Page 39 of My Ex for Christmas
I nod, stepping fully into the room. “I do. It didn’t feel right, getting rid of it.”
I kept everything from our relationship. It’s all still sitting in a box in the closet across the room.
When Hadley looks up at me, tears are glittering in her eyes. My heart drops. I cross to her, and my hands settle on her face, tipping her chin up.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I ask.
Her eyes shut, and a lone tear tracks down her cheek. I wipe it away with my thumb.
When she meets my gaze, all I see is regret in hers. “I threw it all away,” she whispers. “The pictures, the pieces of us.You.”
I won’t lie and say her words aren’t a punch to the gut. But what’s done is done. I can’t change the past, so I don’t want to dwell on it.
I nod, swallowing down my emotions. “It’s alright. You had your reasons.”
“It doesn’t feel alright.” She shakes her head. “It feels…really shitty, actually.”
“Reminders can be painful. It’s okay to let them go, if that’s what you need.”
Her hands tighten on the frame, but the tension in her shoulders loosens somewhat.
“I don’t regret leaving. It was the right choice for me. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to work for Mr. Oliveira if I hadn’t,” she says. “But I do regret the way we ended. I regret not giving us a chance.” She offers me a rueful smile. “I was scared.”
“We were eighteen. I’d be worried if youweren’tscared.” I shake my head. “There’s nothing for me to forgive, Hadley. So it’s time to forgive yourself.”
Slowly, she nods. “You’re too good to me, Brooks Dawson. You always have been.”
“Not true in the slightest.” I tip my head toward the door. “Now, how about we head back out there?”
She smiles. “Let’s do it. I promised Ronnie we’d watch Die Hard.”
“Ah, one of the Christmas classics.”
Hadley laughs as she goes to place the frame back on the dresser. I set a hand on her wrist, stopping her. “Keep it.”
Her gaze snaps to mine. “I can’t. This is yours.”
That picture of us on the first day of grade nine when we met, it’s more than a picture—it’s a memory.Ourmemory.
“Keep it, Hads,” I say again. “Let me give you back some of our pieces.”
And let that be enough.
CHAPTER 15
HADLEY
Two days after Christmas,I wake up with knots in my stomach. Today’s meeting with Thiago could change everything. My whole career. Brooks is none the wiser, and we go about our morning routine like normal.
Normal. That’s what spending time together has become. It isn’t a question ofifwe’ll spend the night together, but whether I stay in his apartment or he sleeps at the resort with me. I’ll admit, I prefer his place, if for no other reason than the fact it reminds me of him.
Once we’re dressed and ready to face the day, Brooks turns to me. “Walk me out?” he asks.
I grab my coat, something I don’t usually need when I’m working at the resort, and follow him out of my suite. He takes my hand and intertwines our fingers, filling the silence with his plans for the day.
I feel a little bad, but I barely hear a word he says.
When we make it outside, he turns to face me. His brows are knitted in concern. “Are you okay? You’ve been quiet this morning.”
