For so long, I thought it was necessary to continue the traditions we created with Marla. That moving away from them would mean we'd forgotten her. But now I saw it as a rebirth, a way for us to move on together and make new traditions. I'd keep the memory of Sofia's mother alive while we made new ones.
"There's so many different options. I get overwhelmed when I go in Clara's store. What did you get?" Eve asked.
"She helped us find the perfect ornaments. There was Frosty, Rudolph, Santa, and even the Grinch." Sofia listed the characters on her fingers.
"Your tree is going to look amazing. Is this the first time you've ever gotten a real tree?" Eve asked as we crossed the street and headed for the red-and-green neon sign declaring the restaurant to be Merry's Diner.
"I think so," Sofia said.
"I haven't had a real tree since I was a kid."
Eve nodded. "I think you're going to love having a real tree. They smell amazing."
"I can't wait!" Sofia said with an extra skip in her step.
I opened the door for both of them, having a vision of doing things like this more often.
It was a scary idea but also exciting. I wasn't ready to go there yet. But I could see it as a possibility now, and that was a huge step forward. I thought moving on from Marla would be a betrayal, but now I saw it as living.
We could hang out during the day, and then Eve could come over at night. For the first time in a while, I was excited about my life.
CHAPTER 14
EVE
Iwas hoping dinner with Maddox and Sofia would be a turning point. But then when we parted ways on the sidewalk, he'd leaned over to mention that it counted as being seen around town together. He muttered something about it not looking like a work thing, but my breath was caught in my throat.
I'd thought us going out to dinner meant he was ready to move on. That he was interested in dating me. But instead, he'd brought up our fake arrangement.
It was a good reminder that my place in Maddox's life was limited to the work we'd done together and a physical release.
The realization didn't stop me from answering his text and showing up at his house around midnight any night he was off work.
I was dragging most days at work, but I couldn't seem to break the habit. I had a feeling none of this was good for me, but my heart hoped something might change. That Maddox would want to have a relationship. But I had a feeling I was dead wrong about that.
I was also worried about Natasha. Ford had flown to the East Coast to be with a veteran friend who was going through atough time. I understood that it was important and was suitably impressed that he was being a good friend. But I didn't like how he hadn't talked to her before he left.
Natasha said he'd texted, but it hadn't gone through. I believed his explanation, but I wondered why he'd texted at all. Why not talk to Natasha in person? I think that would have been better, and there wouldn't have been a miscommunication.
Natasha didn't know how long he'd be gone, and she was upset, thinking he was pulling away from her. It was similar to something he'd done when they'd dated as teens. I'd hoped that he'd grown up, but now I wasn't so sure.
I was willing to hear his explanation if and when he ever got back, but Natasha was panicking and ready to call it quits. It meant that the bulk of town planning was falling to me. I made sure I didn't discuss things with her because I didn't want to stress her out when she already had enough going on.
We had the tree-lighting ceremony coming up; we'd moved it back by one week because of the addition of the Christmas parade. I had notes from last year's event, but we'd never hosted it ourselves.
It meant long days talking to owners and longer nights working on the logistics. I'd hired a band, carolers, and convinced the shops to use their trucks to serve hot chocolate, popcorn, and roasted nuts. I'd never planned something like this, so I hoped it went okay.
The only thing that relieved my stress was midnights at Maddox's. I could let everything in my daily life go.
As soon as I texted him, the door swung open, and he tugged me toward his bedroom. When he locked his bedroom door, clothes were quickly removed, and he was on top of me. It was always quick. We couldn't seem to get enough of each other.
As soon as we were done, I'd get dressed and slip out. Since Maddox lived with his daughter, there were no overnights. Iwasn't sure how Sofia would feel about him dating again. I was more than a little worried that he had no plans to bring it up to her. Things would stay the same. I'd be his fake girl in public, and his dirty secret in private.
But it was too early to jump to any conclusions. I enjoyed being with him, and for now, that was enough.
Town events and Natasha's stress over Ford kept me occupied.
The lighting ceremony was supposed to be date number two. We hadn't discussed whether we would hold hands or kiss in front of Sofia. When we were together at night, there wasn't much talking involved.
