Brayden stared hard at his mom until a smile broke through her lips.
“I want you to be happy, Brayden. You’ll sort things out with Ava, but be honest from here on out. No more secrets. She’s not just some girl next door you’re dating. You and I both know that.” She forced him to stand and give her a hug. “I don’t suppose I can convince you to take a break?”
“Sorry, I need to get this done.”
“Well, if you change your mind.” Mom nodded, heading to the door.
“Mom?”
She turned, her head cocked to the side and a slight smile on display.
“The company can still stay in the family without me or you running it. You should have a conversation with Sarra.”
Mom nodded. “I’ll do that.”
Brayden turned back to the desk. It would mean working all through the night, but he was determined to get it finished in time for Christmas. Even if Ava didn’t forgive him, she’d worked hard and persevered to save the store, and she deserved a proper desk from which to run her empire.
“Might as well settle in, Elsie,” he said to the dog who was eyeing her bed. “It’s going to be a long night.”
ChapterSeventeen
Ava
Ava waited by her sliding glass door for over thirty minutes on Christmas morning, but Elsie didn’t appear for her daily treat. If it weren’t for the fresh tire tracks leading into Brayden’s garage last night, undisturbed by snow or beast, she might’ve guessed he left town.
She wanted to be mad. Brayden hadn’t kept one secret from her, but many.
She’d tossed and turned all night, upset with him for missing Christmas Eve dinner, but never once texting him to see where he was. It wasn’t fair to expect him to show up when she told him to go away and he listened. Mostly, she was mad at herself.
It wasn’t the secrets themselves that bothered her when she really got down to it. It was that he felt the need to keep them because of how she’d react to his help. Mom was right—not something she’d often admit—but Ava couldn’t do this alone. Pride would be the end of the Forget Me Not Boutique before anything else. The store was saved for now. But hardship might visit her again in the future. She didn’t want to face it alone.
Not anymore.
Staring out the back door, she caught a blur in the woodworking shop window. “What are the odds he was telling the truth back then?” she murmured, slipping on a pair of boots over her Christmas moose pajama bottoms.
Halfway to the shop, Ava spotted a moose in the tree line. “Ed,” she mumbled with an amused shake of her head. “We don’t have any more wreaths,” she called to him. “You ate them all.” She waited, expecting Ed to intervene. He was good at that. But he seemed to give her a head nod before he turned and tromped off into the neighborhood. “Merry Christmas to you, too,” she murmured, a slight smile gracing her lips.
Ava scurried through the deep snow, attempting to follow Brayden’s trail of footsteps. But snow crept into the top of her boots anyway. By the time she reached the shop, her calves were frigid.
“Brayden?” she called, shivering at the chill in the air. “Are you in here?”
Elsie trotted to her, tail wagging in greeting. Ava pulled a treat from her pocket and handed it over. “Merry Christmas, girl. This is just the stocking stuffer.” She rubbed the golden behind the ears. “I have more presents for you under the tree.”
“Ava?” Brayden looked half asleep from where he stood in the middle of the shop. The yawn solidified it.
“I should’ve brought coffee.” She dared to step closer, the urge to be in his arms overwhelming. She didn’t want to face another day without Brayden by her side. She realized last night how she truly felt, and she wanted very much to tell him. “You fell asleep out here?”
“Happens sometimes,” he said with a mild shrug.
“You stayed out here all night?” She took a few steps closer. Had he been telling the truth all along? How could she have been so closed-minded and blithely shut him down all the times he tried to convince her? How much time had she wasted because of it? “On Christmas Eve?”
“Had something to finish.” He stepped to the side, revealing a beautiful cherry desk. The fresh stain glistened in the sunlight, but it was the cubbies built up on the corners that drew her eyes. Slots for books, files, office supplies. This desk was an organizer’s dream come true.
“Who’s the lucky recipient?”
“You.”
“Me?” Her heart swelled and happy tears stung her eyes. “You made this for me?”
