Chapter Twenty-Four
Emma thought about hiding, gathering her things, and escaping back to the cabin. The thing was, he knew which cabin she was staying in, so he could find her if he really wanted to.
She sighed and shoved her journal and supplies back into her bag. So much for a relaxing Sunday morning. Of course he’d ignored her when she said it was over. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t come close to calling it off before. He was a big fan of the grand gesture, but often lacked follow-through.
Looking at him now, she was more certain than ever that she’d made the right decision.
He wasn’t here because he loved her. No, he’d grown used to her presence in his life.
All the little things she’d done for him to keep his life moving.
Sure, he had a maid and an assistant at work.
But they wouldn’t have the keen eye for managing all the details of his life as she had.
Knowing him, he also saw marriage as a box to tick. They’d been together so long that she knew he would rather throw himself into the Potomac than get back on the dating apps again. Even though it was doubtful it would take him long to find a Capital Clone to fill her spot.
After all, it wasn’t his looks that put women off.
She stood, and at the same time Davis turned to take notice of her. It was then she saw the bouquet of winter blooms nestled into the crook of his arm.
Oh, they were really doing this. He scurried his way across the lobby. She met him somewhere in the middle.
“Emma! There you are. The front desk person was telling me they couldn’t deny or confirm that you were here.” He rolled his eyes at the poor desk clerk before making his way across the lobby.
Of course they’d caught the attention of several of the people milling around in the lobby. Including two of the women she recognized as being part of the biddies. Great. This news would spread faster than a wildfire.
Davis came to a stop right in front of her. At least he had the good sense not to try to kiss her.
“What are you doing here, Davis?”
He offered her the flowers. She took a step back. “Come on, you can’t seriously think this would work.”
He cast a glance around the room. “Is there somewhere we could talk privately? Your cabin, perhaps?”
From behind them, someone cleared their throat. She found one of the biddies opening the door to the lounge.
Sometimes, their meddling came in handy.
She murmured her thanks as she passed the woman. Davis followed her into the dark lounge. She paused to flick on the overhead lights, which buzzed on one by one. Once the door shut behind him, he thrust the flowers into her arms.
“I feel ridiculous carrying those around.”
She slammed the flowers onto the bar top. Petals scattered to the floor. “I would’ve thought you would feel ridiculous driving all this way. You had several hours to think this over on the way here. I was clear in my last text, Davis. We’re done.”
He started to roll his eyes but stopped. “You can’t be serious, Em. What are you going to do? You have nowhere to live and no job. What are you going to do, stay around here with these hillbillies?”
He knew all the soft spots to poke at. He’d told her once before that no one else could ever give her the stable, comfortable life that he could provide for her. Knowing her upbringing as he did, it made the whole charade seem that much more cruel.
She narrowed her eyes. “So what if I am? It’s none of your concern.”
To that, he only shook his head. “Fine. I didn’t want to do this, but you’re not exactly giving me a choice.”
She had no time to consider that thought. He reached into his jacket pocket and produced an envelope. “Here.”
The envelope was pale pink, with a floral motif in the corners. “Did you take that from my office?”
“Where else am I supposed to find an envelope? You have an abundance of all that paper crap.”
Paper crap. In those two words, he showed how little he cared about her.
She snapped the envelope out of his hands. She tugged it open with her index finger. Inside, she found a two-page invoice. Printed on both sides, it was a monthly record of their time together and the expenses he’d paid for.
“What the hell is this? A bill?”
He shrugged halfheartedly. “I did cover most of the expenses. If you want to break the engagement, I’ll be expecting repayment.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Davis. Are you serious? Charges for gas for picking me up from work? I paid my share of the expenses.”
It was true that he had paid the mortgage, but she had also paid for utilities, parking—for a car she didn’t even drive—and other miscellaneous expenses. His income was nearly double hers.
Of course, they’d never put anything in writing because why would they? They were in a serious relationship.
Emma’s cheeks burned in shame. “I thought we agreed—”
“Well, it was never in writing, was it? I can and will sue you, Emma. There are legal precedents for this type of arrangement, even in the absence of a formal contract. You should know I keep immaculate records. It won’t be hard to prove.”
She slammed the papers onto the nearest table. “Do you even hear yourself? This is bonkers.”
“I had a feeling you wouldn’t come back.
I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask. Even though I doubted you would come to your senses in this garish Christmas wonderland.
And if you said no, which you have—at least I could serve you with notice.
I’ll send you an updated invoice with just those charges.
Because hey, I’m nothing if not a nice guy, huh? ”
She flipped to the second page to see the total. Even removing the ridiculous fees, she was still looking at a bill of over ten thousand dollars. A third of her savings—already accounted for to start Yours Truly. Dread sank in her stomach like a stone.
“What about the utilities and expenses I paid? Or that I returned your stupid ring?”
He reached over her shoulder to tap a line on the printed spreadsheet. “Factored that into the equation. The ring was a gift, so that was not factored at all. This is what you would owe after considering those figures, with minimal interest.”
She folded the paper up and shoved it back into the envelope. “Sue me if you want. I don’t care. It’s a he said/she said claim for small claims court anyway.”
“It’ll be a hassle, though, won’t it? Coming back and forth to the city, paying an attorney… It’s just easier if you pay now.”
This smug fucker. He didn’t need the money. This was punishment for her being the one to end things.
“I’ll be back the first week of January to get my stuff. Don’t think I won’t be doing inventories of my own.”
“Whatever you say.” He turned toward the door. “Hey, you know what? I’ll give you a fifty percent discount if you pay me by the new year. It’ll be good for both of us, huh? Start the new year fresh?”
She reached for a heavy marble coaster and debated throwing it at his head as he made his way to the door. That would accomplish nothing, so she settled for crumpling up his stupid invoice.
A string of expletives slipped out of her.
She slammed her hand against the edge of the bar.
She’d been so sure about starting a new life in Falling Leaves.
She’d spent long enough with Davis to know he wasn’t the type to be slighted.
It wasn’t about the money for him. It was about reminding her who was really in charge.
She exhaled a breath. Tried to keep the anxiety from hovering over her head like a thundercloud.
But the rain fell, anyway, so much for her mountain town fantasy.
* * * *
The Falling Leaves High School chorus was never going to win any state competitions. Even with the perfect acoustics in the chapel, there were far too many flat notes for Caleb’s preference.
He tried to tune out the choir as he wove Christmas lights around the ends of the pews.
He was desperate to get out of there and to see Emma again.
He felt they were now on the same page. She was moving to town—but to follow her dreams, not for him.
It could be a little insulting if he thought of it that way, but he was glad for it.
He was the icing. The town and the business were what she was really coming there for. So if, god forbid, this thing between them didn’t work out, there would be no harm done.
In theory, anyway. He couldn’t imagine her right next door and not being his.
Emma’s enthusiasm for her business only encouraged him to push his father for change in the new year.
Ellis & Daughter would stay mostly the same, but they would add sustainable builds and interior design to their repertoire.
Kayla was working on getting her associate’s degree in design and was on target to graduate in the spring.
There was one last thing he wanted to mention—a name change, not from Ellis & Daughter to something like Ellis & Son. No, Sabrina was still involved in the business. He’d rolled through several options. Ellis Design Co., Ellis Restorations…he just hadn’t narrowed it down to one yet.
He thankfully wrapped up the last strand of lights just as the choir started up with their rendition of O Holy Night.
He headed for the rear of the chapel. There, he left the Christmas lights twinkling in shades of white and gold, giving the chapel an almost magical look.
He laughed to himself. He was becoming as bad as Sabrina. They were just lights.
He gathered his supplies and quietly slipped out of the chapel. He made his way to the lodge, intending to ask Brandon and Sabrina if there was a way to auto-tune the choir or if they had a backup plan.
Maybe the guests would be too drunk to find the choir anything but hilarious.
He dropped his tools off in a utility closet off the back door and sought out his sister.
As he looked around the space, he swelled with pride.
Guests happily moved around the lodge in groups.
Some sat in front of the Christmas tree.
Others were engaged in a Christmas cookie decorating contest in the restaurant.
He made his rounds to ensure the evening was moving forward without a hitch.
The last thing he wanted was for unhappy guests so close to Christmas.
Two weeks ago, he would’ve worked himself up before he approached strangers, introvert overthinker that he was. Now, he swept in and out of conversations easily.
No one judged him as hard as he judged himself. And he was getting better at being kinder to himself.
After his rounds, he found Brandon and Sabrina standing together behind the reception desk.
They wore concerned looks.
“Why the long faces? Did you guys hear the choir? They’re not that bad.”
When neither laughed at his lame attempt at a joke, an odd feeling settled over him. “What’s wrong?”
Sabrina and Brandon exchanged a look before Brandon gestured for him to follow them to the staff-only corridor.
“You guys are freaking me out. What’s going on?”
Sabrina worried her hands over one another. “It’s Emma. She’s gone.”