Page 29 of Maybe This Christmas
As she fished her key card out of her purse, she turned back to find him still waiting.
Arms folded, one leg propped up against the post, he looked like something out of a dream.
She waved before ducking inside the door.Once it was closed, she leaned against it.Oh, she was in trouble.
It should be wrong to feel like this so soon after calling off things with Davis, but the heart wanted what it wanted.
And she wanted Caleb.Even if it was only for fun, until she had to return from this holiday vacation to the drudgery of real life, come January.
Chapter Ten
Sleep was hard to come by that night, so it was no surprise that Caleb was up well before sunrise.His alarm had been set for five a.m.to help for the morning fireside chats and ensure the breakfast service ran smoothly.
It was a quarter ’til five when he forced himself out of his room.His door closed too harshly, echoing in the long hall—the lights…ugh, far too bright for this early in the morning.The hair of the dog was all him, though.He hadn’t gotten drunk in a very long time.Sure, he’d drunk his share of beers when he was in his depressed state.But never more than two in a sitting.Just enough to take the edge off.
He shielded his eyes as he walked under a fluorescent light.He needed coffee, stat.
He took the single flight of stairs down to the first floor.He badged out at the door leading from the staff quarters to the lobby.This early, it was eerily quiet.Evidence of last night’s revelry wasn’t hard to find.Little bits of silver and red confetti scattered across the hardwood floor.A half-drunk bottle of beer nestled against the base of a potted plant.He picked up the bottle and started toward the kitchen.A tinkling jingle of bells drew his attention to the lobby.Where, of course, his mother stood behind the front desk, typing away at one of the computers.
The bells tinkled with every keystroke.“Mom,” Caleb whispered.“What are you doing up?”
She looked up from the monitor, half-hidden in the massive oak front desk.“Drinking already?”
He let out a grunt.“Someone left this in a potted plant last night.I saw it on my way in.”He pointed to the lipstick stain on the bottleneck.“Not exactly my shade, is it?”
Lainey reached across the desk to take it from him.“Hmm, it’s warm, too.I’ll take care of it.I was just tracking the shipment of Christmas presents to Emerson and Poppy.Olivia said they hadn’t arrived yet, and I wanted to see what the hold-up was.”
Caleb knew his ex-wife and mother talked.They’d never been each other’s biggest fans when he was married to Olivia.Now that Olivia was no longer his wife, their focus was the kids, and they seemed to get along better.
“You made sure a couple of my gifts were in there, right?The small ones?”
“Of course.They’ll open the rest at our house on New Year’s Day.I’m not taking down any decorations until all my grandbabies have celebrated with us.”
He frowned as a new wave of sadness overtook him.His mom didn’t miss the shift in his expression.
“Oh, sweetheart.Christmas is more than just one day.We all miss them.But now it’ll be extra special, right?”
His mother could be a royal pain in his ass, but there was no denying that she was the maker of Christmas magic, not just for the Ellises but for all Falling Leaves, as well.
“I know.I guess I’ve been trying not to think about it.Liv and Ashley deserve to have a Christmas with the kids without me butting in.”
She came around the desk and laid a hand on his arm.“You’re doing the right thing.We’ll FaceTime them together this afternoon when you get back from your little excursion with Emma.”
He groaned.Of course, the sweet moment couldn’t last.“Mom, seriously.She’s a guest.And I have kids—I can’t just date anyone willy-nilly.”
She rolled her eyes.“Who said anything about dating?My god, son.You dated one girl in high school.You married the one girl you dated in college.Maybe you should just have some fun before you look to settle down again.Who wants to go to their grave only having dated two people?”
“First of all, you’re excluding Melody, my middle school girlfriend.”
His mother took him by the elbow and led him away.“We don’t count the girl you dated while you were still singing soprano in the church choir.Don’t sidestep the point, Caleb.Emma is a nice girl.”
“And, as activities director, I should keep my distance.I’m an employee, right?”
After pausing to set up the chairs around the fireplace for that morning’s chat, they entered the dining room.It was still quiet at this hour, although he could hear the strains of Latin music coming from the kitchens.
“You’re not even technically an employee of the lodge.Did you and your sister work out what your hourly rate would be?”
He stepped toward the closest table and began lowering chairs.“Now that you mention it, no.She said she was going to get back to me about it.”
