Chapter Twenty-One
The closer the days drew to Christmas, the busier Caleb became. In addition to running breakfasts, he arranged guest shuttles to the nearby ski resort, cookie decorating competitions, present wrapping sessions, and this morning’s event, one he hoped to wipe from his memory—Sweatin’ with Santa.
Twenty of the fifty-five-and-over club dressed in their Christmas best and boogied down to upbeat Christmas songs.
Of course, every one of the biddies had been in attendance.
Thankfully, he hadn’t had to lead the crowd—they’d hired a professional for that—but he’d found himself going hip-to-hip with several of the guests.
Maybe the last two weeks had changed him, because he found himself actually enjoying it.
Even with an itchy face from the beard glue, and an ache in his hips from all the dancing.
As the jolly exercisers moved on to drinks in the lounge, Caleb began putting the room back together.
“I hope you know that I have a video of you dancing with one of the friskier ladies. They should really learn to keep their hands to themselves.”
He looked up to find Emma leaning in the doorway. He hadn’t seen her much since the family dinner. He’d started to wonder if she was avoiding him, but then he remembered how busy he’d been. She’d also been preparing for her meeting with Sebastian, so she’d been holed up with her laptop.
He began taking off his beard. “I’m prepared to pay your ransom. What are your demands?”
She peeled away from the door. “Hmm, maybe should’ve thought more about this. I didn’t think you’d pay a ransom. I was thinking dinner—you and me.”
“You don’t have to bribe me for that. I’d go happily.” He set the damn beard down on the table with a slap.
“Well, now you tell me. I’ve always been a shitty negotiator.” She smiled up at him. “I guess that was my way of saying I missed you. You’ve been busy, so have I.”
He brought a hand to her face. “Sebastian told me you have a meeting with him today about the stationery shop.”
“I’m oddly terrified. It’s one thing to daydream about starting over and quite another to do it. I’ve been nervously checking my bank balance since I started working on this.”
“Well, what’s the saying? If you’re not terrified, what’s the point of trying?”
She leaned closer to him. “Did you make that up on the spot?”
His hand came to the small of her back. “I don’t think so. I can go with you, if you want. I may not have the business acumen of my older brother, but I could be moral support.”
“You’re too busy for that.”
He gestured around to the empty room. “That’s the last event for today, until a special year-end bingo tonight. The biddies run that, and you’ve been unofficially banned. Once they make decrees like that, it’s hard to get them to walk them back.”
“I can’t help that I’m a hustler.” She leaned against him. The soft, floral aroma of her shampoo hit him straight in the feelings. He drew her closer before he brushed his hand down her back.
“I’ll go with you as long as you promise to delete the incriminating video.”
“There’s no video. So, you’ll come?” Her words were muffled against his shirt.
“Give me twenty minutes to finish cleaning up and change. You’re meeting with Seb after closing, right?”
“I was hoping you’d keep your holiday attire on.”
He laughed. “I’d never live that down.”
Her eyes shone with mischief. “Fine, fine. Maybe later, though?” She gave him an oddly long wink.
He stumbled back with laughter. “I’m finding out all sorts of things about you today, Emma.”
“I promise I don’t really have a Santa fetish. I’ll see you in a bit.” She rose up to brush a kiss across his lips. “I’ll meet you in the lobby in twenty.”
* * * *
On the way down the mountain, Emma nervously scrolled back and forth through the questions on her laptop. Caleb kept one eye on her as he navigated the windy mountain roads.
“You’re really taking this seriously, huh?”
She cut him a glance. “Well, yeah. It’s a huge step if I choose to take it. Did you think this was all for show?”
“What? No. I guess I was just surprised to see you take to the idea so quickly.”
She shut her laptop. “If you have something to say, spit it out, Caleb.”
He exhaled. He hadn’t meant to pick a fight. “I just meant that you want to be sure about this before you make any next steps. I know your life has gone through a huge upheaval in the last month. I want to be sure you’re making the right choice.”
She stowed her laptop in the bag by her feet.
“I’m hoping that this line of questioning is coming from a place of concern, and not because you’re having second thoughts about me moving to town.
” She turned toward the window. “Because as much as I’ve been having fun, this really isn’t about you, Caleb. I’m doing this for me.”
Heat flashed across his cheeks. How had he fucked this up so quickly? He hadn’t meant to make her doubt herself. “That’s not what I meant at all, Emma. I guess I’m just practical to a fault. This may not be about me. Fine, I get that. But you won’t exactly be a stranger.”
She folded her hands in her lap. “If you didn’t want me to do this, you should’ve said so sooner.”
This wasn’t a conversation they should have while navigating tricky mountain roads.
Caleb pulled the van into a scenic lookout parking lot. “That’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m just flustered. This is how I get. I just want to be sure you’re making the right choice. I don’t want you to have any regrets.”
“I think the biggest regrets are the things you never did anyway. It’s better to try and fail than regret not trying.”
“You’re right, and I’m sorry.”
She took a moment to respond, her gaze focused on the view ahead of them. Even obstructed with fog and snow, the mountains were beautiful.
“You have to see it from my side. You came at me more than a little bit sideways, Caleb.”
He reached over to grab her knee. “I realize that now. We don’t exactly know each other as well as it feels.
That’s all this is. Ask Sebastian. He’ll tell you about the two months it took me to decide where I wanted to go to college.
I papered my bedroom with color-coded Post-its with the pros and cons for each school.
In the end, I ended up going to Tech because I got a partial scholarship.
So, all that overthinking was for nothing.
Somehow, I still end up doing it, though. ”
She leaned back into her seat and kicked a leg up.
“I’m not exactly the type to make decisions like this, either.
But I’m kind of under the gun. I have no life to go back to in DC now.
I need to decide what my next step is. I’d much rather choose adventure than a slightly different variation of the same old life I was living. ”
“I think we’re both saying that we want you to be sure. I’m sorry if I got flustered and the words got all mixed up on the way out.”
She reached for his knee and gave it a squeeze. “I appreciate you looking out for me, Caleb. Now, we should get moving. I have a feeling Sebastian doesn’t care for tardiness.”
Caleb chuckled as he put the van in gear. “You’d be right about that.”
* * * *
Emma couldn’t shake off the weird feeling left by her conversation with Caleb. Even after he explained his very rational train of thought, she couldn’t help but wonder if it was a roundabout way of telling her that he didn’t want her hanging around after the new year.
She was probably reading too much into it.
It’s not like this would be her first time overthinking things.
But when he didn’t stick around for the meeting, instead saying he had to go next door to go over some documents for Ellis & Daughter, her worrying escalated.
His reaction was proof that no matter how well they’d meshed since meeting, they really were just strangers.
Sebastian sighed as he scrolled through the financial information she’d prepared for him.
“Try not to look so dour, please,” Emma said.
He took off his reading glasses and closed the laptop. “For someone with no background in business, I’m surprised at how good the first draft of your business plan is.”
“Okay, that’s positive. So why the sighing?” She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans.
“I think you’ll have difficulty obtaining a business loan. Meaning you’d have to drain your savings if you wanted to go this route.”
Panic scratched up Emma’s throat. She’d been a saver since she’d first realized that her belongings could be thrown into a trash bag at any time.
Hoisted into the back of many social workers’ cars, she’d realized no one would have her back except her.
Knowing she had that money in the bank was how she slept at night.
“Not even with the monthly inheritance check I receive from my foster parents? Doesn’t that count as income?” Ma and Pa Henderson had left an inheritance to all the kids. It was hardly enough to live on, but it was part of her monthly income.
“It’s still not enough.”
Her lower lip wobbled. Today really was about smashing the happy daydream she’d been living. She’d been stupid to think that she could achieve something like this on her own. Now what was she going to do?
“I guess that’s that, then. Back to DC I go.”
Gretchen stopped by to place a cinnamon roll in front of her before disappearing again.
“No one is saying that, Emma. You might need help that the banks can’t provide.”
She shoved the cinnamon roll into her mouth. “I don’t exactly have anyone who can swoop in and save the day. It’s just me.”
“Well, that’s not exactly true. We can help if you want us to.”
She paused chewing. “Who’s we?”
“Ever since we started Loaved Up, Gretchen and I have been interested in expanding the town’s business district. We’ve been fortunate in life. We decided that if the right business opportunity came along, we’d consider investing.”
Could he be saying what she thought he was saying?
She wiped at her mouth. “So, what are you saying? Business partners?”
Her mind trailed back to the strange conversation she and Caleb had had. Mixing business with Sebastian meant that Caleb would be part of her life regardless of their romantic status.
“Possibly. I can draft an agreement. Do you have an attorney?”
“I don’t, but I’m sure you know everyone worth knowing in this part of Virginia.”
“I can recommend a few impartial attorneys. In the meantime, why don’t you think over what we’ve talked about here? I’ll work on getting you a draft agreement by close of business Monday.”
This all seemed too easy. Where was the catch? “Monday’s Christmas Eve.”
Sebastian shrugged. “It’s one of the busiest days of the year for us. So, if I can’t get the agreement to you by then, I’ll be in touch, okay?”
She nodded. “I appreciate the offer, Sebastian. I’m not ready to give up on this dream just yet. I’m glad to know that it isn’t quite a pipe dream after all.”
He slid out of the booth. “I’m glad to hear it. I’ll be right back so we can wrap up things.”
She finished her cinnamon roll. This was good news—her dream was one step closer to becoming reality. So why couldn’t she shake the feeling that she was about to make a huge mistake?