving her as he leaned back against the wall.

“You terrify him, did you know that?” Mr. James asked, making her frown as she glanced back at Mr. James to find him watching his son.

“What are you talking about?” Cayley asked, watching as Mr. James plucked another piece of fudge off the plate and popped it in his mouth.

“He’s a good man,” Mr. James said as she found herself glancing back at Bryce to find him still watching her.

“Yes, he is,” she murmured absently, even as she had to admit that was an understatement.

Bryce was so much more than a good man. He was kind, loyal, sweet, and just…

He was everything that she’d ever wanted and that terrified her. For years, he was just Sean’s older brother that was obsessed with glaring at her and now, after barely two weeks, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. The way that he made her feel, it was…addicting, Cayley thought as she watched Bryce.

“Do you remember the first time that your father dropped you off at my house after your mother passed away?” Mr. James asked, drawing her attention to find him watching her curiously.

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t. It was so long ago,” Cayley said, wishing that she had more than old pictures and home movies to remember her mother by. She wished that she had at least one memory of her mother, but there was nothing but the memory of the pain of suddenly losing her.

Nodding, Mr. James murmured, “I didn’t think you did. It’s probably one of my best memories of you when you were a little girl. You were such a shy little thing, always had been, hiding in your mother’s arms or behind your father’s legs, except when Bryce was there. Then, you couldn’t seem to move fast enough. You’d grab his hand or crawl onto his lap and if anyone tried to take you away, he’d tighten his hold on you and glare.”

“He does seem to love to glare,” Cayley murmured.

“It’s a family trait,” Mr. James said, shooting her a wink that had her lips twitching.

“I can see that,” Cayley said, nodding solemnly.

“That day, you wouldn’t stop crying and your father was just…he wasn’t doing well. You just sat there, your little lip trembling, tears rolling down your face, looking absolutely lost. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with you. I sat down with you, put your favorite movie on, held you, but nothing seemed to work, but the moment that Bryce came home from preschool, you came alive.”

“Before the first sob broke free, Bryce was there, pulling you into his arms and held you long after you stopped crying and finally fell asleep in his arms. When I tried to take you, he refused to let you go. He held you all night, making sure that you were safe, and when you woke up in the morning crying for your mother, he told you that everything was going to be okay and promised that he would always take care of you,” Mr. James said as she glanced up and found herself unable to look away from Bryce.

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