Page 7 of A Holly Brown Christmas
She sat down hard in the chair facing him. “Didn’t you play Christmas music or maybe put on a favorite holiday movie and talk about the meaning of the ornaments on the tree? Or set up the train that goes through that magnificent miniature village your mother always has on display?” She gasped. “Is that a family heirloom, or did the decorators bring that in too?”
He could lie and simply say yes, but that wouldn’t help the situation.
“Honestly, Holly, I would go to school one morning and come home and the entire house was decorated. It wasn’t a family event.”
“Oh. Rats.” Sighing, she seemed to search for something to say—or a way to salvage this plan. When she let out another soft gasp and her face lit up, he knew she’d figured something out. “Okay, please don’t think I’m being too forward, but…can I please come to your house and snoop around?”
“You want to come to my house and…”
“Snoop. Yes. I’d like to come over and snoop around and see if I can find the decorations. If everything was the same every year, it’s possible it’s all in storage somewhere in your house.” She paused again. “Do you still live in the house where the party is?”
“There’s a guesthouse that I’m currently living in. I had planned on buying a home last year but kept getting outbid. After the fourth one, I just announced that I was taking the guesthouse and no one had an issue with it.”
“Oh, well, that was very nice.”
“My siblings didn’t think so.”
“Siblings? Oh! That’s right! You have two older sisters. Anna lives up in Maine with her husband and two kids, and Katherine and her family are in Portland. Oregon, not Maine. Wow, you guys are really scattered!”
“We are. My sisters typically come home for Christmas, but I don’t think that’s going to happen this year.”
“That’s just sad, Lucas. Have you talked to them about the divorce? Have the three of you talked to your parents and let them know how you feel?”
He laughed softly. “That’s not how things are done in our family. We don’t really talk about feelings.”
Her slender shoulders sagged. “And that’s even sadder! You guys need to do everything you can to get your parents back together! Whatever their issue is, they can work it out! They’ve been married for so long; they can’t just throw it all away!”
It was crazy that she was this passionate about his parents. They were nothing more than her boss and his wife. Why was she more emotional about this than he and his sisters were?
“Holly, we’re fine. Really. These things happen. It’s not fun and things are going to be messy for a while, but eventually we’ll all adjust to the new normal.”
The sound she made sounded a bit like a snort of derision, but he didn’t comment on it.
However…
“Look, I appreciate all the work you did today and the fact that you wanted to make this work. But without the actual team of professionals my mother always used, it’s just not going to be the same. I think we need to accept the fact that we tried and it didn’t work out.”
And for the first time in all the years he’d known her, Holly Brown looked angry. The way she was glaring at him spoke volumes.
She wasn’t going to accept defeat.
Dammit.
“Holly…”
“No,” she said adamantly, jumping to her feet. “I understand that maybe you’re overwhelmed or maybe you just don’t care about this party the way the rest of us do, but we need this. We all need this! And to be honest, I think you need it more than anyone.”
“Me?” he asked incredulously. “How do you figure that?”
“Lennon said you have no holiday spirit and are even a little depressed. He thinks this party is going to be good for you—especially helping with the planning—and I have to agree.”
He was going to strangle Lennon when he saw him.
“Okay, first, Lennon had no right to tell you about that. I shared that with him in confidence.”
“He’s just worried about you. And now I am too.” She stepped close to the desk, resting her hands on it. “Please, Lucas. It’s only Tuesday. Give me until Friday to make some more calls and see what I can do. I know I can get everything organized. Please.”
“You said everyone wasn’t available,” he argued lightly, but he already knew this was a losing battle.
