Page 22 of Claiming Her Cougar (Shifting Pines #2)

MALLORY

There is not enough under-eye concealer in the world to cover the bags I’m carrying. I slept like crap, and I’m all stuffed up from crying. I wish I’d just called out from work, but that would require more explanation than I want to attempt.

“Good mo— What’s wrong?” Daphne’s concerned expression as she enters our office is so sincere. And unwelcome. I don’t want to discuss what isn’t happening with me and Liam, and I don’t want to lie to my friend, but between those two options, I’m going with the lie.

“Nothing’s wrong. I stayed up late watching the game. This is how I look when I don’t get enough sleep.”

With raised eyebrows, Daphne deadpans, “Not a good look, friend. Make sleep your priority. The DVR is your friend.”

“Yep. Good advice. Thanks. I’m getting some tea. Want anything?” Picking up my red plaid mug, I rise and head to the kitchen.

“I’ll come with you.” Daphne grabs her coordinating blue plaid mug and follows me out of our office.

I love Daphne, but I was hoping to get away from her. I just can’t deal today. Maybe I can hide downstairs and close files for most of the day.

“Your uncle has a Christmas tree farm, right?” Daphne asks as she hands me a tea bag and stands next to me at the counter, unwrapping her tea bag and dunking it in her mug.

“Yeah. Full Moon Farm. They have a whole holiday experience happening—Santa’s workshop, a hot cocoa stand, carriage rides, an ice rink, reindeer farm. It’s neat.” I pass her the Splenda she uses in her tea. “Are you guys going for a tree this weekend?”

“We are!” She bounces on her toes in excitement.

“I haven’t had a tree the past few years.

It wasn’t worth all the trouble just for me.

” Her sigh is tinged with sadness. “I’ve missed it.

” A beautiful smile spreads across her face.

“It’s my first Christmas with Logan, and I’m looking forward to making memories with him. ”

“Well, check them out. They have nice trees. That’s where we get ours.”

“Oh, are you getting yours this weekend too? We can go together!”

“No.” I remove the tea bag from my mug and throw it in the trash. Daphne follows suit. “We tagged our tree, and my uncle will cut and deliver it right before Christmas. Our tradition is to decorate it on Christmas Eve.”

“Well, do you want to come with us? Faith and Holly are coming along to pick out their trees as well.” She looks so hopeful. I don’t want to disappoint her, but I’m going to.

“Thanks, no. I just want to hibernate at home. I want to catch up on the latest books by Delancey Stewart and Marika Ray.”

“You read romance? How did I not know this? We could have spent the past year talking about books!” Poor Daphne looks crestfallen at all the missed opportunities.

We walk back to our office and sit at our desks.

I look out the window. Most of the trees are bare of leaves in the early December sun.

I love having a window. I can’t wait for spring so I can see the trees regain their leaves.

It will be nice to open my window and hear the birds.

I’m so grateful they gave us this office.

“I can’t believe you never told me,” Daphne grouses.

“Well, you never told me you read romances either. I figured you were all about cozy mysteries since you worship Jessica Fletcher,” I retort.

“It’s not so much worshipping as idolizing,” Daphne corrects.

She’s such a goof.

“I do like cozies, but sometimes you need a happily ever after more than a whodunnit, you know?”

I nod. “I love cozies too. My favorite sugar cookie recipe is from a bakery mystery series, but I need romance.”

“You do need romance, Mallory,” Daphne says earnestly. “If only I knew a single, good-looking guy who isn’t a jerk.”

“No.”

“Good job, nice family, fun…”

“Daphne, seriously. No. Not going to happen. We’re friends, and that’s all we can be. Don’t make it awkward, or else we can’t all hang out together.”

My friend stares at me. I don’t know what she sees other than the bags under my eyes and my hair pulled back in a simple ponytail. I made no effort today. If I could have come in yoga pants and one of Trevor’s old jerseys, I would have.

“Okay,” she agrees. “When you’re ready to talk, I’m here.”

I take a sip of my tea and look at our task list for the day.

There isn’t anything crazy since we aren’t taking on new files.

I should be able to knock out a lot this morning so I can spend the afternoon downstairs closing files.

I grab the files I need for the first few tasks and start preparing what we need to get them off my to-do list and back on the shelf.

We work in silence for a while, but not quite the companionable silence we normally enjoy. The click-clacking of our keyboards creates a soothing rhythm, which helps diffuse some of my tension.

“Did you want to hit Francisco’s for lunch?” Daphne asks after a while.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Daphne. There’s nothing to talk about.” Welcome back, tension.

“Okay,” she replies easily, “but you still eat, right?”

Dang. Who knew Daphne could be snarky?

“Lunch sounds good. I always love Francisco’s.”

Now our silence is more companionable. Good. Daphne has become a close friend, and I don’t want what is or isn’t happening with Liam to affect that.

“You’re going to the office holiday party, right?” Daphne asks a little while later.

“Yeah. You are too, right?”

“Of course. It’s nice to have brunch at the country club. I never go anywhere that fancy.”

Isn’t that the truth.

“How dressy is it?”

“Nice dress or dressy sweater and skirt. Nothing crazy.” Daphne chuckles. “Well, you can wear an ugly Christmas sweater. Those are fun.”

“What are you wearing?” Safety in numbers. If I dress like Daphne, I should blend in.

“I don’t know. I need to go shopping. Want to go together on Sunday?”

“Sure. What are you looking for? Nice dress or crazy sweater?” I ask.

“Not sure. Maybe both? My wardrobe is kinda boring. I want to revamp it a bit. Get some date clothes?” Daphne shrugs.

“Ooh, yes! Mall or outlets?”

“I guess we will see what the weather’s like. If it’s not raining or unbearably cold, do the outlet and support our company. If it’s icky, we do the mall.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

We go back to our respective tasks, and when my stomach lets out a loud growl, I look at the time on my monitor.

It’s past noon. My…breakup? No. It’s not a breakup since we were never together.

My whatever with Liam last night had me so upset that I couldn’t stand the thought of finding breakfast. My tummy is protesting that now.

“I heard that all the way over here. Ready for lunch?” Daphne raises her gaze from the figures she’s computing.

“Yeah, I am. Finish what you’re doing though. I’m good.”

“Nah, I’m done.” She lays down her pencil. “Let’s go.”

We walk into Francisco’s and hear Wham!’s “Last Christmas” playing. I groan because I’d successfully avoided it so far.

“Ugh, I just got Whammed,” I complain.

Daphne chuckles. “I lost Whammageddon in the car on December first. How did you make it so long?”

I shrug. “Dumb luck. This is the furthest I’ve made it.”

I order the baked ziti special, and Daphne gets a cheeseburger to eat here and two of the ziti specials to take home for dinner.

“Logan is trying to get shots of the snowy owl that’s been seen at the refuge.

When he’s trying to get nature shots, he’ll be completely still in awkward positions for however long it takes, so I’m betting he won’t feel like cooking.

” She takes a bite of her fry and continues after swallowing.

“I know I don’t feel like cooking, so ziti specials it is! ”

I ignore the pang of envy I feel knowing Daphne is going home to someone while I’m going to an empty house.

But I don’t want a relationship. At most, I want a friend with benefits, and I’m not even sure about that. The only friend I want is Liam, and I don’t know how to have the benefits without risking my heart.