Page 74 of Maybe This Christmas
He cleared his throat to dislodge his tongue from the roof of his mouth.He’d clearly been asleep far too long.
“Hello?”
“Is this Caleb Ellis?”
“Yes, it is.Who am I speaking to?”
“Caleb.”The woman exhaled a large breath.“My name is Aniyah Goode.I’m Emma’s foster sister.”
An odd sensation settled in his stomach.“She’s mentioned you before.What can I do for you?”
“I’m assuming by now you read her note and realized she skipped town as if she’d just passed a bunch of bad checks.”
He had to laugh at the analogy.“Yes, unfortunately.”
“Look, I know she’ll probably kill me for contacting you.She’ll say I overstepped her boundaries or something.But I’ve known Emma since we were teenagers.Going on a decade and a half now.I’d like to think I know her better than anybody.And I know she’s running scared.”
As much as he appreciated Aniyah wanting to have her best friend’s back, he was still a little salty that he’d been left with nothing more than a Dear John letter.
“Back into the arms of her asshole ex?I’ve heard he was poking around here yesterday.”
“Yes, he was.First to win her back.When that didn’t work, he provided her with a bill for everything he’s covered while they were together.His salary was triple hers.He’d insisted they’d live together in his fancy Capitol Hill condo.She contributed both financially and emotionally.But now Davis is saying he’ll sue her for damages if she doesn’t pay up.”
Rage simmered deep in his stomach.“That sounds absurd.Does he even have a case?”
“He can take her to small claims court.Will he win?Probably not.He could draw it out, and make her miserable in the process.But he’s offering her a discounted rate if she pays off the amount before the new year.”
He dropped his elbows to his knees.“And how much is that?”
“Five thousand dollars.Emma has always been anxious about money.So that’s why she rushed back.Not to be with Davis.”
“We could’ve helped her if she’d let us.”
Aniyah sighed.“Emmaalsohas a terrible time asking for help.I’d blame her upbringing, but I think it goes deeper than that.She’s also a Taurus.”
He laughed, despite himself.“So am I.”
“Oh, lord help us all.Well, Emma’s feeling ashamed, and I think that’s why she ran.Like she doesn’t deserve any happiness.”
“That’s bullshit.She deserves happiness.She could be happy here if she’d let herself.”
“So, you’re not mad that she ran?”
He sat up and rubbed his hand through his hair.“Of course not.I was sad, sure.But I wasn’t even mad when I thought she ditched me for her ex.I figured things had come to an end.But now…I want to help her.Whether she’ll accept my help or not, I don’t know.But I want to try.”
Aniyah let out a chuckle.“I was hoping you’d say that.Look, I have an idea.It’s a little crazy, being that it’s Christmas Eve and all, but I think it just might work.”
Fuck it.If Emma truly wanted to go her own way, he’d let her.But he had to try.He’d lain in bed half the night trying to figure out some sort of plan to get through to her.Aniyah tracking him down to help had to be some sign.
Caleb shot to his feet.“Okay, hit me with it.”
“Do you have a pen?You’re going to need to write some of these instructions down.”
After fumbling around his room for a pen and locating a Sky House notepad, he returned to his place on the bed.“I’m ready.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
DC was one of those cities that emptied out around the holidays.It seemed nearly everyone Emma knew was from somewhere else.Even her.She’d grown up in the DMV—DC, Maryland and Virginia—but she’d hardly ever come into the city until she was a teenager.Except for field trips or the odd trips with her grandmother when they had a little extra cash.
