Shar and Rob arrived along with baby Carter, who looked like a completely different baby.
“He grew,” I said, stunned as Rob lifted him from his carseat.
Shar laughed. “Insane, right?”
The guests kept coming, and I jumped into hostess mode, taking drink orders and transporting trays to the table. The house filled with laughter and chatter layered over the Christmas music my parents played on my old boombox.
Midnight grew closer, and my dad started handing out hats and noisemakers. It was my perfect chance to escape. I drifted to the kitchen under the pretense of checking on the cheese platter, then hurried down the hall and slipped into the den, closing the door behind me.
I sank to the floor, dropping my head between my knees. Tomorrow was January 1st. A new year. On paper, every wild dream I’d hoped for had come true for me this holiday season. I had a connection with my art idol, a padded resume, and a veritable job offer come spring. I was no longer staring potential grad school in the face, and I felt more confident than ever before in my ability to transition from campus life to the real world.
But none of it touched the hollow ache sheltered beneath my ribs. Over Christmas, I’d convinced myself that he wasn’t calling because he knew I wasn’t home. Because he needed time to think through everything.
Now, there was no excuse, and the realization that Logan might not be calling because for him it was only ever fake feltlike stepping backward into ice water. My body went numb in sections, one part at a time.
When he said yes to our scheme? It was only for his PR clause. When he got all hot and bothered with Jake? He was only trying to be the alpha. When he told the guys to get me food to earn their Blizzard tickets, it was for fun, not because he cared. When he suggested we add benefits to our arrangement? It was only for education, like he said in the first place.
Logan had been perfectly clear from the get-go, and Shar had warned me from the start. I was the stupid one. So desperate that I fell into a trap that wasn’t even set for me.
I swiped at my cheeks, ignoring the sound of my name coming from the other room. Headlights swept across the snow through the window, and I reached up to flick off the lights. I didn’t need some neighbour peering in and seeing me huddled up on the floor.
A car door slammed.
“Crystal?” It was my dad’s voice. I prayed that he wouldn’t come looking.
Heavy steps sounded on the porch, and I frowned. It was too dark to see the clock, but it had to be eleven-thirty.
The doorbell rang. Who was showing up to the party this late?
Stomps down the hall.
Jingle bells ringing as the door swung open.
Then a low voice. A laugh.
And Connor’s excited whoop from the living room. “Logan freaking Kemp!”
Chapter
Thirty
I scrambled to my feet,heart pounding so hard it rattled my teeth.Logan was here?I spun in a circle, not sure how I could escape without being noticed.
The den door creaked, and I yelped.
Maddie and Sharla barreled in, closing the door behind them.
“What are you doing sitting here in the dark?” Sharla hissed.
“What do you think I’m doing? I was crying in peace!”
Maddie scoffed. “We’ve been looking for you, trying to tell you Logan was coming!”
“You knew?!” My voice was louder than I intended, and Sharla hushed me.
Excited chatter sounded from the hall. Connor was saying something about Logan signing his goalie stick. My dad said no since it was only twenty minutes until the countdown.
“How did you know Logan was coming?” I was not letting them off the hook with this one.
