An Ex for Christmas (Love Unexpectedly 5)

“Friday afternoon.”

“But I saw you guys on Friday afternoon…I walked in on you guys…”

“Saying goodbye.”

“You were not. You were kissing.”

“A goodbye kiss.”

“No, it was not….Was it?”

He lifts his eyebrows. “Not as perceptive as you think, huh?”

“I am too perceptive. I know when each and every one of my students is lying to me.”

“Fine, I stand corrected. You’re excellent at reading eight-year-olds. Not so good with anyone over the age of twenty.”

I purse my lips. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why’d you break up?”

He runs a hand through his rumpled hair. “If I tell you it’s because she’s a Capricorn and I’m a Virgo, will you drop it?”

“No. One, because you don’t even believe in that stuff, and second, because Sheila’s a Scorpio.”

There’s a long moment of quiet, interrupted only by the squeak of Rigby’s toy.

“It just wasn’t working out. We don’t have to make a big deal about it.”

“But you broke up during Christmas.” Understanding dawns. “Oh man. That’s why you’ve been so pissy?”

He rolls his eyes. “Will you please leave me to do my work?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

I pick up the piece of toast again. “Can I use your truck this afternoon?”

“No.” He doesn’t even bother to look up.

“Why, are you using it?”

“No, but last time you used it, you scraped half the paint off.”

“An exaggeration. And Mrs. Cleary even said that wasn’t my fault, and she paid for all of it.”

“What do you need it for?”

“I don’t have a Christmas tree yet.”

He groans. “So, you want to not only borrow my truck, but fill it with pine needles.”

“It’s a truck. It’s supposed to have a messy destiny.”

“Uh-huh. And let me guess. You weren’t planning to go to one of the dozen tree stands around town, were you? You were going to go cut your own down.”