Page 26 of Christmas In Love

“Listen, Natalie, you may think this challenge is meant for me, but I think it’s just as much meant for you.”

Natalie rolled her eyes.

“No. Seriously. You think just because—”

“Don’t,” Natalie cut in.

“Come on, Natalie. Just because…”

Natalie gave her friend a warning look.

April huffed. “Fine. Just because you have some… problems… doesn’t mean you can’t be in a relationship.”

“The only worthwhile relationships lead to marriage. You know I don’t want to get married.”

“I donotknow that.” April rounded on her, staring her down. “And you don’t know that either. In fact, I think you do want to get married, you’ve just spent the last four years convincing yourself you don’t want to so you can avoid some hard conversations. You’ve convinced yourself for so long, you’ve even started to believe it.”

“Idobelieve it,” Natalie sputtered. “No, I know it! I don’t want to get married, April.”

“What about Cade?”

The question surprised her. As did the quiet way April asked it. What about Cade? That was a story from years ago. The ending had already been written.

“He deserves better than me, April. He deserves someone whole and capable of giving him what he wants most.”

“I think what he wants most is you.”

Natalie opened her mouth to disagree vehemently, but April cut her off.

“I understood when you ended things with him, Natalie. I understood that you needed time to process everything you’d found out… I didn’t agree with how you went about it, but I always assumed you’d go back to him. Apologize. Explain. This can’t be that much of a wedge between you two. You were so in love, I always thought you’d work through it.”

Natalie felt the air rush out of her. Her arm dropped from where it was trying to tuck a stray hair back into its clip. “You never told me that.”

“Of course not. I’m your friend, not your parent. I probably should have told you, though. I shouldn’t have enabled your hiding. Because that’s what you've been doing, Natalie. Hiding. And you don’t have anything to hide from. There is Nothing. Wrong. With. You.” She said each word as if there was a period after it, staring at Natalie with a hard expression.

Natalie felt the familiar surge of emotion that still came after she thought about her ‘problems,’ but she tamped it down. In four years, she hadn’t faced those emotions head-on. She wasn’t about to now. Everything was fine just how it was; she didn’t need to open old wounds. Besides, therewassomething wrong with her. Something big. Not just the physical stuff too. Her only example of a relationship growing up was her parents. And then each of her mom’s subsequent marriages. She’d already been worried about what a long-term relationship with Cade would look like even before she’d gotten the information from the doctor.

“Natalie, your diagnosis doesn’t have to be the end of all your dreams. It doesn’t have to be the end of anything.”

The door jingled, and Natalie thanked the heavens for the divine intervention. Granted, the heavens owed her after the life she’d been dealt, but she was still glad for a way out of this conversation.

“Come on, that’s probably our dates.”

April glared at her—which was surprising since Natalie was the one prone to glaring—but followed her from the room. “You can’t just ignore this, Natalie. Cade or your… problems,” she whispered as they made their way through the kitchen, waving at Jason as they skirted around his many preparations for breakfast. Occasionally, he came in at night to prep for the next morning, so he wouldn’t have to be in as early the next day. Natalie never minded but was especially happy to see him now because it meant it was easier to ignore April.

“Oh, Beth, you’re just in time,” April said as they walked into the entry. Natalie sighed in relief. It wasn’t their dates yet, which meant she had time to collect herself after that conversation with April. Or, rather, she had time to bury the conversation deep down where she didn’t have to take a close look at it.

Natalie introduced herself to Beth and gave her the rundown on how to handle things. She ended by telling—no, begging—her to call if there was even one small, minuscule problem.

Beth laughed and pushed her glasses up in a cute manner that appeared more habit than necessity. “It doesn’t sound like you’re that excited about this date, Miss Taylor.”

“I’m not, Beth. I’m really not. So, again, if you needanything—”

“She gets it, Natalie,” April said. “Now I think that might be one of our… no, that’s just. Oh.”

“Who?”

Her question was answered as the bell jingled again and Cade stepped inside, stopping abruptly at the sight of the three of them staring at him.

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