Christmas at Fireside Cabins - Jenny Hale Page 0,83
were true. Then she could save face as the deceived, poor Alexa, and I’d be the bad guy.
“I did an online search and found the coffee shop. It looked exactly like the kind of place where I could disappear. I promised myself that I wouldn’t get close to anyone again. Self-preservation, you know? And I make a decent living. I have to have money to live—I won’t let her take what I’ve earned, and I think she’s going to try, just to spite me.
“But the big issue here,” he continued, “is that if I’m seeing someone while I’m married, Alexa might seize the opportunity to try to win a case against me. The last thing she wants is her reputation ruined. She’ll do anything to protect it.”
“This is insane,” Lila said. She folded her legs under herself on the sofa and sat back on her knees with her glass of white wine in her hand. “You need to set the record straight.”
He stared at her fondly. “I wish I could see the world like you do. Just once. I’ll bet it’s amazing.”
“Sometimes, my way of thinking gets me hurt.”
He nodded, listening.
“Look, it’s Christmas. I don’t have a family—I didn’t get to choose that—but you do. And I really think you need to talk to your dad, clear things up with Alexa, and if you really want my opinion, you should call your mom too.”
“Anything else?” he asked.
“Take the coffee shop off the market and reopen.”
“Wow, you want a lot.”
“It could be your Christmas gift to me.”
“Great. Way to make it difficult.”
“I’m not finished,” she said, scooting over to him. “I want a big, giant Christmas tree in the coffee shop, and festive music, and reindeer rides…” She reached over him and set her wine down on the side table beside him, before snuggling into his warm broad chest and inhaling his spicy scent. She looked up at him. “And I want us to fill Eleanor’s cabins with people, give them horseback riding lessons, cut trees for them over at the farm…”
Theo laughed and then leaned down and kissed her. “I think you might actually be crazy,” he said. “But I love it.”
Twenty-Six
Having divulged to Lila that he’d been sleeping in a motel in the next town, Theo had slept on her sofa in the cabin last night. She’d offered him one of the beds in the other rooms, but she’d gone to get ready for bed and when she came back, he’d fallen asleep on the sofa. This morning, she’d walked into the living room, yawning, forgetting for a split second that he was there.
Lila stopped, her breath catching at the sight of him sleeping. The little cabin sofa was no match for his tall stature, one leg stretched out and the other bent, with his sock-clad foot on the floor. His arms were covered up to his biceps with the blanket from the arm of the sofa, and he’d wadded one of the decorative pillows under his head. His eyes were closed, the most peaceful expression on his stubbled face.
Evidently sensing her presence, he opened his eyes. “Morning,” he said in a husky voice with a groggy stretch as he sat up. He blinked a few times before his gaze landed on her, drinking her in, a warm smile forming.
Only then did she realize her hair was still drawn up into a haphazard ponytail from when she’d taken off her makeup last night, and she was wearing her red-and-white flannel pajamas with little Christmas trees on them. She pulled the band from her hair and ran her fingers through it, self-conscious.
“Don’t,” he said, reaching out and taking her hand, pulling her toward him so he could scoop her into his arms. “You’re gorgeous.” But then he sobered, his breathing deepening as something crossed his mind.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“You and I can’t move forward until I get things straight with Alexa. I’ve been afraid to serve her with divorce papers because once I do that, she’ll try to ruin me. I think she truly believes I lied to her about everything. And the main thing she cares about is her reputation. She won’t let me get away with it easily.”
“Eventually, she’ll want to get married to someone else, and this will have to happen anyway,” Lila told him. “You need to talk to her.”
“Are you sure you want to get involved with all this? It’s not for the faint of heart.”
“All relationships have to start somewhere,” she told him. “I