Taking a look, he saw the picture of himself on her phone. He kept one hand on the steering wheel and wrapped his other around hers. “We both did.”
They found themselves on a long stretch of road, and it was seven miles before they made another turn. Phoebe had quieted down, and it concerned him. “Penny for your thoughts?”
“I’m not sure if I should say.”
“No more hiding, right?” He squeezed her hand. “We should be free to say anything to each other.”
“Okay.” She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “I was wondering if you’ve heard anything from Deena?”
“No, and I don’t expect to.” Mac shrugged off the reminder of his short-term relationship.
“It’s strange, though. There’s nothing online about it either.”
He jerked his head around, surprised she’d looked and not sure how he felt about that. “You searched?”
“No, Darla told me.”
“That makes more sense.” His muscles relaxed.
“You thought I went around being nosy?” Her tone darkened with sadness.
“Well… yes. I’m sorry.”
“I’m teasing—I would have thought the same.” Her voice lightened, and he heard her smile. “I told Darla about us. Is that okay?”
“I told my friends and family, and I’m sure everyone at church figured it out on Sunday when we showed up together, sat together, and you made eyes at me.”
“I did not make eyes at you, whatever that even means.”
Laughter rumbled from deep in his chest. “Just making sure you were still listening.”
She swatted his arm. “Anyway, as soon as I told Darla, she must have gone online because she came back twenty minutes later to report she couldn’t find any mention of a breakup. She’s checked every day since.”
“Who knows?”
“The filming is supposed to wrap up Wednesday, and today our office got the notice of her vacating the cabin.”
Mac stopped the car and gently guided her face to look at him. “Tonight is about us, not Deena. She’s in the past, and even if it’s the recent past, I’d rather leave her there and focus on you and me.”
“You’re right.” She covered his hand with hers, and whispered, “You and Me. Us.”
“Together at last.”
Chapter Fifteen
Christmas Eve arrived like a scene from a movie. A fresh blanket of snow covered the fallen pine needles, adding an extra crunch to Phoebe’s steps. She burrowed into her coat for the short trek into the office.
Her three-day weekend ended on the first day when Ted’s mom had to be taken in for emergency surgery, leaving Phoebe to manage any situations that arose at Jasper Properties that couldn’t be addressed by the front desk.
Unfortunately for her, Deena had arrived at the office thirty minutes ago and announced the cabin had not lived up to her expectations and insisted the studio receive a full refund. Yet, she’d not made a single complaint the entire length of the almost three-month-long stay.
When Cameron called to inform her of the issue, Phoebe reluctantly postponed the drive to her parents to address the problem with Deena. She entered through the back door of Jasper Properties and dropped off her purse in her office.
Voices in the adjoining room gave her pause. She recognized them as Deena and Lynz, and they appeared to be in a disagreement.
“You’ve pulled a lot of stunts, but this isn’t right.”
“I don’t recall asking you.” Deena’s voice dripped with disgust.
