Page 27 of All I Want For Christmas Is You

He dumped the dry ingredients into a bowl. “And what about material things? Of everything in your old house, what do you miss the most?”

She was going to surprise him with her answer. “My ornaments. I know that sounds silly, but it’s true. You probably expected me to say my grandma’s armoire or my kids’ baby books or something like that.”

“I’ve never met anyone like you, so I don’t really have expectations.”

Oh, the things this man said. Had anyone ever made her feel so special? Nope. No one had. “I’m an only child, so I’ve got heirlooms that’ve been passed down from both sides of the family. Then, with my kids, every year, we’d make new ones of our own.”

“Like gluing popsicle sticks into the shape of a star?”

“Yep. We’ve got those. But as they got older, we upped our game.” She rinsed out a bowl. “When we sold our house, we rented a huge storage unit. It’s stuffed to the gills with furniture and pots and pans and all the stuff I thought I’d need once we got on our feet again. We obviously never did, but the funny thing is I don’t miss any of it. I don’t even think about my designer clothes and scarves and shoes and purses, but I think about those ornaments.” She handed him the measuring cup of water and tipped her chin to the pot.

“You still have them, right?” He dumped it and turned on the flame. “One day, you can get them?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I haven’t talked to my ex since he told me he was leaving. He might’ve stopped paying for it. I have no idea.”

Emotions crossed his handsome features, one after another. First, pain. And yes, not knowing if her ex had tossed out her ornaments cut deep. But then, confusion. “You mean you haven’t talked about personal things, right?” After adding the spices to the flour, he used a whisk to mix it. “Because you went through a divorce, so you must’ve talked.”

“Nope. We had no assets and nothing to divide. I did it all online.”

He went hard. “Are you telling me he hasn’t tried to reach out to you? To find out how you are?”

“Oh, no. He has.” She poured the liquid into the dry ingredients. “But after the last thing he said to me, I was done with him. I blocked him.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he’d continue to pay the rent and my car payment but he needed me to leave the apartment for a few hours on Saturday so he could come pick up his stuff.” That request still had the power to enrage her. The entitled son of a bitch. “I packed up my car and was out by Thursday.” She smiled. “I got a lot of satisfaction knowing he’d shown up and found me gone. Not a trace of me.”

“Did he try to reach you?”

“Apparently. He kept texting the kids, demanding to know why I wasn’t answering him. He wanted to know where I was, and if I was coming back.”

“Did you ever unblock him?”

“I did, but only because he might have news about one of our kids. That’s the only conversation he’s worthy of having with me.”

“Have I mentioned how much I admire you?”

“Once or twice.” She grinned.

Just then, his phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “This might be Jessa. She’s going to let me know when she’s free for dinner.” He studied the screen for a moment and then broke out into a grin.

He was so serious most of the time that when he smiled, his features transformed into movie star gorgeous. Those dimples, that jaw, those astonishing blue eyes… Whew. “Your girlfriend sent a boob shot?”

“What?” He barked out a laugh. “No. I think you know I don’t have a girlfriend, and secondly, I leave my phone out in the open. You think I want my kids or my assistants catching an eyeful of that?” He shook his head. “No, it’s my grandson. Look.” He turned the screen toward her.

A blond-haired, blue-eyed little boy with a wide, wet smile stared at her. “Oh, my God. He’s precious.”

“He’s hell on wheels.” His tone was rich with affection.

“How old is he?”

His thumb brushed the screen, and she could see how much he missed him. “Two and a half.”

“And they all live with you?”

His smile faltered, and he tapped out a quick response before shoving his phone back into his pocket. “Uh, not the mom. She’s not in the picture.”

“Can I ask what happened there?”

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