Page 37 of Christmas with the Denton Billionaires

“When we had brunch the other morning, you’d mentioned that your youngest wasn’t feeling well. But then we never saw any of them again. Are they okay?”

Anger flashed across his face before he masked it. “Sophie thought it would be a good idea to take the kids to Hawaii for the holidays. My oldest wants to learn to surf.” His knuckles turned white where he was squeezing his coffee mug.

Amelia felt guilty for poking at him because clearly there were problems that he was trying to hide. Before she could apologize, he launched into a rundown of the position he was offering: junior-level location scout for the newest New England division. She would remain based in NYC, working from home most of the time, with only occasional trips to Chicago required. The bulk of her work would be scouting new property listings online and assessing them for feasibility in long, complicated reports. The more Colin explained the job, the more she realized it sounded similar to what she was doing already.

Just a better pay level, with a more impressive title and the only travel she would be doing was limited to the area, returning home at night.

After Colin had gone through all the major selling points of the offer, he waggled his eyebrows at her over his mug. “So? What do you think? We can verbally commit here and now with a contract to follow. I don’t even care that tomorrow is Christmas Eve—I can have it in your inbox by tomorrow morning.”

The man seemed almosttooeager to hire her and Josh’s words came back to her.Power play.At first she’d thought that Josh wanting to keep her on had been all about him not wanting to lose to Colin. But now? She sensed the same coming from Colin. That poaching her from Denton Hotels was an ego play.

Besides, Colin’s attitude about what Josh had done was way too much like the pot calling the kettle black, given that his wife and kids were off to Hawaii the moment Colin found out the Lewises went with Denton Hotels.

“I appreciate you meeting with me,” she said, sipping her coffee. She hadn’t wanted to trap herself here for an entire meal, especially if things went south. And now, she was grateful.

Because she wanted to get away from Colin.

“Do you have any questions?”

“No, I think I’ve heard everything that I need to hear. If you’ll excuse me.” She offered a smile as she scooted out of the booth.

Colin froze, staring at her. “So do we have a deal? We have a lot of fun at Forest Family Hotels. You won’t regret coming to join us.”

Amelia had a sinking suspicion that she would. Shouldering her purse, she squeezed the strap. “Here’s the thing, Mr. Forest. Other than the bump in pay, you’re not offering me anything I don’t already do now. Except I do it at a company I love working for. And while Josh might not have been truthful with the Lewises initially, you haven’t been either.” She started to walk away but then stopped and turned back around. “You know, if you truly are a family company, maybe instead of sitting in this diner trying to get one over on Josh, you should be on a flight to Hawaii to spend Christmas with your actual family.” She hurried out of the diner, gulping down the fresh air once she hit the cold day outside. As she walked down the sidewalk, hands jammed into her pockets, she added a bounce to her step.

She hadn’t intended to tell Colin Forest off, but his high and mighty response to her and Josh pretending to be engaged had pushed her too far. Yes, they were wrong to do it, but Josh had come clean and still got the deal. That said something for the caliber of man Josh was and Denton Hotels’ integrity as a company.

By the time she’d made it back to her parents’ house, her earlier elation had worn off and her heart felt heavy. Nothing felt right. And the more time dragged on, the more she wanted Josh.

There weren’t many days left until everything changed. She knew Josh would make good on his promise of a promotion. And yes, she was excited for that. But she didn’t want to go back to Denton Hotels without knowing that she and Josh still had a chance.

He wanted to try something with her. His words at the bar haunted her, were often the first thing she thought of when she woke up. Josh was right—their chemistry was real, and it was intense.

She’d be making a huge mistake not to act on it.

When her mom came into the front hall to greet her, the sight of her made emotion well. Fighting tears, Amelia said, “I think I made a mistake.”

“What is it, honey?”

“Josh. I told him we should spend some time apart, but now I realize I was wrong, and he’s back in New York, and I want himhere.” She stomped her foot, feeling every bit like a whiny little girl.

“Oh, honey.” Her mom swept forward and wrapped her in a hug. “You did the right thing by asking for your space. And it’s okay if you don’t want it anymore.”

“Maybe I can drive—”

Her mom held up a finger in a sharp but silent rebuke.

“None of that talk. There’s a snowstorm on the way, and you are not missing Christmas with the family. We don’t get enough of you as it is. If you go back to the city today, we won’t see you until the Fourth of July.”

Amelia sighed, knowing her mother was completely right. “Fine. I’ll stay. But I’m going to act like a heartsick little girl until I figure out what I want to say to him.”

“That’s fine,” her mother said, squeezing the sides of her arms. “Now let’s go have some potato salad.”

21

AMELIA

On Christmas Eve morning, Amelia awoke with a start in her childhood bedroom. Gray light filtered past the white curtains, and she looked around for a few moments, trying to get her bearings.

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