“As old Mr. B. would say, you gotta woo her.”
Mr. B. was a ninety-something-year-old World War II vet Mitch had met and befriended a few years ago. Alex chuckled. “Okay, buthow?”
“Something big.”
“Well, I already saved her life. She still told me to take a hike. What’s bigger than that?”
“A lifelong commitment.”
That, he could do.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
It was Christmas Eve, and Julia and Calvin were at her mom’s for dinner. Calvin was playing with his cousins in the basement, and Julia sat in the kitchen with her mom and sister.
“So, Cal’s doing all right then?” her mom asked, pouring three glasses of wine.
“Seems like it,” Julia said, sipping. “I think getting away helped.” Between the fire at the cabin, Alex bailing, and the kidnapping, Julia thought it prudent to get Cal out of New York as soon as possible. Prices on last-minute tickets around the holiday were astronomical, but she was committed and finally landed on Florida. They had just returned to town the night before.
“What’d you do down there?” her sister asked.
“Played on the beach, swam at the hotel pool, went to Sea World. I let him eat whatever he wanted. That might have been his favorite part.” She laughed. “It gave us both a chance to recuperate.”
“And the husband hunt. How’s that going?” Mary asked.
“Not good,” Julia said. “I finally found someone who fit the bill. He checks all my boxes for being a dad to Cal, he has money coming out his ears, and he’d be easy to get along with.”
“So, what’s the problem?” her mom said. “He sounds great.”
“He doesn’t want the job.”
“Oh,” her mom said. “That is kind of essential.”
“It’s such a bummer,” Julia said. “He was sooo great with Cal. Covered for him when he wet the bed, comforted him when Charlie died, kept his cool when Cal got lost, made a fool of himself dancing silly to Christmas carols, even scolded him—gently—when he talked back to me.”
“I thought you made it clear to all the men you dated that you had a kid and were only looking for a serious relationship,” Mary said.
“I didn’t meet him online,” Julia explained. “He’s the neighbor I told you about at Thanksgiving. The firefighter that helped us a lot while Mom was on her cruise.”
“Maybe he’ll change his mind,” Mary said. “How do you know for sure—”
Julia held up a hand. “He’s been adamant from the beginning that he didn’t want a relationship. I knew I was playing with fire—no pun intended—and tried to keep my distance, but circumstances just kept throwing us together. He never lied or led me on. It’s my own fault we got too close.”
“It sounds like you fell in love with him.” Mary raised an eyebrow.
Julia had recently and reluctantly come to that conclusion as well. Even after the constant warnings to herself not to get too involved, she’d gotten used to having him around. Not only gotten used to it, shewantedhim around. She missed him when he wasn’t. He was everything she dreamed of, wrapped in a fun, sexy package. How could she not be in love?
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s the case. But what good does loving him do? I’m devastated. Cal’s heartbroken.” She threw up her hands. “This is why I wanted to leave love out of the equation.”
“Oh, honey,” her mom said. “Love can hurt sometimes, but it’s also what makes life worth living.”
“So, you haven’t seen him since the day he saved you?” Mary asked.
“Nope. He brought a pizza over that night, but because nothing had really changed since we broke it off the week before, he ate and left. We flew out the next day.”
“What happened the week before?” her mom asked.
“Calvin showed Alex his letter to Santa.” Julia paused for dramatic effect. “Number one was for Alex to be his dad.”
