Page 107 of The Best Little Christmas Shop
I blew out a sigh. ‘No. I don’t even know why I said that. Blame the champagne.’
‘I’m not blaming anyone. Or anything. It was a fair question. Yes, I regret that you feel we couldn’t make things work between us. And yes, I still think you’re beautiful and funny and love that you have no pretensions or airs or –’
‘Legs up to my armpits,’ I added, remembering that asidefrom me, he tended to have a predilection for such features in his girlfriends.
‘Such legs can sometimes be over-rated.’
‘Oh really.’ My tone was firmly set to “sceptical”.
‘I didn’t say always.’ The boyish grin he gave illustrated how so many of those endless legs had ended up wrapped around him over the years. He was handsome, amusing, intelligent, and fiercely passionate about the worldhe operated in. It made quite the package. But it wasn’t a package I wanted to open again. I loved Marco; that was true. But not in the way I needed to in order to make things work between us.
I looked up at him. ‘Are you really taking back your offer?’
He studied me for a moment then carefully and gently brushed my overgrown fringe back from my eye with his thumb, his hand resting on my face.‘You can’t keep running away, Lexi.’
‘I’m not running away from anything!’ I said, pushing his hand away sharply.
‘Aren’t you?’
‘No! And don’t think you can come here, spend a couple of hours with me, and then presume to know everything, because you don’t.’
In contrast to me, Marco remained calm, just as he did on the track. ‘I’m not presuming anything. And you know I know you better thanthat. We went through a lot together, Lexi. Good and bad. I know when you’re happy and I know when you’re sad, however much you disguise it.’
I looked down at my feet, scrunching my toes back and forth on the end of the rug.
‘I know it drives you crazy to think there are people who see beyond that tough-cookie shell you try and project.’
Lifting my gaze, I gave him a wary look.
‘It’s timeto stop running, Lexi. It’s time to let your guard down and risk everything.’
His dark eyes locked on to mine, as he nodded his head back towards the sounds of laughter and chatter drifting out from the dining room. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’
‘Nope.’
‘Well, there’s a surprise.’
My eyes blazed. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
Marco shrugged. ‘You never want to talk about it. You preferto pack it all away and pretend it’s not there, even though it’s eating away at you!’
‘I do talk about things. Sometimes.’
‘So, have you talked about things with Cal?’
‘Plenty of things. And what does this have to do with you offering me a job?’
‘Because I am not going to be responsible for you running away from something that could bring you all the happiness you’ve ever wanted.’
I shookmy head and felt my insides twist.
‘I can’t make him happy, Marco.’ My voice felt sore and sounded hoarse. The absolute joy of Claire and Dan’s announcement contrasted with the perfect misery of how things were – had to be – with Cal. Between all of it, I was suddenly exhausted. To my surprise, Marco laughed. I screwed up my face at him, shocked, but before I could say anything – or do anything– he caught my hands and lifted them as one to his lips.
‘Oh, Lexi.’ He smiled. ‘As much as it pains me to say, that guy is crazy about you. You can see it in every glance he steals at you, every word he speaks to you, every touch. I don’t know what’s happened between you exactly but at the moment, you both look thoroughly miserable. And thoroughly in love. Whatever it is, it can be fixed.’
I shook my head. Dan and Claire’s news this evening had broken the careful dam of protection I kept my emotions behind, taking us all by surprise. I hadn’t had time to make sure all the leaks were plugged and now Marco was chipping away at it even more.
‘It can’t, Marco,’ I replied, my voice cracking, ‘not this.’
