Page 28
“That’s ridiculous. You would think after spending the night with you and getting to know you a bit that offer would still be on the table.”
“He offered me two million.”
“That must have been some sex.”
“This isn’t about sex.”
“Did you ask where you sign?” He pointed at me. “OMG! You didn’t take the offer.”
“Before I knew who he was, I decided to sell him the house, but then I got a strange vibe and changed my mind. This house means more to me than money.”
“This house should be demolished.” He looked around. “No offense.”
“Offense taken.” I took out the two trays of cookies when the timer went off on the oven and placed them on the stove. “I grew up here. All of my memories are here. It just needs some TLC.”
“With two million dollars, you can build a replica of this place and still have money left over to live.”
I couldn’t deny that.
“What’s the problem?” Jay asked. “Why are you holding out?”
“It’s the holidays. I can think about selling after. If Mr. James wants this property so bad, he won’t rush me.”
“Who are you making these cookies for?” He motioned toward the tray I had wrapped in green cellophane.
“My new neighbor.”
“Really?”
“What?” I tied a red bow on top of it. “I’m being neighborly. That’s what my Gram Cracker would have done.” My grandmother always welcomed new neighbors with some kind of baked goods. Why should Silver be an exception?
“Yes, she would have, but I don’t think she would have done the things you did with your new neighbor.”
“That was before I knew who he was. I won’t be doing that again.”
“Would that be such a bad thing? It might be nice for you to have someone to spend the holidays with. To warm you up at night.” He ran his hands along his arms. “Because it’s freakin’ cold in here.”
Spending the holidays alone wasn’t something I wanted to do, especially after seeing my aunt and uncle today. Knowing that they would all be together hurt my feelings.
“I saw my uncle today.”
“Eww.” He scrunched his nose. “How’d that go?”
“The way it always goes.” I shrugged, trying not to think about the family I didn’t have. The one that didn’t live that far from me but never included me in anything. “They’re all going to Hawaii for Christmas.”
“Ouch.”
“It’s not like they would have invited me to dinner if they were home on Christmas. Obviously, I can’t afford to go to Hawaii with them, so I don’t know why it bothers me.”
“They can afford to take you with them. Your uncles’ faces are all over the city in those overpriced ads. I don’t know why anyone wants to work with such heartless people.”
“Whatever.” Who wants to go to Hawaii anyway? “The diner is open on Christmas morning. I can take a shift so the moms with kids can be with them. Then, I’ll come home and cook like I did last year. I’ll have lots of leftovers to put in the freezer. I can watch Christmas movies in my jammies and drink hot chocolate. I’ll be fine.”
“You could come to Florida with me,” Jay said. “My dad would love to see you.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you, but I can’t afford the airfare.”
“We can drive.”
