Page 26 of The Grinch and His Curvy Christmas Miracle
Wanted.
Held like I matter.
His arm is wrapped around me, strong and warm. His other hand trails slowly down my back, lazy and possessive.
He hasn’t said a word in a while, and neither have I. We just breathe together.
Not a bad Christmas Eve after all.
I smile, small and secret. Then I lift my chin a little, just enough to glance up at him.
"You really hate Christmas, don’t you?"
He looks down at me. His expression doesn’t change much, but something behind his eyes flickers. His fingers still at my back for a second, then start moving again.
He presses a kiss to the top of my head.
"Not anymore," he says.
But the weight in his voice tells a different story.
"You used to like it," I say, more of a guess than a question.
He nods once. "Yeah. A long time ago."
I wait. He doesn’t talk for a few seconds, but then his chest rises on a sigh.
"My ex, Sandra, and I had the cabin decorated a week before Christmas. Tree, lights, wreaths, the whole deal. I thought it meant something."
My stomach twists at the name.
Sandra.
Of course he had someone. Probably perfect hair, perfect laugh, perfect little Christmas tree.
Someone who mattered. Maybe still does.
"She left me a few days before Christmas," he adds, voice flat now. "Said she found someone else. Bigger house. More money. Fancier life."
I blink. The ache in my chest is sharp. I want to hit this Sandra person and hug him at the same time.
"I'm sorry," I whisper.
He shrugs. "Long time ago. Doesn’t matter now."
"Do you... still care about her?"
He goes still. I can feel it in every line of his body.
"No," he says after a pause. "She betrayed me. That kind of thing leaves a mark, but it doesn't mean I want her back. I don’t forgive betrayal, Nikki. If you care about someone, you don’t walk away."
Something twists in my stomach. Not because I think he still loves her. I believe him.
But he did once.
Enough that it still lingers in him, like a bruise that never fully healed.
I’m quiet for a second, and then he asks, "What about you? Someone like that in your past?"
