Page 107 of The Holiday Clause

“I don’t want to talk, Greyson.” Her survival instincts broke her out of paralysis, and she pulled the car door shut.

He caught it before it closed. “Just give me two minutes. Please.”

“Leave me alone!” She frantically fished through her bag for her key.

“Wren, please!”

She glared at him. It was a mistake. The fireworks reflected across his face as he searched her eyes. She refused to feel bad for him.

His five o’clock shadow stretched more than twenty-four hours old, proof he hadn’t slept at home. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his hair stuck up at odd angles like he’d been running his hands through it all night. The evidence of his rough evening should have satisfied her, but instead it only made her sick.

“Whatever you’re going to say, I don’t want to hear it!”

“Wren, I didn’t mean to stand you up last night.”

She covered her ears. “I said I don’t want to hear it.”

He yanked her hand away. “Tough. You have to.”

“No. I don’t have to do anything. You had your chance. You had a hundred chances. I’m done, Greyson! Done with all of you.”

He recoiled. “You don’t get to throw us away like that.”

“There is no us.”

“You don’t understand.”

When he stepped closer, she shoved him back. “No,youdon’t understand. Do you think last night was the first time your disappearing act made me cry? You’ve been doing this to me my whole life.”

“That’s not fair. I wanted to be there?—“

“Then why weren’t you?”He was one of the most capable men she knew. “If you truly wanted this, you would have been there.”

“I do want this!”

“It’s my fault.” She batted away a tear. “I pushed you for more than you wanted to offer. You weren’t ready?—”

“I’m not fucking scared, Wren. I want to talk about things. I want to talk about us. I’m ready.”

She offered him a sad smile. “No, you’re not. You spent fifteen years filling my head with empty promises, knowing deep down you were never going to truly be there for me.”

He released her car and staggered back. “That’s below the belt.”

“No, it’s dead-on.” She yanked the door shut.

“Wren, please. I know I messed up.”

The urge to hear him out pulled at her like gravity. She’d done it before—forgiven him for ghosting on her, excused him because she knew he struggled to communicate his emotions. But not this time. He was a grown man, and the time had come for him to understand his actions had consequences.

“I’m all out of second chances, Greyson.” She kept her eyes forward as she pulled away.

In her rearview mirror, she caught a glimpse of him standing alone under the streetlight, his hands clenched into fists at his sides as another burst of fireworks painted the sky in shades of gold. For a moment, his expression looked almost desperate—but she forced herself to look away.

This time, she wouldn’t turn back.

CHAPTER 16

“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”