Page 85 of The Holiday Heartbreaker

“Wait,” Elizabeth said. “I need a hug.” Then Benny threw his arms around her. And Elizabeth bent down and kissed him on the top of the head. “I love you,” she said. “Have the merriest Christmas ever.”

“Thanks, Mom,” he said.

He wiggled out of her hold, and he imagined it was probably some kind of a miracle that he had submitted himself to that much maternal affection. And there was something suddenly...

Strange about watching this. Benny leaving his mother.

Elizabeth looked so sad watching him go, and he was just getting in an SUV with his biological father to have a really nice Christmas.

He was going to be gone for two weeks.

Had Brody’s mother looked sad when she’d walked out of their house? Knowing that she would be gone forever? Or had she just gone away and never looked back?

It was a strange thought. He so rarely allowed himself to ponder any of that.

She was putting on a brave face. He could tell.

And when the SUV pulled away, she waved broadly, putting on brave gestures too.

She was a champ.

“Elizabeth,” he said, when the SUV was out of sight.

“I’d actually like to be alone for a little bit,” she said, forcing a smile.

“All right.”

And he turned and walked away, because it was what she had asked him to do. But he spent the rest of the afternoon regretting it.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“YOU WANT TO go out?” Lachlan asked.

Brody thought about it. He really did. He didn’t know what he was doing. The whole thing with the Christmas tree, and hanging out with Elizabeth like that. He didn’t like the way it made him feel. He didn’t like how he’d felt seeing her face as she’d watched Benny leave. He didn’t like how he’d felt watching Benny leave. Like his chest was full of cement. He didn’t know what he was doing. That was the thing.

“Yeah,” he said. “Sure.”

“Great. Let’s plan to meet at Smokey’s around eight?”

“Sounds good to me.”

The usual thing. Drive separate vehicles, don’t drink too much, because the goal isn’t to drink, it’s to meet women.

Except, there was only one woman that he was interested in right now. And he didn’t know how long that was going to last. It was completely inconvenient. He didn’t want to deal with this. Didn’t want to. Didn’t want to be fixated on someone he couldn’t have. Because that was the bottom line. He couldn’t have her. It was... It was an absolutely impossible situation. Because she was the kind of woman who needed a man that could provide stability. He could support somebody financially, that wasn’t the issue. It was the damn being-a-husband-and-father thing.

He was the last person who could get involved in that.

So he went back to his place. And he figured going out was the best thing to do. So he prepared for that. Took a shower, changed his clothes.

And then he found himself texting Elizabeth.

Have you ever been to Smokey’s?

It took five minutes for her to respond.

I don’t even know what that is.

Local bar.

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