Page 15 of Christmas at Valentine Inn

Patrick’s eyes flashed open. “It’s been a long day. We would like to get settled now,” he curtly dismissed me.

Wow. This man was not the Patrick I knew. Nor did I want to know him. “I’ll leave you to it, then.Goodbye.” My voice hitched, the word feeling so very final.

“MOM, AUNT IZ, HURRY UP!It’s time to slide!” Jameson shouted from the ballroom where he waited with Drake. It was our nightly ritual to slide in our socks across the smooth-as-silk ballroom floor. At least it was for now. I tried not to think that in just a few short weeks, Charlotte and Jameson would no longer live here. I doubted they would trek over every night to continue the tradition. The loneliness began creeping in. It didn’t help after the day I’d had.

Charlotte stared pensively at me as we finished going over our checklists for the day. Owning an inn wasn’t all fun and games. Today was more like having my toenails ripped out one by one.

“I’m fine, Char,” I lied as I finished paying the monthly electric bill online. Yikes, it was a big one. It hurt almost as much as my heart.

She sat across from me tapping her fingers on the desk we shared. “I don’t believe you.”

“I told you he probably hated me.” Sometimes I really abhorred being right.

“I thinkhateis a strong word.”

“You know I’m right.”

She bit her lip, admitting she knew I spoke the truth. “Well, the thing is, you can’t really hate someone unless there were some strong feelings the other way.”

“Nice try.” I clicked out of our banking app. “I used to hate Drake and I’ve never had strong feelings for him theotherway.”

“So, you’re saying you like him now?” She was always trying to get me to admit I had warmed up to her soon-to-be husband.

“I’m saying nothing of the sort.” I flashed her a wry grin while closing my laptop.

“You will someday.” She was very sure of herself.

“We’ll see. Anyway, let’s go slide with your kiddo.” I stood and made my way toward the door.

Charlotte grabbed my hand on the way. “Izzy, don’t give up hope. The road to love is never a smooth one.”

“We were never in love, nor will we be,” I said matter-of-factly, feeling more like myself. I decided I didn’t particularly care for feeling vulnerable.

“But ... the kiss ... and he came here,” she spluttered.

“Char.” I squeezed her hand. “I’m happy you got your fairy tale, but I don’t believe in them. In fact, I don’t think I would care for a soul mate.”

She gave me an incredulous look.

“It’s true. I don’t like the idea that there is this one person who can wholly captivate my soul. It’s a depressing thought because what are the odds, out of the almost eight billion people in the world, that you’ll run into each other?”

“I would say good. I mean, you do live in a—”

“Please don’t say magic. I don’t believe in magic,” I said as unemotionally as possible.

“Izzy,” she sounded like she wanted to cry. “Deep down you know that’s not true.”

“It is.” I assured her.

“I know you’re lying. Remember when Jameson was born and you held him for the first time?”

My eyes immediately pricked with tears. I could never forget that moment.

“Remember what you said?”

I looked up at the ceiling, wishing not to repeat the words.It feels like holding the magic of every possibility in my arms. “That was different. Babies are special.”

“So is finding your person. You have to believe in that kind of magic before you can find it.” She stood and kissed my cheek.

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