Page 123 of The Holiday Heartbreaker

“Ah,” Evelyn said. “He is a handsome devil. Emphasis on devil.”

“Yeah. I’ve heard that. I haven’t seen much of the devil, though. Maybe just a pirate cowboy.”

“What?” Evelyn laughed.

“Nothing. It’s just amazing what can happen when you decide you’re going to make your life into what you want it to be, rather than sitting back and accepting what other people did to you.”

Evelyn nodded. “And that, I relate to. That’s a story for another time. But someday, I’ll tell you how I caught my best friend having sex with my fiancé on a desk in our office building, and answered a mail-order-bride ad to come out here. Well. I guess I did just tell you. That’s the tale.”

“Wow.”

“Sometimes, the impossibly painful exists to get you on the road you were always meant to be on.”

“That’s true,” she said, her voice scratchy now. “That is very, very true.”

She walked over to where Brody was, and stood close to him. He looked over at her, his mouth kicking up into a grin. “Hey. You having a good time?”

“I have champagne. I can’t complain.”

She was introduced to Sawyer and Wolf, and smiled, unsure if she should touch Brody or not.

He put his hand on her lower back, and that answered the question for her. It made her cheeks get hot. No one said anything, but she had a feeling that his brothers had already guessed that something was going on between them.

Something that, as far as he knew, was going to end in two days. Something she wasn’t going to let happen. Or at least, something she was going to challenge.

She had never fought for what she wanted before. Because before, she had been conditioned to believe she just needed to be grateful. Grateful for the crumbs that she had been handed. It wasn’t up to her to fight for anything. She wasn’t worth that.

At least, that was what she believed. And she did now. Not now. Now she was ready. For a battle, and for a compromise. For a life that didn’t look perfect, but was happy.

And... She had that anyway. No matter what. Because she had Benny.

She would like to have Brody too. In whatever capacity she could.

They hung out by the bonfire, and at a certain point, the men started on the fireworks. They shot up into the sky over the river, sending glimmering sparks down over the surface of the water.

It was magical, this. It wasn’t polished, it wasn’t classy or... Any of the things that she had once thought might remove the pain of her childhood. Any of the things she’d thought at one time would’ve made her feel whole. Would have made her feel acceptable. No. It wasn’t any of those things. But it was real. And it was the place that she had chosen to be. And somehow it fit her.

But maybe that came back down to what Evelyn had said earlier.

It fit because there was love.

It fit because she loved Brody McCloud. And that was really all that mattered.

They began the countdown to midnight, and she was exhilarated when Brody grabbed hold of her, and kissed her when they got to “one.” It didn’t matter that it was temporary in his mind. He was all right, staking his claim. Already okay with making it public. So maybe... Just maybe, he was more in line with her thinking than she had given him credit for.

The kiss made her head spin. And when they parted, he looked at her. “Happy New Year.”

“I love you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

THE WORDS ECHOED in his head. Echoed in his soul. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had said them to him.

Liar.

He could remember. He didn’t want to. He didn’t like the memory. He didn’t like the person who’d said them. He didn’t want to love the person who’d said them.

Nobody else had heard. And everybody except Lachlan and Charity had been too busy kissing to even really notice that he had kissed Elizabeth. Much less listen in on the conversation.

---