Page 21 of Holiday Promise
“But you always said if I want something bad enough, then I can figure it out.”
He chuckled, if only to prevent himself from breaking down. It was in this moment that Blake had to fully accept just how much he cared for Melody. It wasn’t a simple attachment. It wasn’t something he could toss aside and get over. Deep down, he knew that his heart belonged to her in a way he hadn’t planned. “You’re right. If you want something bad enough, then you can figure it out. But Melody isn’t something. She’s a person. And relationships between people come with compromise. They can only work with both people want the same thing.”
Max tilted his head in confusion. “You don’t think Miss Melody wants to kiss you anymore?”
Slowly, Blake shook his head. “I don’t think she wants to kiss me. Even though she loves you, she doesn’t love me.”
“But how do you know?”
His innocent questions were getting harder and harder to answer. Blake didn’t know how to handle this one. All he could do was shrug. “I suppose that’s just something you figure out when you get older. Sometimes you find someone who is everything you want, and you make it work. Sometimes you findsomeone you want, but it simply can’t. It’s like the puzzles you like to do with Miss Melody. There are pieces that might look like they fit in a certain spot, but they just don’t connect.”
Max’s lips puckered as he appeared to take in what his father was telling him, then he shook his head. “I think you’re wrong.”
Blake chuckled. “Yeah, maybe. How about right now we don’t focus on that? Let’s go see Santa and tell him exactly what you want this year.”
The smile returned to Max’s face, and he nodded. “I know exactly what to ask for.”
THIRTEEN
The second that Blake left the house with Max, Melody could finally breathe. She hadn’t realized just how hard it was going to be for her to see him every day. She’d told herself they just had to make it until the new year, then she’d see him less.
But he shot that possibility out of the water when he told her he’d be working from home more often.
Why, oh why, did she insist on him staying?
Because it was good for Max.
Even with all the turmoil she was dealing with, Melody couldn’t deny that she’d done the right thing by that kid. He needed his father more than she needed peace. And yet could she really be happy in her job if she decided to stay? Melody was being pulled in two opposite directions. She loved Max. She knew he needed stability. She could already imagine what it would do to him if she left.
Melody groaned as she sat at the kitchen counter. The steaming tea that Ms. Anthony had fixed for her sat untouched. The housekeeper continued her work, cleaning up after lunch and the like. She’d been strangely quiet lately, and Melody already knew why.
Ms. Anthony wasn’t blind. Just like Thomas, she’d noticed a shift in the dynamics between Melody and Blake. It would make sense for her to have an opinion on the stupidity that was that decision.
Lifting her head, Melody looked over at the housekeeper. “Can I ask you something?”
Ms. Anthony glanced in her direction. “Of course, dear.”
“Why haven’t you told me your thoughts about… my relationship with Blake.”
The older woman smiled. “It’s not my place to pass judgement.”
“But you did. You were judging us for our decisions.”
Ms. Anthony paused her work and glanced once more in Melody’s direction before she put down her rag and moved over to her. “I wouldn’t say I was judging you at all. I had opinions, surely. But like I said, it wasn’t my place. You two are adults. You’re permitted to explore options like anyone else. The complications that surround a relationship where someone dates her boss… that’s a matter entirely on its own.”
“That you don’t approve of,” Melody insisted.
She smiled. “Sweetheart, love isn’t something you can choose. Not really. It sort of just happens. If you find that your feelings for Blake are strong enough, then that’s where you will let your heart stay. But if this was simply a moment in the long line of moments, you’ll do just fine by getting back out there—into the dating world.”
Melody knew she made a great point, and yet the thought of going on a date with someone else in her current state terrified her. “I don’t want to find a rebound.”
“I’m not suggesting that. I’m simply stating that if you want to move on, you can’t linger. It does no one any good if you choose to stick your feet in the mud and leave them there. Follow your heart.” She winked at Melody, then returned to her work.She only made a few swipes with her rag when she glanced at Melody one final time. “That Thomas fellow seems to have eyes for you. Perhaps you go out on a date with him.”
Melody couldn’t believeshe’d let herself get roped into a date with Thomas. He was nice enough, but he wasn’t… Blake.
No. She wasn’t going to think about Blake. She was on a date with Thomas and he deserved her full attention. That should be easy enough. Blake wasn’t even aware that she’d left on a date with Thomas. He’d been out Christmas shopping with Max when she left. He’d get home to her being gone, and he probably wouldn’t even ask where she was.
“…then again, I never really thought about relocating, so I don’t know that I will.”