Page 67 of Single Dad's Christmas Cookie

“Nova,” Veronica started. Her tone wasn’t abashed. She was actually talking down to me. “He’s been the secret boyfriend all along.”

“No, the secret boyfriend was supposed to be different guys you’ve been dating. You said none of them were good enough for any of us to meet. You started dating the secret boyfriend when David and I were…” Realization dawned on me. Veronica must have thought I was such an idiot. “He was cheating on me with you, and you pretended to be my friend.”

“I wasn’t pretending. I am your friend.”

“No friend would do this to me. I never want to see you or talk to you again. Go away.”

She walked away, and my world came crashing in on me. My best friend had betrayed me and tried to bring the man who hurt me the most back into my life. The man I wanted didn’t want me back. It was Christmas, and I didn’t have a Christmas tree or presents, and my apartment smelled funny.

I couldn’t do this anymore. I collapsed in on myself and wished everything and everyone would go away.

30

BRYAN

“What made you think that was a good idea?” I heard some guy yelling as Amelia and I approached the next grouping of apartments. I pulled her back a little bit, not wanting to get into the middle of somebody’s argument. The thought was, let them pass, and then we’ll go in and try to find Nova.

“She’s my best friend,” the woman said. “She’s supposed to understand. I love you.”

“That was incredibly stupid,” the man yelled. “A complete waste of money. Is that why you wanted to come up here for Christmas? It wasn’t the snow, it was for her.”

They stood on the sidewalk gesturing wildly at each other.

“It was kind of satisfying, though. Did you see her face when she realized it was you? That was epic.”

“That was actually pretty good, but you should have told me. What if she had a restraining order against me?”

“I knew Nova didn’t have a restraining order against you. If she had, she would have told me. She tells me everything.”

I was trying to ignore them, but that woman said Nova. If she knew where Nova was, our search would be over.

“Excuse me,” I called out as we approached them.

“What do you want?” the man barked out.

“We’re trying to find somebody, and I think I heard you mention her name. I’m not trying to listen in, but the whole complex can hear you yelling. Do you know which one of these apartments belongs to Nova?”

The woman started cackling with laughter.

“Fuck off!”

I glared at him. “Come on, man. Language. My kid is standing right here.”

The woman wrapped her arms around the man as if to spin him around. “She’s upstairs, in the back, on the right.”

“Thank you.”

Amelia had already started running up the stairs.

“Who is Nova to you?” he asked.

I looked the guy up and down. I could probably take him if he tried to jump me. “What’s it to you?”

“Well, I’m her best friend,” the woman said.

I doubted it. From what I had overheard, it sounded to me like she wanted to make a fool out of Nova. That’s not something best friends did.

Amelia stopped halfway up the stairs and turned around. “She’s going to be my mommy. I’m getting a mommy for Christmas.” She didn’t wait for their reaction or for me before she was running up the stairs again.

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