Page 28 of Bad Boy Bachelor Christmas
“So, she wants this runt?” He reached in, grabbed the trunk, and gave it a little wiggle. A hundred pine needles fell to the frozen earth below. “Why?”
“Circa 1990 Christmas,” I said.
“Interesting.”
“That’s one word for it. Every tree she’s picked out is one I’d have chopped down and burned.”
Justin snorted. “Maybe she knows what she’s talking about. If Norman liked the pitch…” He trailed off and shrugged. “He can be a hard guy to please.”
“She’s going to work out,” I admitted. “She impressed him. More than impressed him. He practically leapt out of his chair with enthusiasm. I’m sure she’ll do the same with the next client. She has that sparkle people seem to like.”
“Sparkle?”
“She’s a people person,” I said. “Like Marge.”
“And unlike you.”
“Exactly.”
Justin slid his hands in his pockets and we kept walking through the field. I paused to mark the trees we were going to cut down and use for the Cuthbert party. Winter had given me her finalized list before she went off into town today. I wasn’t sure how long she’d be gone for, but we had a busy week ahead of us, and we needed to start creating movement for the job. Soon bigger events would be on the docket and we couldn’t afford to give up any wiggle room.
“What are you going to do when Winter goes back to school?” Justin asked abruptly.
“I have all year to figure that out.”
“But you won’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
My friend stopped walking and turned to face me. His nose was pink from the cold. “You’ll dilly-dally all year, and before we know it the Christmas season will be upon us again, and you’ll be at square one with no designer.”
“Maybe I’ll put in for another intern.”
He rolled his eyes. “Or you should just make a move on the intern you’ve got now.”
I laughed.
Justin scowled. “It wasn’t a joke, man. You’ve got to start moving forward some day or another. Veronica would want that for you. If she were here, she’d slap you upside the back of the head for spending the last four years moping. You know I’m right,” he added with a pointed finger before I had a chance to tell him where to stick his opinions about what my deceased wife would think of my lack of a romantic life. “Winter is a nice girl. Pretty. Sweet. Talented. Hard working. During this crazy season, don’t you both deserve to kick your boots off and have a bit of fun?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“It would be unprofessional. She’s my intern. The power dynamic is too unbalanced.”
“Pfft. Power dynamic. Who cares? She’s here for what, three more weeks? Dude. This is the ideal no strings attached situation. There’s a deadline and she gets back on a plane and leaves. No harm, no foul. And it’s a chance for you to get back in the saddle.” He knuckled my shoulder with a gloved fist. “Come on, make a move.”
Had I taken notice of how beautiful Winter was?
Yes.
Did I feel ready to, as Justin put it, jump back in the saddle?
I wasn’t so sure.
Time didn’t heal all wounds, as it turned out, and I still felt like a frayed and vulnerable nerve sticking out, just waiting to be scorched again. I wanted to feel a woman again, and I’d be a liar if I said I hadn’t stolen glances at Winter and wondered what her body would feel like against mine, but lying with her might feel like I was replacing Veronica.
What if it set me back? Justin might not have seen much progress from me, but I wasn’t where I used to be. One thing I knew for certain was I couldn’t go back to that dark place. I would never survive it again.
I decided to change the subject.
“How’s your heritage house listing going?”
