Randall stood immediately and strode toward us while his wife remained where she was, elegant in a peach pantsuit. After hugging Caleb, Randall hugged me as well and whispered, “So glad you made it.”
His mother extended her hand, smiling faintly.
I shook it, and in that instant—when our eyes met—I knew she didn’t like me. The flash of anger and suspicion in her gaze was unmissable.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Evans,” I said evenly. “Thank you so much for having Lucas and me over this Christmas.”
“It’s Eleanor,” she replied, her lips curling into something resembling a smile. She glanced at Lucas and then back at me. “My husband and son speak highly of you. Join us at the table. Fresh coffee has just been brewed.”
Lucas blended easily with the other children, laughing and playing. Children weren’t born with prejudice—that was something adults taught them.
Once everyone sat down, questions came at me from every direction.
Eleanor looked at Caleb and asked, “What are you smiling about?”
“Well,” he said, laughing, “I just find it amusing that everyone’sasking about her while I’m sitting right here, and I haven’t seen you all since last weekend.”
“You jealous, huh?” Cat teased.
Simon grinned. “We already know everything about you. And the bits we don’t, we can find online—often more than we want to know.”
Laughter erupted around the table as Caleb turned beetroot red.
After breakfast,I settled into the guest room and unpacked my bag. I had barely folded my second sweater when the door opened.
Eleanor stepped inside.
“The help can do that for you,” she said coldly, her eyes sweeping over me with a condescending stare.
I straightened slowly, forcing my shoulders back. “It’s okay. I’m used to doing things myself,” I replied. “I enjoy it, actually.” I smiled, but suddenly every nerve in my body felt alert. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, instinctively warning me.
“Hmmm,” Eleanor murmured. “I hope that doesn’t change.” Her smile was icy as she turned and walked away.
That single interaction confirmed what my gut had already known. I could almost hear the assumptions forming in her mind—that I was after Caleb for his wealth, his influence, his name.
The irony was bitter.
We weren’t even dating. We were friends. Very good friends. And yet… I sighed quietly, because I knew I had wanted more than just that.
At Harper’s wedding, the connection between Caleb and me had been so obvious, even Cupid himself could have face-palmed. Maybe it had just been the moment. The wedding. The dance. Or maybe Caleb was simply a very good actor.
Regret curled low in my chest, heavy and persistent, especially sinceIhad insisted that I didn’t have time for a relationship. I wondered ifIshould be the one to say something now, to acknowledge what had clearly shifted between us.
And then there was Lucas, who absolutely adored him. I had to be certain that my choices wouldn’t hurt my son. I needed to be careful. I needed to be sure. But most of all, I needed to tread cautiously—especially when it came to Eleanor.
My chest began to ache, reminding me of my medication.
Dr. Sloan’s displeasure echoed in my mind immediately. I had called him the day Lucas and I were putting up the Christmas tree, telling him about the new symptoms.
“I told you that you needed the surgery urgently. Why are you delaying it?” he had asked. “You didn’t even know about your congenital heart disease until you collapsed last year. Now that you’re having tightness and shortness of breath, you can’t postpone it much longer. Let me schedule the surgery for January. I’ll give you medication to get you through until then.”
I had agreed.
Now, sitting on the bed in the guest room, I swallowed the pills with a glass of water and closed my eyes for a moment.
January. I would schedule the surgery in January.
I had to.
