Jingle All the Way - Debbie Macomber Page 0,43

concerned, this matter had already been settled.

“We’ve already been through this, Daisy. I’m saving us—”

“Don’t say ‘us,’ because this is your decision, this is all about you. I don’t know what happened in your past that makes you afraid to fall in love. Whatever it was must be a doozy.”

He shook his head. “You’re wrong.”

“I very well could be. What I know now is that you’re not the man I thought you were, Asher Adams. You’re a coward.”

He flinched and retreated a step.

“One day you’re going to look back and remember that you walked away from a woman who would love you with all her heart. A woman who would welcome you into her world and be willing to share yours, only you were afraid to take the chance. You shoved her away, giving in to your fears and deciding what was best for her without giving her a say or caring enough to make the effort. Have a good life, Asher. I suspect it will be lonely and empty. Just remember it was by your own choice.”

Having had her say, she climbed into the backseat of the taxi and closed the door. No sooner had she taken her seat when the cab pulled away from the dock.

Everly didn’t look back.

This really was the end. She told Asher she intended to put him out of her mind, and she meant it.

* * *

—

By the time Everly landed in Chicago, she’d been awake nearly nineteen hours. Going from the airport to her condo in the middle of the night was smooth sailing with a complete lack of traffic. Everly noticed the signs of Christmas everywhere. As she drove past Navy Pier, the bright lights shone a welcome home.

Checking her phone, she saw that Jack had sent her multiple messages, asking her to stop by the office as soon as she could. This didn’t surprise her. She wondered how he’d survived the last two weeks and hoped he’d been able to deal with whatever crisis had come up, because she fully intended to head to Indiana as soon as possible.

As she thumbed through the text messages, she realized she’d been looking for one from Asher and wanted to kick herself for her romantic heart. He had her phone number, as he’d promised to forward several photos. Since he hadn’t reached out, she had to believe that really had been a final good-bye.

Everly had a decision to make. She could be thankful for the time they had and move forward, or she could wallow in the loss of the most promising relationship she’d ever experienced. She knew what she had to do and was determined to make it happen.

* * *

—

The following morning, after showering and unpacking, she headed to the office, as requested. Several of the staff greeted her and commented that it was good to have her back.

She noticed Annette wasn’t at her desk and wondered where she was. Perhaps with Everly away, the assistant had really shown her true colors and hadn’t bothered to show up for work until she felt like it.

“Everly.” Jack rushed out of his office as soon as he saw her. “You’re here. Did you get my texts? I have to say it hasn’t been quite the same around here with you gone. I need you to—”

“Where’s Annette?” she asked, cutting him off.

“Annette…Can we talk about her later?”

“No. I need to square something with her.”

“I know, I know,” Jack said, his face filled with regret. “I learned what she did. I asked her to book you a luxury cruise so you could relax and recharge, and instead she sent you sailing down the Amazon.”

“It was a dirty trick.” Everly didn’t want Jack to know the cruise had turned into the experience of a lifetime.

Jack shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I believe she regretted that after you’d left.”

That was a surprise. “Did she admit what she’d done?”

“No…not exactly.”

“Then how’d you find out?”

Obviously uneasy, Jack rubbed the side of his face. “Accounts Payable questioned the expense, and when I saw that Annette had booked you on the Amazon Explorer, I asked her about it. She admitted she thought it was only fair because you were a terrible boss who was demanding, critical, and unfair.”

“And you believed her?”

“No. I put her to work on another project, which she mishandled. No one in the office was willing to work with her, so I sent her home to think of a way she