“Desiree’s different than I expected,” Margot continues quickly, her voice steadier now but her eyes bright. “The way you look at her...” She shakes her head, and her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’ve been waiting years for you to look at me like that.”
I never suspected her interest in me. And the guilt compounds—because even as Margot’s talking, I can’t seem to focus on anything except getting back upstairs to Desiree.
My mouth opens, but no words come out.
“Don’t.” She holds up a hand. “Whatever you’re about to say, just... don’t. I don’t want to talk about it. Not now, not ever. We’re good, Rick. We’ll always be good.”
But we both know it’s not true. Not anymore. I can’tunknowthis.
“Margot—”
“Enrick.” Jake appears from the powder room off the foyer. “Happy holidays, man. I’ll see you at the office in a few days.”
Jake’s one of the lead engineers on my team. Brilliant with structural design, less brilliant with reading a room.
“I won’t be in until after Bella and Desiree head back to Atlanta.”
“Understood. Family first,” Jake says, pulling on his beanie and then helmet.
“Family first,” Margot echoes quietly. She pulls on her helmet with quick movements. “Tell Gina thanks again for dinner.”
She’s out the door before I can respond, Jake following. I watch through the window as they mount their snowmobiles, engines cutting through the evening quiet. Margot doesn’t look back as they disappear into the trees, leaving only tracks in the fresh snow.
I stand there watching until the sound of their engines fades completely. My reflection stares back at me from the dark glass.
Sixteen years of Tuesday lunches and emergency phone calls and her being the first person I told about Bella. How did I miss this? How did I not see what was right in front of me?
I never meant to hurt her. Never meant to let her hope for something I couldn’t give.
“You’re going to burn a hole in the window,” Maverick observes from behind me. “And hiding out here won’t save you from helping me clean up.”
I turn away from the glass. “Margot just confessed she has feelings for me.”
“Well, shit.”
“That’s helpful, thanks.”
“What do you want me to say? Sorry your best friend’s been in love with you and you were too dense to notice’?” He leans against the doorframe, dishtowel in hand. “Actually, how the hell did you not notice? Gina clocked it within five minutes of meeting her.”
The words land like a punch. “What?”
“Oh yeah.” Maverick’s expression is somewhere between amused and pitying. “First time Margot came by the house, Gina pulled me aside and asked how long you two had been together. I had to explain you were just friends.”
I think back to Desiree’s questions in the kitchen, the jealousy I’d found so endearing. “Desiree saw it too. She asked me point-blank if there was anything between us.”
“And?”
“I told her the truth.” I drag a hand through my hair. “That Margot’s like a sister to me.”
“Except Margot didn’t see it that way.”
“No.”
We stand in silence for a moment. Upstairs, I can hear Bella’s voice bright with questions, and Desiree’s softer responses. The sounds of the life I’m building, the family I’m fighting for.
“So what are you going to do?” Maverick finally asks.
“There’s nothing to do except be present for my family.” I straighten my shoulders. “I’m going to make this Christmas unforgettable for my daughter and the woman I love. I want to set the tone for what the next sixty Christmases will look like for us.”
