was able to help them out. I wasn’t the poor little girl anymore.
Of course, if I didn’t pull off a miracle, I could very well find myself back in poor little lady territory. I walked to a display of gorgeous, pristine white teddy bears with gold stitching and a shiny gold bow. The year was embroidered onto the foot with various messages that marked a first occasion, like first Christmas, first Christmas in a new house, marriage, and so on.
I picked up one of the bears that was just a little titled. I held the plush bear in my hands and smiled. It reminded me of a very special teddy bear I’d been given. It felt like a lifetime ago. Teddy bears were not my thing, not anymore. They brought back memories of good times that ended badly.
I put the teddy bear back and moved on to another display of ornaments. I did a little tidying, picking up one that had a heartfelt saying about a loved one in heaven. It made me sad. Not that I had anyone in heaven, but one day, I would. Why was I at work and not spending time with my parents while they were still alive and well?
I shook off the feeling. I would see them at Christmas. It made no sense to go home for one day when Black Friday loomed. November and December were the two busiest months of the year for me. Technically, I did the planning all year for the one big event. There was no way I could slack the day before. They understood. They wanted me to succeed and encouraged me to push on.
I took the escalator up to the second floor, checking out the display of women’s holiday dresses that were going to be on sale at a steep discount. Parker had done an amazing job with the mannequins, creating the perfect scene of a holiday gathering with the whole family. Each of them were dressed beautifully.
The quiet of the store began to feel loud. Too loud. I was a little too accustomed to quiet. I went home to a quiet apartment. “Stop it,” I ordered myself.
Lately, I had been on this kick where I felt really alone. Not just alone but lonely. I was used to being alone, but it never really bothered me before. I blamed the holidays. Everyone felt a little lonely around the holidays. I was fine. I had more than enough work to keep my mind focused.
It was when I went home that the loneliness crept up. That was why I chose to spend time at work. It made my life a little easier to cope with. I didn’t want to be sappy and think about the fact I didn’t have a man, and with the way things were going, I never would. I was destined to live the rest of my days as a single workaholic.
“You’re being dramatic, Harper,” I lectured myself.
I had to lecture myself. No one else was around to do it.
Chapter 2
Chase
I walked outside, taking a seat in one of the comfortable lounge chairs next to the pool in my parents’ backyard. It was a nice day. Nice enough to go swimming in the temperature-controlled pool. Unfortunately, swimming on Thanksgiving Day seemed wrong.
“Don’t the fake fall flowers really set the scene?” my twin sister Cori asked from beside me in her own chair.
She was wearing a bikini with huge dark sunglasses shielding half of her face. “Yes. The bikini really sells it.”
“When in Rome,” she said with a laugh. “It’s why we live in Malibu.”
“It’s why you live in Malibu.”
“It’s why they live in Malibu,” she said.
“It’s good for them,” I said. “They need the mild weather. If dad had to shovel snow another year, I think he would have ended up in a wheelchair permanently. His back is shot.”
“Because he is too stubborn to let anyone do it for him.”
“True.”
She turned her head to look at me. “Do you miss it?”
“Miss what?”
“Colorado.”
“I’m there about eighty percent of the year. How could I miss it?”
“You were there eighty percent of this year. Is that why you’re opening a new resort there? Is that your way of returning home?”
I shrugged, staring at the water in the pool moving slowly. “A little. Mostly because Vail is a pretty hot market right now. Rich people and celebrities need somewhere new to spend their money.”
“And you’re happy to take it,” she said with a laugh.