Page 53 of Under the Mistletoe
“That’s generally how it works.” Cal jumped down and ran off, and Liam rolled to his back, tossed up the ball, and caught it. “You should try it sometime.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You need to let go of Jacquelyn. Not every girl is waiting to betray you.”
“I know.” But did he? Because this right here was way worse than the Jacquelyn fiasco ever was. Logan zipped up his bag and lifted it to his shoulder.
Liam seemed to finally recognize what Logan was doing. “Where are you going?”
“Meetings in LA.”
“Is this about the movie deal?” Liam sat up and set the ball aside. “What did I tell you? From the moment you told me about that story, I knew it was going to be a hit. I’m so happy for you, man.”
That was the reason Logan could never be mad at Liam. Because Liam had always been his biggest supporter. He’d always believed in Logan, even when Logan hadn’t believed in himself. If he told Liam what he was feeling for Devin, his brother would back off without a question. But he didn’t want to get a girl because his brother backed off. That would leave him permanently the second choice. He wanted a girl to want him more. To choose him.
But yesterday she said she had. Holding onto the last thread of hope, met his brother’s gaze. “Did you text Devin that you were coming too?”
“Yeah. Why?” His brother studied him for a moment, waiting for more, but Logan shook it off.
“No reason. My flight’s in an hour. I’ve got to go.” He turned toward the door and hurried down the steps. He nearly tripped over the last step at the sight of his parents standing by the front door talking to Devin, who was squatted down petting Cal. Her eyes found his, and just a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she stood. “Can we talk now?”
“I got a call.” He focused solely on his mom. “I have to catch a flight to LA for”—his gaze flashed to Devin again, then back to his mom—“work meetings. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Can I leave Cal?”
“Of course.” His mom patted the fluffy head. “I may take him to the groomer while you’re gone.”
“That’d be awesome. Just let me know how much.”
“Do you need someone to drive you to the airport?” Devin jumped in. What was her deal?
“Yeah, we’d be happy to take you.” Liam appeared at Devin’s side, his hand resting on her shoulder. Well, wasn’t that cute?
Devin shrugged away his hand, then took a half step toward Logan. He needed to get out of here. “I’ll leave my car in long-term parking. It’s fine.”
“Logan, really—can we?—”
“I gotta go. I’ll barely make it as it is.” He pushed past her.
He grabbed the doorknob but paused. “You two have fun tomorrow.”
The words came out more bitter than he intended. But what could he say? The whole situation was a little too raw. He hurried out the door to his Bronco. He hated meetings, and he wasn’t fond of LA, but he was suddenly thankful for a reason to get away from here for a few days.
And maybe he’d never come back. Who was he kidding? He had to come back for Cal, but then maybe he’d just pick him up and drive straight back to his cabin. Internet or not. It was time.
nine
How had everything turned so wrong so quickly? Devin gathered her purse and shut off the lights to the Sunday school classroom. She definitely hadn’t been on top of her game this morning, but with Christmas only two weeks away, she was pretty sure the kids weren’t really paying attention to her anyway.
“Hey, Devin.” Pastor Nate stopped her in the hallway. His dark hair was a strong contrast to his towheaded daughter with her head tucked on his shoulder. “You haven’t seen the baby Jesus from the Nativity in the foyer, have you?”
“No. But I’ll keep an eye out for it.”
“Probably one of the kids playing a prank.” He dropped into step with her. “I expect to find it someplace unique.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s what I would’ve done.” Nate offered a shrug. “Also, we had some people ask if they could drop off candy to donate to the gingerbread house event. I told them to leave it in the kitchen. I’ll run it to the community center Saturday morning. Let Olivia and me know if you need anything else.”
“Thank you.” That was one weight off her mind.
