“Any word yet from your mom?” Brayden asked, fully aware he was stalling. Mom could suffer the few minutes longer. No doubt she was at the table with an open laptop and a glass of pinot noir, completely lost in her inbox.
“No.” Ava dropped her phone back into the abyss that was her purse. “I don’t know what to make of it. She gets super secretive about gifts, but that’s probably theonlytime she ghosts anyone. I wish she’d tell me if she was getting a hotel room. One more day would besonice.”
“Ava, everything’s going to be fine.” He hesitated a moment longer, debating whether to warn her about the surprise Mom was likely to drop on them both. One he wasn’t supposed to have prior knowledge about. He decided against it. No matter the obligation or responsibility angle Mom used on him, his answer would be no. He wasn’t uprooting his life in mere days to take over the company last minute.
Brayden offered her his arm at the front of the truck, pretending he didn’t notice the way the black skirt of her dress swished against her stylish boots at her approach. Despite his pleas for her to be herself, she’d gone out of her way to dress up for this dinner. Wavy curls in her hair, soft color on her eyelids, and even a hint of lip gloss glistened in the reflection of the streetlight.
It didn’t matter that several layers of clothing separated them. He could still feel the heat of their interlocked arms.
“That tree is a work of art,” Ava said with a nod at the massive Christmas tree in the center of the lobby. It reached more than halfway to the vaulted log ceiling. “Almost puts our tree to shame.”
“Nah,” Brayden said, leading them off to the side to the dining room. “That one is nice, but our tree is better. It was put together with care and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.”
The smile that graced Ava’s lips made him very much want to kiss them.I wonder if the Whitmore sisters hung any mistletoe.
He led them to the dining room, spotting his mom in a corner with an open laptop. She looked up at him over the top of her reading glasses.
“Brayden, I didn’t know you were bringing a guest.” Pamela Young’s smile remained frozen in place, but the light dimmed in her eyes at the sight of Ava. Mom wasn’t a fan of surprises when she was on the receiving end. She removed her glasses, closed her laptop, and pushed out of her chair.
“Mom,” Brayden said. “You came to meet Ava, did you not?” He slipped Ava’s arm from his grip to give Mom a purposely overzealous hug. He caught Ava glancing at the exit as he did and cut the embrace short. “Mom, meet Ava Monroe. My girlfriend. She’s a local business owner.” Brayden turned to Ava. “Ava, meet Pamela Young.”
“Nice to finally meet you,” said Ava.
Brayden didn’t have to be on the receiving end of Mom’s handshake to sense the firm and downright scary grip.Is she squeezing a little too hard on purpose?If Ava was rattled, she didn’t let it show through her perfectly friendly smile. “Welcome to our little town of Sunset Ridge.”
“Mom, the table is too small,” Brayden said, scanning the dining area for another place to sit. He found an empty two-person table tucked in a corner. Without a server in sight, he took it upon himself to move it and a chair, secretly delighting in Mom’s discomfort.
Ava shed her coat and set it on the back of her chair, giving Brayden his first full view of her in the silky black dress that hugged her figure in the most flattering way. “Wow, you look stunning,” he said to her in a whisper, meaning it. He hardly saw Ava out of jeans, and only once before in a dress.
“Brayden, you’ll need to order another appetizer,” Mom said, a flippant edge to her tone. “The crab cakes won’t be enough for the three of us.”
“We’ll be fine, Mom.” He pulled out Ava’s chair, but she didn’t sit.
“Would you excuse me a moment?” she asked. “I need to use the powder room.”
“I’ll order you a Dr. Pepper,” he offered.
Ava gave him a weak smile. One that might fool someone she just met, but not Brayden. Mom was trying to make her uncomfortable, and it seemed in some ways, she was succeeding. “Thanks.”
Brayden took his seat after Ava left the dining room and filled his water goblet. “You could try being nice.”
“You didn’t tell me you invited her.” Mom slipped her laptop into its case and set her oversized phone on the table in its place. He used to be like her, he realized. Unable to disconnect for a single moment. There was always an email to answer. A fire to put out. Research to do. Disconnecting from all that offered him a sense of freedom he’d never known and wasn’t eager to give up.
“You came to Alaska to meet her.”
“I came to Alaska to bring you home. That girl’s only after your money.”
“She’s doesn’t know I have any.”
Mom raised an eyebrow to that, reaching for her wine glass. “I find that hard to believe.”
“I’m just a regular person to this town. Judged by my character, not my bank account balance.” Brayden leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. “You wasted a trip.”
“I’m announcing my retirement at the Christmas party next week.” She took a slow sip of her wine, no rush in setting the glass on the table before she went on. “You’ll be taking over Young Elite Marketing Services effective January first. I need you back now to sign some paperwork and prepare for the transition.”
Brayden could hug his sister for the heads-up. Had Mom managed to spring this on him without warning, he would’ve been blindsided and unable to think everything through. “Maybe I’m not ready to come back.”
“It’s been almost a year, Brayden. You need to get your head out of the sand. You have responsibilities.”
