Page 51 of Mistletoe & Mischief

Maya and Olivia smiled curiously at one another. Now that they’d been given the gift of one another, they didn’t know what to say.

And then, Maya stuttered with a thought. “I have to meet my boyfriend for dinner.”

“Your boyfriend?” Olivia smiled. “Brad, you mean?”

Maya closed her eyes as her thoughts swirled. “Nick. He’s technically my ex-boyfriend. But he came all the way to Hollygrove to tell me he’s still in love with me. He wants me to come back to Manhattan. He even offered me my dream job.”

Olivia tilted her head thoughtfully. “You sound doubtful.”

Maya stared at the Christmas tree. Her sister wanted to give her advice about her relationships. This was beyond her wildest dreams.

“When did you break up with Nick?” Olivia asked.

“He broke up with me about a month ago.” Shame stirred in her stomach. “He said he met someone else.”

“What a coincidence that he comes right around the time you’re set to inherit fifty million dollars,” Olivia offered.

“Twenty-five million,” Maya corrected with a wry smile.

“I’ve only interacted with you and Brad a couple of times,” Olivia said softly. “But the way you looked at one another was so generous and loving.”

“It felt generous and loving.”

Olivia raised her shoulders. “Don’t you owe yourself a fresh start with someone like that?”

Maya’s heart thudded. She knew her sister was right.

ChapterTwenty-Three

Maya convinced Olivia to move her things to the Albright mansion that afternoon. After another soul-affirming hug, Olivia raced to the second floor of the Nettle Creek Bed and Breakfast to pack as Maya turned on her heel and strode back into the sunny streets. The bright blue sky had begun to dim, and spindly trees cast their shadows across heaps of snow.

Maya’s dinner with Nick wasn’t for another two hours. Maya alternated between running to Brad’s house and telling him everything— and spending the next chunk of time alone to think. As temperatures on the street dipped, she scurried back to the coffee shop Brad had first taken her to weeks ago, where she ordered a cup of coffee and a slice of pistachio cheesecake from Cynthia, the woman behind the counter. As Cynthia slid the piece of cake onto a plate, she gave Maya a huge smile and said, “Brad is one of a kind. You’re lucky.”

Maya’s heart pumped. Now that she’d made amends with Olivia, she’d begun to experience that afternoon with Brad on a loop. He’d looked at her as though she were nothing to him, as though he’d decided she was trash.

“He really is,” Maya said.

Maya took her coffee and cake to the corner. Right on cue, Phoebe called her back, all but shrieking with excitement.

“We bought the apartment, Mom!” Phoebe cried. “It’s happening! The next step of my life!”

Maya’s smile hurt her face. “That’s brilliant news, honey.” She waited expectantly, hoping Phoebe would end with a pregnancy announcement.

Instead, Phoebe said: “Henry and I have been so focused on our careers the past few years. But now that we have the apartment, we’re opening ourselves up to other stories. Other lives.” She paused, and Maya could practically see her grinning into the receiver. “I want to be a mother, Mom. But doing that terrifies me a bit. Great Grandma Diane was so heinous and unloving. And that hatred was passed down through generations. I don’t know what to make of it.” She paused. “What if some of Great-Grandma Diane’s personality is in me?”

Maya closed her eyes, lost in a swell of love for her daughter. “The fact that you’re asking that is proof you’re nothing like her,” she said. “Diane thought of no one but herself— until her actions had consequences. You were always such an empathetic child. So open-hearted. So wonderful.” Maya’s eyes filled with tears. “You’ll be a fantastic mother, Phoebe. Don’t second-guess yourself. Go with your instincts.”

Phoebe’s voice was filled with tears. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too.” Maya stuttered, amazed at the words she prepared to say. “Would you and Henry like to come to Hollygrove for Christmas?”

“You want to celebrate Christmas this year?”

“More than anything,” Maya said. “I think it’s finally time to start.”

* * *

Maya put on lipstick in the bathroom of the coffee shop and gave herself a brief yet impactful pep talk.

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