id.
Victoria laughed, almost spilling eggnog on herself. “They’ll be here in twenty minutes tops. Christopher, at least.”
Ha! Yes, he would. There was a general murmur of agreement that the bachelor idea was the best, but we decided to wait until later to put everything in motion.
By the time I was on my third eggnog, I had thoroughly relaxed. Or was it my fourth? I couldn’t tell. Nadine kept refilling my cup like it was her job.
Once the food was gone, someone suggested we put on music. I danced with Victoria, Ava, and Nadine, while Pippa and Alice watched us, heads together, whispering. I had the slight suspicion they were talking about me. I wanted to pick the girls’ brains, but I just couldn’t bring myself to think about everything. Then Kylie’s “Santa Baby” came on, and all my worries slammed into me. The next second, Pippa patted the floor.
“Come on, girl. Sit and tell us what has you all worked up.”
My shoulders felt heavy again. Sighing, I sat between Alice and Pippa.
Victoria followed, sitting across from me. Well, the more the merrier.
“The Statham store in San Francisco is closing,” I began.
“But I thought Winston met today with the board?” Victoria said.
“He did. And then the board sent an email informing HR of the outcome... and that Winston is going to Paris.”
“Holy shit. Since when did you know this?” Pippa asked.
“Since HR told me. Winston never mentioned it.”
“Did you talk to him today?”
“No. No one’s been able to reach him.”
My lower lip was trembling. The eggnog was not helping. Instead of boosting creativity, it only seemed to magnify my fears. I was clinging to every thought that filled me with love and warmth.
The way he kissed me every time? Oh, yeah.
His insistence on taking care of me after the miniburn? Definitely.
His smile when he gave me the green light to buy Christmas decorations for his apartment? The image was playing on repeat in my mind.
But was I having positive thoughts? No, sir, I was not. All I could see ahead were dark clouds.
“Why hasn’t he told me about these plans? If the board sent it in an email right after the meeting, it means that they’d discussed it before.”
“There can be a million reasons,” Pippa said wisely. “Whatever it is, we can come up with a solution. But... first we want to know how serious you are about him. We have a plan.”
“Involves more than eggnog?” I asked.
“Well, eggnog and roast duck were the first step,” Victoria admitted.
I chuckled. “Of course, they were. Now I will forever think of the roast duck as a means to an end.”
“So, on a scale from he’s boyfriend material to I want to have his babies, how into him are you?” Pippa asked solemnly.
I couldn’t hold back. Not when I’d had eggnog. And roast duck.
“I was already dreaming about asking Nadine to design my wedding dress,” I confessed.
Victoria smiled, exchanging a glance with Nadine. “Well... she kind of sketched something already.”
“She did? Why? When?”