“It’s Rafe.”
“That’s no excuse.”
I leaned around her, bracing my weight on the edge of the table and inching into her space.
She didn’t move away, but she also didn’t look at me.
Instead, she fiddled with the bits and pieces in the tray.
“I understand that what I did was wrong by his standards, but I honestly didn’t know.”
She blew out a long breath. “But I’m over it. I’m choosing to move past it and concentrate on Christmas.”
“Rafe is not going to ruin Christmas.” I tried to make it sound like a promise.
Rafe was a lot of things.
I’d called him a grinch more times than I could remember.
But he knew what Christmas meant to Noelle.
He wouldn’t dare mess that up.
And I hated to admit it, but what we had planned for Christmas was more important than any argument.
“What happens around here on Christmas Eve?” Noelle pushed the bolts into piles, sorting them by size and dropping them into the tray with a series of clinks.
The question surprised me, though it shouldn’t have.
We hadn’t mentioned our festivities to her. “Not a lot, honestly. Rafe isn’t the kind to celebrate. He might change his mind this year, but if he does, he’ll celebrate the day of, not before.”
Another series of clinks dropped more bolts into the container.
She cupped her chin in her hand and peered up at me through thick lashes. “You don’t do anything on Christmas Eve? I thought you and Bishop might celebrate in some way, even without Rafe.”
“Nah.” I stayed close enough to smell her cinnamon lotion she preferred but kept my hands to myself.
How much could I reveal without blowing it? “As much as I’d love to spend it with you, we have club business.”
“On Christmas Eve?” She said it in a plaintive way that reminded me of disappointment and yearning.
I knew the feeling and finally reached out to stroke her cheek. “It’s important.”
I winked to ease the blow of disappointment. “Top-secret stuff.”
“Oh?” Curiosity sparked, as I’d known it would. A smile appeared, then fell into a frown. “What kind of stuff?”
“Top-secret.” I tweaked her nose, then kissed her forehead. “As in, Rafe would end me if I talked about it. I only mentioned it because I wanted you to know we’d be gone all day and into the night. You should come see us Christmas morning.”
She spent most of her time here, but I knew better than to insist she stay without us around.
There were too many things she might get into.
Like Rafe’s office.
He kept most sensitive material off site, but there was enough in there to send Noelle running far, far away.
Noelle pouted.
