Page 15 of Cold As Ice

“Just think about it. Christmas, I mean. I’d really like it if you came. We all would.”

I gave her a noncommittal nod. But we both knew the truth.

Come Christmas Day, they would be in Pittsburgh celebrating, and I’d be in Lakeshore.

Alone.

Just how I liked it.

* * *

Two days later, my mood hit rock bottom.

I couldn’t step outside the house without being reminded that Christmas was right around the corner.

Lakeshore had become holiday central, and there wasn’t a store window or house not covered in mistletoe or holly. So even though I’d decided not to join Rory and Noah when they visited Mason and his family on Christmas Day, there was no escaping the festive season.

No matter how much I wanted to.

I had a rocky relationship with the holidays. It was a time to celebrate with family. To give thanks and reflect. But a childhood full of shitty Thanksgivings, Christmases, and birthdays, meant I would much rather let them pass me by with as little thought as possible.

Rory was disappointed I’d turned them down, I knew that. But I didn’t want to play the fifth wheel. And the truth was, there was still too much left unsaid between us: wrongs I needed to right and truths I needed to come to terms with.

Part of me wondered if our mother had tried to contact her, but I didn’t ask. That was one call or visit I would avoid at all costs.

Susannah Hart might have wanted to smooth things over with her daughter, but she had never been interested in fixing things with me.

My feelings about the holidays didn’t stop me from venturing downtown to buy my sister a gift, though. Except the minute I walked into the store, I realized I had no idea what to get her.

“Can I help you?” the assistant asked as I browsed the displays.

“I’m just looking, tha— You,” I said, coming face-to-face with Madison and another girl.

“Austin.” Her gaze darted to her friend, and I could sense her surprise.

Maybe even a little bit of panic.

“I’m going to leave you two to… talk.” The friend gave Madison a calculated smirk, and she murmured something under her breath.

“Don’t mind Fawn,” she added, a slight flush to her cheeks.

Ah, the friend who lived in the building next to Ella.

“I won’t,” I said. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“You shop for ethically made soaps and shampoos a lot?” Amusement danced in her eyes.

“I’m hoping to pick up some gifts.”

“For your… Mom? Aunt? Or the girlfriend you didn’t tell me about?” I frowned, and her expression dropped. “Shit, I don’t know why I said that. It’s none of my business if you—”

“Relax.” I let out a strained chuckle. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

But I didn’t know how to feel about the fact she’d brought it up.

Any other time, I would have run a mile. But I kind of liked the words coming from her mouth.

Even if I’d never planned on seeing her again.

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