Escaping Christmas (10 page)

He reached out and pulled her to him. “I’m not giving up. Maybe those tabloids need to see you with someone new.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere, Zach. I just want to stay here and finish what I started.”

“And exactly what is that, Lexie?”

“Finishing my story.”

“Do you have a social media account?”

“Yeah…why?” That question was out of the blue.

“Take a picture of us together and post it to your page.”

“Zach…I don’t know. My publicist would go out of her mind.” The thought petrified her. Alex always did what was expected, never drawing outside the lines.

“So? You’re not allowed a personal life? Prove to
me
you want to give us a chance outside of this cabin.”

The ramifications zoomed through her mind. He was right. She was a person, not a commodity and if she wanted to post a picture with a friend, she had the right to do so. She moved to the desk to retrieve her phone. She turned to him. “Smile, Zach Camden. You’re about to go viral.”

Chapter Thirteen

“You sure you’re up for this?” he asked.

“More than up for this.” Alex held out the phone in front of them to take the picture. They looked good together. He took the phone from her trembling hands.

“You’re sure?” he repeated.

“Positive. Snap it.” She concentrated on a convincing smile.

He handed it back to her and she pulled the picture up. “You know you’re putting yourself in the middle of a scandal.”

“Bring it on. You’re worth it. We make a good-looking couple,” he replied, studying the screen. “Are you going to explain who I am?”

“Nope.” She brought up her page and attached the picture. “Let them wonder.”

“I’d rather they know.”

“They’ll know when I know.” A flash of hurt crossed his face. Maybe the honesty was a bit brutal. “Remember what I told you? If there’s going to be ‘the one’, you’re him? Posting this picture is a giant step for me. I care about you and this is my way of showing you.”

“Or is it your way of getting back at your mom? Or making him jealous?”

“That’s not fair.”

“Maybe not, but is it the truth?”

The comment was a swift slug to the gut. “I’m not using you to get to anyone.”

“So, how does it look on your page” His attempt to lighten the mood wasn’t missed on her.

Alex held up the phone, so he could see. “I think we look good.” She grinned, putting his remark behind her. “Get an eyeful because I’m not turning this back on until after Christmas. I don’t want to see what they have to say.” She squealed and shut off her phone.

“What?”

“The comments are starting already. Zach?”

“Yeah, honey?”

“In case the electric comes back on, can we agree to no TV or radio until after Christmas? I don’t want anything to ruin my attempt to put the past behind me.”

He gathered her close. “Not even a Christmas movie?”

“No connection to the outside world. I want this to be about you and me.”

“How could I argue with that?”

Alex climbed on his lap. Taking him by surprise, she looped an arm around his neck while gently running her other hand down his face. Her focus went from his eyes to his lips. She decided to make a bold move and kissed him. His body tensed under her.

“Lexie,” he warned sternly. But, she knew better. The speeding pulse in his neck told her what he really wanted.

“What, Zach?”

“You’re making this incredibly difficult.”

“I’m trying.” She bit his lip playfully.

“I think we need to move our focus to something else.” He exhaled.

“I think our focus is fine.”

“I told you my promise to myself. You won’t break me.”

“Sounds like a challenge to me.” She nuzzled his neck and inhaled deeply with pleasure.

Alex groaned at the sound of her phone again. “I thought you said we’d lose service?” God help her if it was her mother again.

“Hello.”

“Well, well, well. The home wrecker answers her own phone.”

“Who is this?” The blood slid from her face.

“You forget already? This is Owen’s
wife,
Salina. You must remember me. I was in a few made for TV movies written by the one and only Alexandra Storm.”

Alex was caught off guard by the venom in her voice. She read Zach’s lips to say, “Who is it?” She shook her head. “What do you want, Salina?”

“You to leave my husband alone. You’re going to ruin us all. You do realize that don’t you?”

“Owen means nothing to me. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She shook with both surprise and fury. “How dare you call me and make accusations.”

“How dare I? How dare I?” The voice on the other end elevated with every word. “I have pictures of him with you.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Isn’t it? He made a trip to your little log cabin in the mountains.”

“How do you know that?” She glanced around. Who was watching her?

Salina’s voice boomed through. “Someone mailed me dammed pictures! I’m sure they’ll be in the tabloids next. And no one humiliates me. Do you understand?”

Alex withdrew the phone from her ear. Zach tried to take it from her, but she pushed his hand away. She would handle this.

“He came here once.” Alex would tell her the truth. “I have a friend here. I haven’t seen Owen since.”

“Your sweet pictures of your time together will be slapped all over the magazines with
my
husband. What I want to know is how you’re going to fix it? I’ll play the jilted wife. I swear I will. I’ll ruin you.”

Alex’s mind flipped back in time to her picture on the porch. “I have a question for you, Salina. Have you been to my little log cabin?”

“If you’re insinuating I took the pictures, I wouldn’t lower myself to peeking through windows.”

Was she lying? “I’m not going to lower myself to continue this conversation.” She pushed the off button on the phone and sank down on the couch.

“What was that all about?”

“Just Owen’s wife. She knows he was here and she wasn’t pleased.” The words ran through her mind,
I’ll ruin you.
Was it a coincidence? Did Salina leave the picture to scare her away from Owen? Well, she was wasting her time. Alex had no interest in him.

“Lexie, did you hear me?”

“What?” He startled her back to the present.

“I said you’re white as a ghost. Did she threaten you?”

“No,” she lied. “She’s just angry. I set her straight. I don’t want to spend another minute worrying about Owen’s relationship with his wife.”

“You’re really okay?” His eyes narrowed and searched hers.

“I’m fine.” She forced a smile.

“Okay, so how about we work on your Scrooge-like tendencies? Follow me, my beautiful elf.”

“It’s getting late. Let’s save it for tomorrow.”

“Are you backing out?” She knew he wouldn’t let it go.

“No. I’m just tired.” She wasn’t ready for Christmas lights and holiday cheer. Christmas past was coming back to haunt her.

Chapter Fourteen

A snowy two weeks went by before she had the nerve to tackle the Christmas decorations. She spent the time struggling with the images in her mind. When she was writing, she believed in a future with Zach. But, when she wasn’t in her world of fantasy she doubted it would work. She had too much baggage. He deserved better. To his credit, he allowed her the space she needed.

They rummaged through the boxes for an hour, then decorated every inch of the cabin with lights, garland, a Christmas village for the mantel, a Christmas quilt, and candles for the window. Of course, nothing would light up, but it was still festive. She smiled at the results, even though her heart was tearing in two.

“Now, all we need is that tree,” he remarked, turning to her when she didn’t answer. “You’re very quiet.”

The box of ornaments sat in the corner. She dreaded the tree. That’s the one thing about that night that stood out in her mind. The twinkling of the lights had mocked her despair.

He broke the silence when she made no attempt to speak. “It hasn’t snowed for a few hours. I think it’s past us now.”

Alex faced the window, her shoulders drooped with realization. He was going to suggest going for a tree. She couldn’t do this.

He came up behind her, holding her close as she stared out the window. “What’s on your mind?”

“I can’t do this, Zach. You need to go home, and I need to remember why I came here.” She wasn’t ready for a relationship with Zach Camden or anyone else. This was going way too fast for her. She had to sort through the pieces of her life. Owen was getting divorced. He was telling the truth. Part of her was doing cartwheels over the news and she had to figure out why. Going to the original game plan was a necessity. Write the book, work through her feelings, and move on. Nothing else mattered…nothing else could matter. She got sidetracked with Zach and it wasn’t fair to anyone.

“You’re overthinking, Lexie. Face your fears.”

“Zach, I wasn’t planning on all this. I have to finish this book. My intention was to purge the past, not complicate my life with more feelings I don’t understand.”

“You really want me to leave? I thought we were going to see where this was going.”

The confusion in his eyes was unmistakable. “I’m so sorry, but now isn’t the time. I don’t know if it ever will be for me. I realized that when you mentioned the tree. This isn’t me. You deserve someone who doesn’t wince when the word
Christmas
comes into the conversation. I’m living in the past and I can’t seem to stop.”

“Let me help you. Don’t run from this.”

She nervously shoved her hands into her sweatshirt pockets. Alex was sure she was letting a great guy walk out the door, but it had to be. How could she move on with someone else when she couldn’t get free from the past?

Alex took a deep breath. “You can’t help me. I have to do this myself.” She couldn’t look him in the eye. She didn’t want to face what he was thinking.

“Right. I’ll grab the shovel and start digging out.”

The clipped tone brought her eyes to his. “Zach, please don’t hate me. Don’t be mad.”

“Does it matter? It was nice meeting you. I’ll be out of your way in no time.”

She didn’t trust the words to cross her lips. A tear slipped down her cheek. She swiped at it as he walked through the kitchen door, never looking back.

He exited out the back door and it slammed shut. She jumped at the noise. It wasn’t long before the sound of the snowmobile faded into the distance. He was gone. She sat on the couch and looked around at the decorations they had placed around the room. How couldn’t she hate Christmas? It had been filled with disappointment and heartache since she was a little girl. She never got the gift she wanted….a happily-ever-after.

****

Zach turned the key, revving the engine before throwing the snowmobile in gear. He raced through the trees and cut every corner too short. How could she not see he was the right man for her? Let her go back to that fake world she lived in if that’s what she wanted. He stopped in front of his log house…two stories with glass everywhere and ample decks to enjoy the view of the mountains in the summertime. He wanted to share this with her. He cut the engine and headed inside to change. He decided to go to the lodge and see if Mike needed help getting things up and running.

Zach dialed, making every effort to keep her image out of his mind. Gratefully, Mike answered on the third ring. “Hey, it’s Zach. Everything going okay?”

“We’re getting ready to start the lifts again. The wind has died down and everyone’s anxious to get out on the slopes. Reservations are up. I think the storm was a good thing to get everyone in the mood.”

“That’s great. I’ll be over within the hour and give you a hand.”

“Thanks. I thought you weren’t coming back until after Christmas?”

“Plans changed.” Zach hadn’t meant to be short with Mike, but the anger was pumping through his veins.

“By the way, you’ve had a couple of calls from a guy named Owen. Does that ring a bell?”

“Yeah, actually, it rings a gong. Did he say what he wanted?”

“No, said he needed to talk to you and you only. Sounded like an ass to me, but if he’s one of your friends I apologize.”

“Not hardly. You got him pegged. You have his number handy?”

Mike rattled off the number and Zach ended the call with the promise to head over to the resort soon. He stared at the piece of paper. Should he call him? Did he have a right to call? Against his better judgment, he dialed.

“Hello.”

“I have a few messages from you, Banks. What do you want?” Manners were out the window.

“Who is this?”

“You know damned well who it is…Zach Camden.”

“Right. I’m sorry. I wanted an honest conversation between the two of us, so maybe we could come to an understanding.”