Page 61 of Christmas at Hart's Ridge

“I’m so sorry I disappointed you,” I choked out.

Mom’s head jerked up in surprise. “You didn’t disappoint us. We are so proud of you, honey.”

“Luke is a little bit disappointing,” Dad muttered. “You could do better there.”

I laughed a little in spite of myself. It was such a dad thing to say, being disappointed in a daughter’s choice of boyfriend. He had never had that opportunity before.

“Promise me you’ll get to know him before you draw any conclusions,” I said. “Seriously, Dad. He’s a good guy.”

“If you like him, he must be.” Dad took a sip of coffee. “Ethan must be thrilled that you’re staying in Hart’s Ridge. You two used to be joined at the hip.”

My stomach fluttered with nerves at the reminder. “He doesn’t know yet.”

And neither did Luke.

Chapter 24

Luke

“Jasmine!”Ethanrappedhisknuckles on the car window. “Open this door right fucking now!”

“I’m going with Nora and Michael to get a hot chocolate.” Her voice sounded muffled outside of the car. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes. I suggest you use that time wisely.”

“We’ll freeze to death!” Ethan protested. “It’s thirty degrees outside.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be such a baby. You have coats, gloves, and hats. You’ll be fine.”

Ethan continued to pound futilely on the window while she walked away, leaving us alone in the community center parking lot.

I sighed. I should have known better when Jasmine marched us into the parking lot and told us to get into the backseat of her car, but dumbass that I was, I got in without asking why. Then she flipped on the child locks and shut the door behind us, locking us in.

Ethan dug his phone out of his coat pocket. “I’m going to call 911. They’ll bust us out.”

“No, you’re not going to do that. What if someone has a real emergency while they’re busy breaking Jasmine’s window? She said she’d be back in thirty minutes. We’ll survive.”

“Well, I’m not talking to you.” He crossed his arms and stared out the window.

“Fine. I’m not talking to you, either.”

“Wait, what? What do you mean, you’re not talking to me?” Ethan demanded. “What the hell doyouhave to be pissed about? I didn’t kissyourbest friend.”

“Quite frankly, I wouldn’t care if you did. I’d be more concerned about his girlfriend, if I were you. I suspect Emma fights dirty.”

A laugh escaped him. He tried to sell it as a cough, lifting his fist to his mouth. I smirked. He couldn’t bethatmad if I could still make him laugh.

As if he read my mind, he glared at me. “I’m fucking pissed, Luke.”

“Yeah, I know.” I rubbed my aching jaw ruefully. It wasn’t the hardest punch I’d ever received, but somehow it still felt the worst. Like it hit my heart harder than my face. “I should have told you. We weregoingto tell you, I promise. Bethany was going to take you to coffee tomorrow and tell you everything.”

Ethan mulled this silently. I shifted, trying to find a comfortable position for my long legs. Finally, I leaned forward, grabbed the lever of the driver’s seat, and pushed it forward until the seat butted up against the steering wheel. Then I did the same for the passenger seat, giving Ethan more space. He didn’t thank me, but I didn’t expect him to.

“She’s going back to New York in two weeks. You know she was only here for the holidays. Is that why you did it? You figured you could mess around with her and it wouldn’t matter because she was only temporary?”

The bite in his tone made me wince. “The temporary aspect did have its appeal.” Or so I’d told myself, anyway. Bent over backwards trying to convince myself it was true.Dumbass.

Ethan shook his head, disgusted. “You are such a dog.”

“I know.”

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