Chapter 17
Five days came and went, but not even the San Diego sun could cheer up Paige’s spirits.
She was grateful to be around her parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Carter—even during her family’s annual gingerbread house decorating competition. Her thoughts bounced between anger at his deception, to missing being around him.
Their days snowed in together had brought Paige more joy than she had had in a long time. Carter was good-looking, but also sensitive, kind, and funny. She hadn’t felt like that around a guy in ages—not even with Chance.
But that didn’t change the fact that he had lied about having ties to another woman—someone who clearly believed they weren’t well and truly over.
Monica thought she was still in a relationship with him, but what does going on a break really mean? He seemed so sincere about being done with their relationship. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to shut him out . . .
As Paige put the final touches on her gingerbread house, she couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if Monica had never showed up at her door.
Would Carter have stayed, or would he have still moved out?
Would he have asked her out on an actual date or would they have slept together a couple more times and then never spoken again?
She wanted to believe the spark between them was real, but she didn’t know what to trust at the moment.
Those last few days with Carter had taught Paige two things: one, she was terrified of opening up her heart again. She had been so blindsided by Chance’s betrayal that she shut out the thought of love and happily ever after. She had been so sure he was the one, but her trust had been shattered.
And two, as scared as she was, she wanted to open up her heart.
The connection she had with Carter was undeniable.
It just felt right. He felt like a piece of her puzzle that she had been missing.
In hindsight, she could see that Chance was a piece that didn’t quite fit—as hard as she tried to make it work.
But something about Carter made her feel seen, appreciated, and whole.
Those days snowed in together made her realize a relationship like that could add to her life and make her stronger.
She placed her last gumdrop on the gingerbread roof and brought her house to the dining table alongside the rest of her family. Hers was nowhere near the best this year—as if her mind had been elsewhere the entire time.
***
It was already sixty degrees when Paige woke up on Christmas Eve morning, and by the time her family left for their beach walk, it was sixty-six. Her family members layered up with long sleeves and jackets, but having acclimated to Chicago weather, Paige was happy in a light pullover and vest.
Each year they picked a different beach for their walk, and this year was Torrey Pines State Beach. They grabbed some warm drinks from Bird Rock Coffee Roasters on their way and set off for an easy stroll after nabbing the last parking spot along the beach.
“Oh, Paige,” her mom, Anne, started, “we just saw Nadia’s announcement on Facebook! How wonderful that she and Linus are getting married!”
Though Paige was the first to find out about Nadia and Linus’s engagement, they had decided to wait a few days before making a public announcement so they could tell other friends and family first.
“I know,” Paige said, smiling at the joy on Nadia’s face when she FaceTimed her. “I’m over the moon for them.”
As a means to distract herself from thinking about Carter, and because she was genuinely excited for her friend, Paige had spent her entire flight to San Diego browsing Pinterest for ideas to send to Nadia. It was worth the seven dollars spent on Wi-Fi.
Paige wondered how long it would take her mom to start prying into her own love life.
“How’s the dating scene in Chicago?”
Apparently not that long, Paige thought.
“You know, there’s a new guy who just started at my firm who is cute. I can ask him if he’s single,” her mom said.
Her mom was an administrator at an investment firm in San Diego. Retirement had gotten a bit too boring for Anne, and this admin role kept her entertained during the week.
“Oh my gosh, mom,” Paige replied, rolling her eyes. “Even if that wasn’t utterly humiliating, you do remember I live halfway across the country, right?”
Paige shuddered at the thought of having her mom ask out a man on her behalf. But she decided to confide in her about her current dating predicament.
“If you must know, I’m thinking of getting back out there soon. I feel ready. You know how I told you about my roommate?”
“The standoffish one with the handsome face?”
“Yeah, wait, how do you know he’s handsome? I nev—oh my god, you Facebook stalked him, didn’t you?” Paige already knew the answer.
“What else are moms supposed to do?” Anne said.
Paige couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yes, my handsome and rude roommate. He was terrible at first. I could barely stand to be in the room with him, he was that bad. But when we were snowed in together, he actually turned out to be a pretty nice guy, and I developed a major crush,” Paige admitted, leaving out the part about their steamy romantic evening to spare herself from her mother’s reaction.
“Well, you should ask him on a date!” her mom exclaimed.
“It’s . . . complicated.” Paige sighed. “He just got out of a relationship, and I don’t want to be his easy rebound.
” She decided to keep the backstory short and sweet, partly because she didn’t feel like explaining the difference between a break and breakup to her mother, but mostly because it still stung to think about how Carter didn’t bother telling her about Monica.
“That’s not always a bad thing, you know,” Anne offered. “Your dad and I met right after I broke up with my ex-boyfriend, but I never thought of him as a rebound. I was all in right from the start.”
“Wait, really?” Paige asked. “I don’t think I ever knew that.”
“Oh yeah, I had dated so many boring guys, and this boyfriend was no different,” Anne explained.
“He worked for Grandpa, so I felt like I had to stick it out with him because of that. But you can’t force a spark, hon.
I called it off and he was devastated, but I knew he wasn’t the guy for me.
And then just a couple of weeks later, I met your dad at a concert, and it was love at first sight. ”
“I knew about the concert story, but I had no idea you were only recently single.” Paige loved the story of her parents’ meet-cute. Each time she heard it, it renewed her belief in true love.
“You never know when love will knock on your door! If you really like this guy, and if you think he might like you too, just talk to him when you go back to Chicago.” Her mom gave her a reassuring smile.
“Thanks, mom. I really needed that,” Paige said as the pair stepped back in stride with the rest of the group.
At the end of their walk, the family piled into the car and went on a hunt for the best Christmas lights in the city. And for the first time in six days, Paige was filled with Christmas cheer.