Chapter 5
Five
It was clearly pretty bold of her to be taking it upon herself to act like some sort of armchair therapist. After all, they barely knew each other, and technically, his personal family business was…well, none of her business.
But that didn’t stop her from moving them into the living room.
It wasn’t until Shmoop barked that she remembered he needed to go out. Stopping in her tracks, she turned to Lucas. “Would you mind if we talked downstairs so I can let him out?”
“That’s fine.”
So, they made their way down to the basement level, but they continued to hold hands.
Holly told herself not to read anything into it, but it was kind of a significant moment and she knew she was going to think about it for a long time.
His hand was so much larger than hers and it made her feel a little delicate comparatively.
And she liked it. It made her wonder what his hand would feel like on other parts of her body, but she quickly pushed that thought aside because he was clearly having a bit of a crisis. She could continue her sexy thoughts later, when she was home alone.
They both stepped outside to let Shmoop out, and that’s when Lucas let go of her hand.
“I can turn on one of the heat lamps and we can sit out here if you’d like?” he suggested.
“Um…sure! That sounds nice.”
Within minutes, they were each seated on separate patio sofas.
“It’s okay to be upset about your parents, Lucas,” she began carefully.
“Especially if this all was a little out of the blue. Obviously, I’m not privy to what your home life has been like, but it always seemed like your parents were very happy together. ”
“They were. I honestly never remember them arguing about anything major. My father used to get annoyed when she went overboard on shopping, but it was more like a token argument. They’d be laughing and joking with each other within minutes.
” Groaning, he slouched down against the cushions with his head thrown back.
Holly had to fight the urge to lean over and kiss his throat.
Ugh…I’m a mess!
“It’s just…the holidays are my downtime, you know?” he went on. “Now I’m dealing with the two of them fighting, and they’re both putting me in the middle.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because I’m a lawyer and they’re both trying to claim me to help them. I deal with corporate law…not that anyone cares.” Another groan. Sitting up, he looked miserable. “I know your heart’s in the right place with this party, but mine’s just not in it, Holly. I’m sorry.”
And just like that, it was over.
All of it.
The party, the cozy conversations, the time alone together…just…gone.
Her heart raced as she held his gaze and a dozen different comebacks and scenarios played over and over in her head, but was forcing him to do this the right thing? Was she really going to throw in the towel so easily?
But when she looked at the pained expression on his face, she was torn. She was an empath and therefore totally felt his pain, but the thought of him having absolutely no holiday spirit and being here alone made her heart ache.
She knew what she had to do.
“Lucas, I know it all seems pointless, but…” Pausing, Holly knew she needed to find a positive spin on this whole thing. “But…I think you need this party more than you realize.”
One dark brow arched and she did her best not to sigh dreamily.
“This party means something. Not just to me and the people we work with, but to you. Maybe putting it all together ourselves will help you sympathize with your mother in a way you normally wouldn’t have.
Get your sisters involved. Make it a family effort.
If your parents see all the hard work you’re all putting into this, it will have to bring them together. ”
“Okay, but…what if that’s not the right thing?
” he reasoned. “What if the right thing is to let their marriage end? I know I said everything seemed normal, but let’s face it.
I’m not with them all day, every day. I have a life of my own.
Maybe there’s something more to all of this than anyone realized, and this is the logical solution? ”
“The party?” she asked hopefully.
“No. The divorce.”
“Oh.”
Think, Holly! Think!
“Then maybe this party is the perfect distraction! It’s a way to show them that they can’t ruin the holiday!”
“Holly…”
“Look, Lucas, we need a party. You need involvement. We’ve got the decorations, a lead on the tree, someone to hang all the exterior lights, a caterer…everyone we need. And I am more than willing to act as the party hostess!”
He looked ready to argue but seemed to reconsider.
“I know it would just be easier for you to put the kibosh on the whole thing, but I truly feel like this is important. I’m more than willing to do most of the work! Just…please consider it, Lucas. Please.”
And that was all she was going to say about it. It was now officially out of her hands. She refused to be a bully, and she didn’t know him well enough to keep arguing with him.
No matter how much she wanted to.
Instead, she stood and walked over to where Shmoop was wandering around in the fenced doggie area. He was sniffing around and completely oblivious to all the anxiety she was feeling.
Behind her, she heard Lucas get to his feet and then heard the sliding glass doors open and then close.
The loud and weary sigh was out before she could stop it.
For the last few days, she genuinely believed she was going to pull this off and not only save the Christmas party, but possibly save the Brooks family as well.
And maybe a teeny tiny part of her believed that Lucas was going to fall in love with her.
Okay, probably more than a teeny tiny part of her.
In her mind, the party was going to be an amazing success, everyone was going to be wowed, his parents were going to reunite, and then he would kiss her under the mistletoe and tell her that he was madly in love with her.
“Ugh, clearly I watch too many Hallmark Christmas movies,” she murmured before unlatching the gate and letting Shmoop out. “Come on, boy. It’s time to go home.”
She had already cleaned up the dinner dishes while Lucas was on the phone with his mother, so all she needed to do was gather up her Crock-Pot and Shmoop’s bowl and carrier and be on her way.
Just thinking about never coming back here or having time alone with Lucas was devastating, but…she’d survive.
“And now I can be depressed about the holidays too.”
That wasn’t completely true. Her family always had a wildly festive time for Christmas and all through the new year. It would be a pleasant distraction, but in the back of her mind, Holly knew she’d be thinking about Lucas and his family and all that could have been.
Shmoop sat down beside her, tilting his head as he looked up at her. “It just wasn’t meant to be,” she whispered. “We need to go home.” Reaching down, she scratched behind his ear the way she knew he loved and then nodded toward the sliding doors. “Let’s go.”
When they stepped back inside the house, she didn’t see Lucas anywhere and fought off a wave of disappointment.
And annoyance, because…well…that was rude. The least he could do was wait for her and walk her out instead of making her wander around alone. It was on the tip of her tongue to call him a jerk, but she wasn’t feeling it.
She was halfway to the stairs when she heard, “Oh, good! You came back in!”
Turning, she saw Lucas standing in a doorway in the far corner of the family room area. She looked at him quizzically, but before she could ask any questions, he was already speaking.
“I found more decorations! Come check them out!” Then he disappeared back through the doorway, missing the look of pure joy—and relief—on her face.
It was ridiculous that he was caving and doing this, but Holly had a point. He did need this. But not for his parents or the company—for himself.
Sure, it would be easy to just say no and have a completely peaceful, serene holiday season. It’s the kind of thing he loved. However, the thought of the house not being decorated and just looking like it did every other day of the year was more unappealing than he would have thought.
So here he was in one of their storage rooms, pillaging through the multitude of boxes of decorations.
The dog came wandering in with Holly not far behind. Her blue eyes were wide with wonder.
“Oh my goodness! I think this room is bigger than my entire house too!” The laugh she let out sounded a little nervous, but she kept walking around. “What else did you find?”
“Tons of boxes of decorations for the interior of the house—bows, garland, statues, a nativity scene, the train, and the rest of the village. Then there’s an entire stack of boxes of ornaments, and four twelve-foot trees.”
“Seriously? That’s awesome!”
He nodded before raking a hand through his hair. “Yeah. We always had two trees down here, one in the living room, and another up in the bonus room.”
“That’s right! I was so focused on the giant tree in the entryway that I forgot about the other ones!” She peeked in one of the boxes with part of the train set in it before moving on. “And the bonus room? I don’t think I’ve ever heard it called that.”
Another nod. “On the floor with all the bedrooms, there’s a large living room area that we just call the bonus room. That was how my mother referred to it, but some call it a flex space.” He shrugged. “I also found a smaller tree that I’m going to use in the guesthouse.”
“Good for you! Wow! This is incredible!” She came to a stop in front of the stack of boxes with the ornaments in them. “These weren’t on the massive tree in the entryway. These were on the other ones.”
“Then what was on the entryway tree? It wasn’t just bare, right?”
“No, it was definitely decorated, but not with anything I’m seeing here. At least not yet.”
“How can you know which ornaments were for which…”