Holiday with You - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,19

not to—what’s bothering you?”

I laugh because he’s right. Nothing’s wrong with going to the bakery, buying a few cookies, and dropping them by the B&B. It’s not like I’m proposing.

“Nothing.” I wave a hand.

“Your tone is reassuring.” He presses his fingers against his forehead. “Listen, I swore I wouldn’t get involved. We all did—”

“Who are we?”

“That’s not important.” He pauses, takes a few steps closer to where I stand, and lowers his voice. “You had an unplanned night. It doesn’t happen often, but you seemed to have fun before and after.”

I run a hand through my hair. “Jesus, does everyone know about it?”

Earlier today, when I went to drop Perry at her preschool, one of the other dads dropping off his kid smirked and nodded at me. Once we were away from the children, he said, “Nicely done.”

This is why I shouldn’t sleep with tourists. Everyone in town is making it more than what it was, and I don’t want Audrey to become a sour memory.

“That was last night,” I explain. “I’d rather keep my distance.”

“What happened to the guy who used to see these moments for exactly what they are: opportunities. You met a hot, available woman visiting here for a couple of weeks. Enjoy what’s happening between the two of you. There’s nothing more to it.”

“I need to think about my daughter.” My voice rises to a volume that makes Perry freeze. Waving at her, I say, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell, Cupcake. Why don’t you put your boots on and find your backpack? We need to go.”

Colt shakes his head and tilts it toward Perry. “She’s precious. I adore her. There’s a difference between thinking about your child and putting your life on hold indefinitely. Since your divorce, you’ve become neurotic. Sometimes I wonder if you’re protecting Perry or yourself.”

I look at the ceiling because I don’t have time to deal with this nonsense. My love life isn’t on hold. It’s permanently closed. Can’t he see that I have a child to raise and a company to run?

“Last night, you were being yourself. The normal Colin Bradford I look up to and respect. Not this guy who can’t see himself beyond”—he waves his hands—“whatever it is that you became after you divorced her.”

We’ve never discussed my marriage or the end of it. I was too busy in New York running a company and trying to make a new life. I’m ashamed to confess that while I was with Remi, we never visited my family. Mom and Dad always flew to us. I put so much on hold back then, and now . . . am I putting something else in limbo?

Is he calling me a mess? Probably. And he’s not wrong. I doubt it has anything to do with my ex and a lot to do with me. I am Perry’s only parent, and making up for the absence of her mother is hard. As awful as it is, Remi chose not to be in our daughter's life. I prefer it that way if she was only going to continue treating both of us as she had leading up to the divorce. Like a nuisance and an obstacle in her way of success. It’s best she’s still in New York where she can’t hurt Perry when my little girl is old enough to understand.

There’s nothing wrong with meeting a woman, sleeping with her, and moving on with my life.

I shake my head, not denying his observation but not correcting him either. Perry is almost ready to go, and I’m not discussing my romantic life in front of her. Just because we’re speaking in hushed voices doesn’t mean she can’t hear, and her brain is like a sponge. She absorbs everything around her, and at some point in her life, she might pull that information out and digest it.

“It’s time for us to go.”

“Sure, go on with your life,” he says with annoyance. “If you could see yourself from the outside, you’d be begging yourself to stop being so mechanical. Be a little more mature about what happened with Audrey. There’s nothing wrong with having a friend for a couple of weeks. She’ll leave once she realizes that Winter Valley Bed & Breakfast isn’t for sale.”

“Mechanical?” I ask and laugh. “That’s new. I don’t even want to know what it means. Say thank you to Uncle Colt, Cupcake.”

Perry runs to him and hugs him tight. He hugs her back, and says, “Make sure Daddy takes you to