Page 47 of About Last Christmas
“Shoot.”
“So Fletcher wanted to see me …”
“Ah, I get it.”
“Get what?” I’ve barely gotten started.
“You and Fletcher Thomas. I thought something was up with you two. It makes sense now.”
“What? No. There’s nothing between us.” Why does everyone think that? “Also, what makes sense?”
He seems to be taking in what I said. The furrow in his brow has eased after my admission, but tension lingers in the stiff way he’s gripping the wheel. Instead of answering me, he grows quiet. It appears I’m not the only one hiding something.
“I wasn’t going to resort to this, but you leave me no choice.” I lean on the console between us, brushing his arm. “I’m reminding you of our contract. You promised to answer all my questions.”
“I did?” His gaze briefly jerks to mine, then returns to the road.
“Yeah, at the gala.”
“That was only for the dance.”
“Hmm, was it though?” I tap my jaw in exaggerated thought. “I don’t think I put an end date on that verbal contract. All I said was if I dance with you, then you answerallmy questions.”
He shakes his head with a good-natured scoff. “So now I have to answer your questions forever?”
“See, that’s not hard to understand. Now spill. No, wait.” My brain latches onto something I should’ve caught weeks ago. “Fletcher told me he’d known you since you were kids.”
“That’s right.”
“Then why didn’t you askhimabout me? You know, when you missed our meetup. You said you asked around to see if anyone knew me. You should’ve talked to Fletcher.”
“I did.”
My mouth drops. “You asked him? You asked Fletcher Thomas if he knew me?”
He nods. “I talked to him a few weeks after you and I were supposed to meet. Told him everything. I mentioned your name, but he acted clueless.”
“Fletcher would absolutely know who I am.” But then again, could he have been protecting me? Like Mitchell had? This all happened around the time Gran passed, and Fletcher would know that I was grieving. Though he could’ve told me afterward. Something’s off. “What about the gala? He introduced us like we were strangers.”
Leo’s jaw hardens. “He did.”
“Why? Do you think your conversation with him slipped his mind?”
“Only Fletcher can answer that.” He slows to a stop at a light. “But you can imagine my surprise when I arrive at the gala, and the beautiful woman on Fletcher’s arm is the one he claimed he didn’t know.”
Beautiful? He can’t casually drop that kind of remark and not expect my gaze to swing to his. I expect to see his playful smirk, but his expression is serious. Fletcher’s actions must’ve really bothered him. “It’s strange.”
“Yeah.”
“And frustrating.” For an entire year, I thought Leo ditched me. Fletcher could’ve cleared everything up. Why didn’t he? And the gala! I distinctly remember Fletcher’s strained smile when Leo approached me in the ballroom. Tension simmered between the men, but I’ll have to think on that later because we arrive at Timeless Treasures Antiques. And I still haven’t told Leo what I wanted.
CHAPTER 15
Leo holdsthe door to Timeless Treasures open, and I step inside, thankful for the pocket of warmth. We wipe our feet on the mat, and Leo fixes an amused gaze on me. “Are you humming ‘Eye of the Tiger’?”
I freeze. “Am I?” The regrets roll on like the Polar Express. I press my lips together for a firm second as punishment for their rebel ways. “I blame Pap. It’s what happens when one is raised by their grandparents.”Rocky’s not from my generation, but Pap watched it religiously, so much that he could quote the whole film. “That song’s ingrained in my psyche. He’d blare it before every important event. And for most every tense-filled moment I faced growing up. The day I took my license exam, he wrote in liquid chalk on my passenger windowI’m a girl with a will to drive.”
“Nice.” Chuckling, Leo adjusts his ball cap. “You expecting something I don’t know, champ? Does it get wild in antique shops?”
