Page 39 of Loving You Always

“And if she doesn’t want to be ‘won’?”

“Remember what you told me I’d have to do if Merrist didn’t cooperate when we were negotiating that merger a while back?”

“Hostile takeover,” his father said, grinning widely.

“Exactly.”

Chapter Thirteen

Kerris glanced around the crowded hotel ballroom, decorated for the Walsh Foundation’s Christmas party. She couldn’t help but remember the last time she’d been in this room. She had been honored as Scholar of the Year that night. It seemed in some ways like yesterday, and in some ways like an entirely different lifetime, one in which she and Cam had been little more than friends and not quite lovers, unsuspecting of the beautiful bomb poised to drop in the middle of their little idyll.

Walsh.

She had met Walsh here. She’d thought of him as a mountain that night—physically imposing and with more presence than she’d ever encountered in one man. She’d thought him a prince, and she had been right. Her chest tightened as her mind sketched her last impression of him four months ago, stretched out so carefully and taking up most of the hospital bed. Holding her as closely as he dared with her so injured, absorbing her tears and her pain like a loving sponge. It had taken all of her willpower not to call him when Mama Jess confirmed that he had indeed come, as she had known he would.

She never allowed her mind to stray much further than the next day. That’s how she’d gotten through those first miserable weeks without Cam and without Walsh, an arm and a leg plastered, and her heart like broken glass, myriad and shattered. That’s how she’d gotten through two months of rehab once the casts were off. That’s how she got through every morning she woke up, wondering what Amalie would be doing by now.

This would have been her baby’s first Christmas. Kerris had always imagined decorating a home for the holidays. A home filled with children, gingerbread, collard greens, and mistletoe and every tradition she could cram into the holiday season.

Kerris always manned a face painting and crafts table for the kids for the holiday event. She grinned, wondering how many reindeer and Santa Claus faces she’d paint before the night was over.

An hour later, Kerris was finishing a Rudolph nose on a little brown-faced cherub when she sensed someone standing nearby. She looked up, the ready smile on her face freezing when her eyes met Jo’s. She looked just beyond Jo’s shoulder, hoping to see at least one child waiting, but unfortunately there was a lull. Kerris dropped a quick kiss on the little girl’s painted cheek before sending her on her way.

“Jo, hi.” Kerris wiped the last traces of paint from her hands. “How are you?”

“I’m good. I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”

“Haven’t missed one since junior year.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Kerris searched for neutral things they could discuss. Things that didn’t involve Walsh or Cam.

“Thanks for getting the clothes to us.”

Ms. Kris had left Déjà Vu more than half her expansive wardrobe. Jo had handed over each item like it was a treasure. Meredith had “curated” all the clothes, which were so much finer than anything else the shop carried.

“No problem.” Jo grinned and gave a subtle shake of her head. “That Meredith is something else.”

Meredith and Jo had actually become friends through the process. The incongruity of that friendship made Kerris smile.

Jo plunged into the silence Kerris wasn’t sure how to fill.

“It’s the first Christmas without Aunt Kris. Can’t believe she’s been gone almost a year now.” Jo looked around the brightly decorated room. “It’s been tough.”

“I’m sure. I miss her, and I can only imagine how hard it’s been for the family.”

Jo’s hair had grown out of the sharp bob she typically maintained. As regal as ever, she looked even more like Kristeene with the softer hairstyle. Kerris hoped Jo would discover as much of Kristeene’s likeness inside as she wore on her lovely face and tall, lithe body.

“Daddy and I don’t even want to be in the house for Christmas.” Jo twisted a ring on her middle finger that Kerris recognized as one Kristeene had often worn. “Thanksgiving was…well, it just wasn’t the same. I think we’re going to Kenya for Christmas with Walsh and Uncle Martin.”

“Your Uncle Martin is going to Kenya for Christmas?” Kerris didn’t even try to hide her surprise.

“If you can believe it, he and Walsh have been globetrotting together.” Jo shook her head, a wry smile tweaking her full mouth. “They’ve spent the last few months in Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong. It’s probably the most time they’ve spent together in…well, ever. And somehow Walsh convinced Uncle Martin to spend Christmas with him at our Kenyan orphanage.”

“That’s great.” Kerris shifted on the stool she’d been glued to for the last hour. “I like Mr. Bennett.”

“You are definitely in the minority.” Jo hesitated before pulling up one of the small red chairs the kids had been sitting in. “What exactly did you like about him?”

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