“That’s the thing.” He lips pursed and her brow pinched. “This past week has been really awful. I needed a friend and I couldn’t come to you.”
“You can always come to me.”
“Not if I can’t trust you.”
He drew in a long breath. “I want your trust.”
“Trust is a two-way street. I can only trust you if you trust me. That means you have faith in my ability to make my own decisions and know I’ll ask for help when I need it.”
“Deal.” They returned to leaning their elbows on the railing and staring out at the sea of clustered vehicles. “Are we okay?”
“Yeah. But next time—”
“No next time,” he interrupted. “I promise that anything you tell me from now on will be kept in confidence.” Her gaze shifted to a car approaching in the distance, the wheels slowly crunching over the snow.
Her heart lifted at the sight of the familiar, black Escalade pulling up the driveway.
“Is that him?”
What was he doing there? “I thought he was smarter than this.”
“He realizes your whole family’s here, right?”
“He’s driving right into the belly of the beast.” They were going to eat him alive.
Uncle Colin patted her back. “Good luck.” He returned to the house.
She walked down the steps and waited as Rhett parked at the end of the long line of cars and trucks. He helped Addison out of her seat and set her on the snowy ground.
“Skylar!” She raced toward her, catapulted off the ground and into Skylar’s arms. “Look what Santa brought me!”
She stared at what should be a chinchilla and frowned. This was why people should never shop online from the dark market of the internet. The toy was half the size as advertised, not computerized, and definitely more of a red than a yellow. She glanced at Rhett and he shrugged.
“It’s beautiful. What’s its name?”
“Her name’s Marigold, like the flower.”
“Why don’t you go show her to Michael and the other kids? They’re all inside.” Skylar set her down.
“Okay!” Addison raced into the house and Rhett closed the distance between them.
“Merry Christmas.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek.
“Merry Christmas.” She shifted her weight. “So, is that the one I ordered?”
He laughed then paused. “Wait, you ordered it?”
“Yeah. I swear all the stats claimed it was authentic. You didn’t know I… Ah, Erin told you she did all the shopping.”
He frowned. “Why would she lie?”
“I think we need to have a long talk about your assistant, but let’s save it for another day.” She definitely didn’t feel like discussing Erin on Christmas. “Did Addy like all her other gifts?”
“Yes, but I think that red mouse thing is her favorite. To her, it’s as good as a real chinchilla.”
Skylar smiled, loving that Addison was such an easy child. “She’s a sweet girl.”
He nodded. “How’s your Christmas going?”
“Okay. It’s a little nutty but that’s normal. How about you?”
He shrugged. “This is it. We did the presents, and now we’re just waiting for it to end.”
“God, you make it sound so bleak.”
“I don’t really get all the hype. We didn’t do holidays when I was young.”
She considered what her grandmother had said about some people not being shown much love and, therefore, never learning how to show it. Rising on her toes, she brushed a kiss over his lips.
He blinked in surprise. “What was that for?”
“For Christmas. I wanted to give you something special.” She smiled. “That’s only half of it, though.”
“When do I get the other half?”
“Now, come here.” She crooked a finger and he leaned down. She angled her mouth close to his ear and whispered, “I love you, Rhett Buchanan.”
He drew back and stared at her, a look of shock in his eyes.
“You don’t have to say it back. I don’t need anything in return. I just wanted to tell you that.”
His lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but he frowned and glanced away. His hand rubbed over his chest and the crease in his brow deepened.
“Is it supposed to hurt?”
“What? No.” She laughed, nervously.
It was the first time she’d said those words to someone not related to her. She didn’t do it to hurt him.
He continued to rub his chest. “Then why does it hurt here?”
She didn’t have a clue but now felt a little foolish. “I’m sorry?”
His frown carved deeper as he paced, still rubbing his chest. “There’s this weight… Like something’s sitting on my chest… I feel like I can’t breathe.”
Real concern raced through her. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“I don’t know. It’s crushing me.”
“Oh, my God. Hold on. I’ll get my cousin. He’s a doctor.” She raced into the house and yelled, “Patrick, come quick!”
Her cousin, Pat, followed her out to the front yard, where Rhett was doubled over with his hands braced on his knees. Of course, her entire family followed.