Page 37 of What Happens This Christmas
How am I supposed to let her go?
My primal instinct was always to observe her surroundings closely and make sure she was safe as she navigated the room. I might’ve been refined, but I’d have no problem laying someone up in a hospital bed if need be. Anything to protect her. Although that was probably as unnecessary here as it was anywhere we went. The people we ran in circles with weren’t the type to try anything funny.
“Come on, Nick. You don’t have to answer right now, but I’ve just laid it all out for you,” Teddy said, pulling my attention back to him and this dry conversation. Teddy only had a few topics in his arsenal to discuss, and when he’d begun talking to me, he’d bored me with the dreadful details of some investment he was making. “Will you be investing?”
I caught Candy in the crowd again. It was hard to miss her in the sea of red and black. People were outlandishly unoriginal.Honestly, I pitied some people. Tossing Teddy a bone, I said, “Uh. No, I don’t think so.”
Teddy laughed, his wildly deep baritone hard not to catch even in my distracted state. “You have to know that this would be a fine investment.”
I didn’t know any such thing. Anything Teddy said, I tended to make sure went in one ear and right out the other. It was best that way. So, it was unlikely I’d take information from him seriously. On matters of investing, as with most things, I went with my gut. It hadn’t steered me wrong yet. “Maybe, but it’s not for me,” I answered simply, hoping that killed the conversation.
Meanwhile, Candy’s presence haunted me. I couldn’t seem to stop myself from looking for her and finding her in the room. She was constantly moving. What I loved most was how she moved with the gentleness and grace of a swan. She’d come a long way from the clumsy, frantic woman I’d met waiting for a taxi.
“Figured. It’s a shame, but I understand. Every man has to do their own thing.” Teddy took a swig of whatever poison filled his glass.
His acceptance of my decision meant nothing to me. Unlike his wife or the people who worked for him, I didn’t care how much was in his bank account. It didn’t make me think any more of him.
“That aside, are you and Candy doing anything special for Christmas?”
Yeah, counting down the days until January second.“Not particularly. We have family in town. We’ll probably spend the day with them.” In reality, I had no fucking clue, but it made the most sense, so I went with it. Now, had he asked me about all of the days leading up to Christmas, my answer would have been a lot different.
Candy made sure we were appropriately booked as always. For the foreseeable future, I’d be making everyone’s lives brighter by going to social events, charity events, and blah, blah, blah. Teddy knew a thing or two about that crap, being married to Irina, the woman Candy seemed to always silently compete with, but I didn’t feel like getting into any of that with him. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I see Candy.”
Teddy nodded as he loosened his red silk tie. “Of course.” His gaze fell down to his glass, which was empty. He frowned. “I think I’ll find the bartender.”
* * *
CANDY
My sweaty palm was hardly holding the champagne flute any longer, so I laid it down on a table. It felt like I was in an elevator that was plummeting, and I had no place to go but down…to my death. This dress was too tight for its own good. Between the pack of warm bodies and the roaring fire, I could feel a trickle of sweat run down the back of my neck. The last thing I needed was a sweat mark on my dress. The fabric wouldn’t survive it. It would need to be dry cleaned immediately.
One faux pas, and this entire event would be remembered as the time Candy Crane reminded everyone how unfit she was to be married to a man like Nick Crane.
I wasn’t naïve enough to think that perhaps some of these women didn’t feel the same way. Not that I’d ever have confirmation. It wasn’t something one just talked about, especially when they could hide it behind face lifts, lip fillers, and other injectables. Unfortunately, they’d soon learn those things were out and aging gracefully was in.
The truth was that no one smiled as much as some of these women did. No one wasthatconfident,thathappy. I believed it all to be for show.
And, boy, was it a good show.
Nick thought I liked these events, that I wanted to attend, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I just accepted what I had to. This was our social responsibility. Otherwise, we’d be ostracized. Or, worse, judged.
They’re going through a terrible ordeal right now.
I heard Nick is cheating on her with a younger, hotter floozy.
Candy finally went back to whatever small town she came from.
They lost all of their money and are moving to Florida.
They’re divorcing.
Nick is leaving Candy and she didn’t get a dime thanks to their prenup.
With my thoughts on how little I wanted to be here, I missed something that had been said. The laughter around me was enough of a cue, though, for me to pretend I’d been deeply invested in whatever was being discussed.
The ugly reality was that this party was grating on my last nerve for some reason. It had never happened before. It shouldn’t have been happening. And yet, it was.
I usually had far more tolerance.
