Page 50 of The Best Little Christmas Shop
Chapter Eleven
I’d just filled Giselle in on the day out with Cal, listening to her disappointment at the fact that there was nothing remotely steamy to report. When I told her about the conversation Cal and I had had as he’d dropped me off, she gave a dramatic sigh.
‘Honestly. You two.’
‘What? It’s the sensible thing to do.’
‘Are you going to go through life being sensible now?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well that sounds incredibly dull.’
‘Maybe. But there’s a lot less chance of anyone being hurt.’
‘Lexi, everyone gets hurt at times. You heal.’
‘I’m not talking about me.’
The sigh came again. ‘There were two of you in that relationship, and Marco’s a big boy. He can take care of himself. It wasn’t just down to you.’
‘Part of it was.’
‘Even he knew not being able to conceive wasn’t your fault.It’s not like you chose not to.’
‘Sometimes I wonder if he did know that.’
‘Of course he did. Why? Did he ever say that?’
‘No. I don’t know why I even said that. I just … ugh, it was just such a mess, Gis. And the thought of going through all that again with someone else? And someone who also has a young child to think about. I can’t even begin to think about how awful that would be.’
‘Yousound like you’re expecting any relationship you have to break down.’
‘I do.’
‘Wow. Good positive attitude there.’
‘It’s not that. I’m just not good at them. And relationships do break down, all the time!’
‘You know what, if you decide not to take that job, you could always go into relationship therapy. Clearly you’re a natural.’
‘Smart arse.’
‘Well. You can’t go into something looking atit like that. All you’ll do is possibly miss out on something wonderful.’
‘I didn’t go into things with Marco expecting it to break down but it did anyway and I very nearly lost one of my closest friends for ever. I did for while, anyway.’
‘But things are good between you now.’
‘Yes. But I’ve been lucky there. I like Cal. I really do. But it’s not worth the risk of losing a friendship I alreadyvalue.’
‘Sometimes friends turn into lovers and it works out just perfect.’
‘Yes, well you and Xander are special.’
‘So are you. Much more so than you think.’
‘Hmm.’
