“I ordered us a couple of glasses of champagne,” she said, motioning to the delicate glasses on the table. “I don’t know when you plan to make the announcement about Elements, but I thought we could celebrate a little tonight. Just the two of us.”
She smiled at him, hoping that now that he was sitting in the warm restaurant, he might relax and have a better evening. He didn’t smile back.
“Is everything okay?” she asked him. “If you don’t want champagne, they have some amazing cocktails here.”
Nathan’s jaw twitched. “ECT isn’t staying in Devonsville,” he said, his voice flat.
Holly’s smile faltered. “What do you mean? You sounded so sure earlier.”
“I mean the company is moving to California,” he replied.
“Oh.” Holly’s shoulders fell. She immediately thought of her father. He’d been so excited to hear he might be able to keep his bookstore running. She thought of her students. Nearly a quarter of her class was preparing for the move to California. They were scared and unsure of changing homes. Moving was hard on kids. “Is there a reason why?”
“Because I said so,” he said sharply. “I own this business. I can do whatever I want with it.”
Holly pulled back at the sharp tone. He’d never spoken to her like that. He sounded angry with her, but Holly couldn’t figure out why. She hadn’t done anything wrong, at least not that she could think of.
“Okay.” She fiddled with the napkin in her lap. “How was the rest of your day?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he snapped at her. He reached out and drank his champagne without offering a toast. He didn’t even look at her.
Holly was a patient person. She had to be as a second grade teacher. She was good at managing her emotions and not responding when people reacted poorly. Still, this grated on her nerves. Her nice night out with a charming date was turning sour.
He finished his champagne and made a face. “What kind of cheap champagne did you order?”
“I just ordered regular champagne,” she said, surprised at the defensiveness in her own voice.
“It’s terrible,” he scolded her.
“Okay...” She picked up her menu and pretended to read it. Her eyes blurred with hurt tears that made her feel stupid. His sharp words shouldn’t affect her like this, but still it stung to be spoken to like that. She blinked, trying to clear them so she could see if she wanted the filet mignon or the salmon.
To be honest, at this point she wasn’t sure she wanted to eat at all.
She cleared her throat. “So, I thought we could go ice skating tonight,” she said, setting her menu to the side and trying again. “It’s this fun tradition in town to go ice skating the evening after the parade. It’s just for couples and the rink hangs mistletoe in every corner. I thought it would be fun.”
She had been looking forward to having a date for once to go with. It was usually full of teenagers and old married couples, but she could see her and Nathan having a wonderful time. Maybe it would even put him in a better mood.
“I’m leaving tonight,” Nathan announced, not looking up from his menu.
“You’re leaving?” Holly frowned, surprised. They’d made plans for Christmas Eve. She was looking forward to sharing her holiday traditions with him.
“Do I have to repeat everything?” He set down his menu and glared at her.
“No, but you can explain. We had plans.” Holly tried to keep the irritation out of her voice.
“Business.”
Anger flared up in Holly’s chest. “That’s it? Business?”
“I don’t need to explain myself to you,” he told her.
Holly’s jaw dropped. Who was this man? This wasn’t the Nathan she knew and loved. “No, you don’t have to explain. But it would be polite.”
Nathan focused his gaze on her, but instead of feeling like the center of the galaxy, she felt like a negligent vendor for his business.
“I have a business to run. I’ve spent too much time playing here. I have work to do.”
“And Christmas? Our plans?” she asked, crossing her arms.