Page 7 of Maybe This Christmas
Emma carried on speaking as if she hadn’t heard Aniyah.“Anyway, I think we’re going to spend Christmas at a mountain resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains.It’ll be nice to get away, don’t you think?”
“You could get away and come to Christmas down here.You know you’re always welcome.”
Aniyah lived with her husband, Kwame, and their two kids.Their family was loud, loving, and occasionally overwhelming.They were all capital E extroverts, and she’d end up hiding in the closet for some solace by the time Christmas came around.
“I know I am.But I’d have to fly.And you know Davis isn’t going back to Ottawa for Christmas.So, I’d be leaving him alone.”
Aniyah sighed.“So, tell me about the treehouse resort again.I can place my bets on whether he’ll agree to go with you.”
Emma ignored the sarcasm and told Aniyah everything.By the time their conversation concluded, an email from Sky House Lodge had pinged in her inbox.Maybe it was meant to be.
She spent most of the day rotating between napping and watching trashy reality TV.Around six o’clock, Davis texted her.
Have a mandatory dinner thing with the partners.Will be home late.Did you start packing?
Emma rolled her eyes and tossed her phone face down on the sofa.He was so concerned with packing that he hadn’t even asked her to move to New York with him.
Her phone chimed twice more in rapid succession.She softened when she read it.
Sorry, I meant for our trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains.I do have boxes in my trunk for that move, though.I’ll bring them up when I come home.Did you get a chance to get any more?
She scrolled down to the final text.
After tomorrow, I’m free.So go ahead and get it booked, Emmybear.
He hadn’t called her Emmybear in ages.Clearly, he was making an effort.If a small one.She left her phone on the couch and meandered into her office.Davis’ walk-in closet was the sole spot she could call her own in his former bachelor pad.
When they’d first moved in together two years ago, she’d told him that his place had felt like the waiting room of a luxury car dealership.He’d joked that it was just the vibe he’d been going for.He’d promised that she’d be able to make the place her own eventually.Yet every time she’d asked, he’d put her off.Until finally, he’d relented, letting her have the closet.
She flicked on the fairy lights hanging over her desk, which was as opposite from the rest of the apartment as night and day.The desk was painted pale pink, and she’d installed a light white carpet to complement.
Davis had declined her wallpaper choice, so she’d kept the walls white, save a looping pink scroll she’d painted around the perimeter of the office.Every available surface was crammed with jars of pens, paintbrushes, journals, and other ephemera.She flipped open her planner.She flipped through the pages, resisting the urge to grab a pen to cross out all the work events planned for the remainder of December.
Instead, she reached for her art journal.The safe space she had to express her daydreams, fantasies and creativity.
She meandered back into the living room to grab her phone then placed a food order for delivery.Finally, she slipped back into her office—or closet—and closed the door.
She opened her laptop and pulled up an email from Sabrina, one of the owners of Sky House Lodge.Due to the cancellation, they were offering an impressive rate on the cabin, which would likely have been empty otherwise.The cabin was open from this coming weekend until the New Year.She’d included a link to their booking site at the end of the email.
She hesitated.Davis probably intended for them to stay a weekend, maybe three days at most.Her fingers wiggled above the keyboard.She hadn’t properly celebrated Christmas in ages.A small flame of happiness lit up within her at the thought of having a magical mountain Christmas.
The time together would help them solidify their plans.It would be good for them.
Oh, what the hell.She clicked the booking link, entered her credit card details, and hit send.She was paying for it, so if Davis didn’t want to stay the whole time, that was his choice.And honestly, maybe what they needed.She was tired of the wishy-washy back and forth.
She deserved a little magic, and if she had to find it on her own, so be it.
She snapped a photo of the confirmation and sent it to Davis.
Too late to change your mind now!
She then promptly turned off her phone.She’d deal with him tomorrow.
Chapter Three
“You’re doingwhat?”Olivia’s face froze on the video call before it snapped back to focus.Her expression was still incredulous.“Caleb, I thought you were just going to chill out at Christmas?”
He’d told Olivia he’d been looking forward to having a break.If he’d told his ex-wife the truth, she would’ve insisted that he tag along on their trip.It wasn’t that he didn’t get along with Olivia’s fiancée, Ashley.He enjoyed her company immensely.But this was supposed to be a trip for them—theirnew family.He had to accept that his children now had two families.His role in Olivia and Ashley’s was limited.
