Page 59 of The Naughty Or Nice Clause

The hurt in his eyes was enough to shatter her.

“You were wrong about me, but I was right about you. Entitled, selfish, out for no one but herself,” he snapped.

She felt like she had been punched. “The company was mine before you came.”

“And I was SAVING it for you!” he shouted, and she lost control of her temper.

“Saving it? There’s barely anything left of how I remember it! Just because you turned your back on your legacy doesn’t mean you get to take mine.”

She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, even if there was some truth to them. He stared at her in silence as the weight of all that had gone unsaid between them came crashing down.

There was a knock on the door. Lyla wiped the tears from her eyes and turned her back to the door, not wanting whoever entered to see she was upset.

“Are you both okay?” Mrs Klaus said, looking like she was still half-asleep.

“We were...” Lyla started.

“Her cat got into some papers. We were cleaning up,” Mason said to his mother, without so much as a glance towards Lyla.

“Alright… no need to get so upset over a cat. We can tidy up in the morning,” Mrs Klaus said uncertainly, looking down at the scattered paper on the floor. Lyla was sure it hadn’t escaped her notice that Jones wasn’t in the office.

Mrs Klaus left them, and Lyla tried to gather her thoughts, tried to think of what to say to make him understand.

“You need to leave,” was all he said once the door closed.

“We can talk about this; I know you don’t want to end this. Please hear me out – you can’t put this space between us. Not when we’ve come so far,” she pleaded, taking his hand.

Mason only shook her off. “You did this to us. You.”

His icy glare was enough to make her flee to her room before either of them said something that couldn’t be forgiven. He was angry, grieving, and she had betrayed his trust. That was something he didn’t give freely, and now she had shown him exactly what the cost was.

Curling up on her bed, Jones snuggled into her, Lyla waited for Mason to come, waited for the twist of the handle, hoping they could come back from this. But the hours ticked by and the door, remained stubbornly closed.

Chapter Twenty-Three

LYLA LEFT THE house at first light; she couldn’t stand to be there a moment longer. The thought of having to suffer through breakfast with Mason was unbearable.

She found herself sitting in the Peppermint & Pumpkin Coffee Shop, trying to think of what to do. The strong smell of coffee and peppermint was an assault to the senses, but she was won over by the giant mugs in the shape of pumpkins, and the assortment of cakes in the glass case at the counter.

“Lyla! How good of you to come and see us,” someone said from behind the counter. It took Lyla a moment to register that the older woman in a pumpkin-covered apron was June.

“I thought I would pop in for some breakfast,” she explained, wishing she had gone to a coffee shop where no one knew her.

“Mason isn’t with you?” June asked, looking toward the door.

“He had to get to the workshop,” Lyla lied. June seemed to suspect nothing.

“There are some books on the shelves that might interest you, if you need some company,” she offered, but Lyla didn’t think she could focus on anything, let alone words on a page. She ordered herself a coffee. Since she was going to be here a while, she asked for some breakfast too, needing all the strength she could get for the day ahead.

It was busier than she had expected at such an early hour. Many of the patrons looked a little worse for wear after last night’s festivities.

I could leave and forget everything that happened,she thought, but the words caused something inside her to twist so badly that she lost her breath.Or I could talk to him and convince him to forgive me. He can’t forget what’s happened between us so quickly. His heart isn’t that cold.

Mason had told her that he had come here every day for lunch when he was working in the workshop as a teenager, so she waited. It was far too early, but she didn’t want to linger at the house, and she couldn’t sleep anymore. Every time the bell rang, her head snapped up, hoping it was him coming through the door. But after multiple coffees, and slices of cake, there was still no sign of him. She considered going to the workshop, but she didn’t want to interrupt him or distract him while he was working.Why did I have to go so far?She thought of the email she had sent Sam,talking of a new CEO, calling him the Grinch.She cursed herself, taking a sip of her steaming peppermint latte.

“One decaf toffee nut cappuccino, please!” a familiar voice ordered at the counter, and Lyla looked up to see Lou looking at the cakes.

Lyla tensed, wondering if her brother had told Lou what had happened. She was tucked away in the corner of the cafe, so she figured she might not be spotted.

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