“I don’t mind at all. Bring your parents too, if you want.”
She gave me an incredulous look.
“Like I said, the more, the merrier.”
7
Sicily
I would never say it to Dex, but it was really nice to have some time off.
I was hustling all the time, taking care of emails and other things when I was at home in the evenings. Even when I wasn’t physically in the office or at the hospital or the research center, I was still working.
Didn’t have much of a life because of it.
But the pay was unbelievable and I loved my boss, so I would never complain.
My parents had a small place on a little land in the countryside. They used to have an apartment in the city where I grew up, but when my grandmother passed away, they moved in to her old house because it was a lot more affordable. My dad was a manager at the grocery store, and my mom stayed home.
After my surgery drained their savings, they never really recovered.
I always felt guilty about that, but after a couple more paychecks, I was going to send them on a nice trip to the Bahamas or some place tropical.
My parents never, ever went on vacation, and they deserved it.
I stayed in the guest bedroom, and we watched Christmas movies and did our holiday traditions, like decorating the tree, making homemade pies, and just catching up. I hadn’t seen them much since I started my new job.
My mom scooped the filling into the pie plate lined with uncooked dough. “So, it didn’t work out with that man you were so excited about?”
I knew this was unavoidable, so I just pushed through it. “No, Ma. I already told you that.”
“But I thought you guys might work it out…” She smoothed out the pumpkin pie mixture in the pan.
I worked on the blueberry one. “No. He’s history.”
“Hmm…what a shame.”
No, it was a shame we were together in the first place. “I’ve moved on, so it’s fine.”
“You’re seeing someone?” Her head popped up so fast, her eyes wide with joy. “Why didn’t you bring him? Baby, what’s he like?”
“Whoa, Ma. Calm down.” I continued to work on the pie. “I’m not seeing anybody. I just mean I’m over the guy.”
Mom pressed her lips tightly together, so disappointed that she couldn’t even try to hide it.
“This is the twenty-first century. Women don’t need to settle down at eighteen anymore.”
“I understand that, baby. I just want to know you have a good man to take care of you because your father and I won’t always—”
“Knock it off.” I hated it when my parents turned morbid, like they were on death’s doorstep when they were fine. They acted like they were older than they really were, I swear. “I can take care of myself perfectly fine.”
“Not the same, baby.” She shook her head. “Not the same. Have you even dated or anything?”
There was nobody on my radar—at all. “Honestly, I’ve been really busy at work.”
“Well, that jerk of a doctor needs to give you some time off.”
“Ma, he’s not a jerk. He’s a really great guy, actually.” And the only person that I was remotely interested in. Honestly, he made it even harder to date because no guy would ever compete with Dex Hamilton. He was not an option, but my mind continued to wander to him, to notice the way his clothes fit his chiseled body, to feel my heart ache when I watched him selflessly take care of people as if they were his own family members. The guy was a fucking dreamboat. “He gave me the week off, didn’t he?” Not willingly.
Mom and I continued to work, to make more pies than we could possibly eat so we could give them to the neighbors and other friends and family.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, so I pulled it out. It was Dex. Hey, want to come for Christmas Eve tomorrow? Appetizers, hot cocoa, booze, some music… It’ll be a good time.
I should just keep my distance since I already spent so much time with him, but I couldn’t turn him down, because spending Christmas Eve with Dex sounded really nice. His family was great, and he was honestly my closest friend right now, because we spent so much time together. Sure. I’ll be there.
Invite your folks too.
“Wow, look at that smile.” Mom placed the first set of pies in the oven then pulled off her mitts. “Who are you talking to?”
My smile immediately dropped. “My boss. He invited us over to spend Christmas Eve with him and his family.”
“In Manhattan?” she asked incredulously.
“Actually, they’re staying at their cabin just fifteen minutes away.” I returned my phone to my pocket. “I’ll probably go over there for a couple hours, just to be polite.” That was a total excuse. I wanted to ditch my family to see my super-hot boss, but I didn’t feel guilty about it because I’d been with them for days, and they had me all day on Christmas and the day after.