Page 3 of The Holiday Ex-Files
I rolled my eyes at him. “Hey, don’t hate on the instant coffee.”
“I would never. You’re the only person I know who buys coffee that tastes like nuts and citrus and comes packaged like tea bags.”
That made it sound plain weird, but with some half-and-half and sugar in it, it was golden. “I suppose you want a cup.”
His answer came in the form of sauntering toward my tiny kitchen, which was in serious need of a renovation. The old oak cabinets, a throwback to the nineties along with the mauve countertops, were almost as old as me, a ripe old twenty-nine. I had to remind myself I was living in one of the most sought-after towns not only in Nevada, but in the United States. And I could see the ski slopes from my balcony, so the place being so outdated was a small price to pay. Someday, I would get around to all my plans for my little home. Someday, when I quit thinking about the perfect place I used to call home. The place where all my dreams died.
Noah went straight to Neville, who was now taking his dog food out of his bowl a piece at a time and barking at it, as if each morsel were a vicious killer. Yep, he was special that way. I told people he did it because it was part of his DNA given his ancestors had to hunt for food to survive. Except, shih tzus were bred to be royal lapdogs, but I was still going with it.
Strangely, Noah was the one person besides me who didn’t send poor Neville into cardiac arrest. Noah knelt next to my pooch and scratched his head. “Hey, buddy, how are you?”
Neville reveled in Noah’s touch, rubbing his puffy, white teddy-bear cheeks against Noah’s knee.
“You still need to meet your girlfriend, Luna.” Noah glanced up and gave me a pointed look.
I leaned against the counter with my arms folded. “Sorry, Neville’s not into golden retrievers.” He was afraid of his own tail. A dog as big as Luna would send him over the edge. Although she was a beautiful dog—I’d seen her in plenty of pictures. “Besides, I just read that J.K. Rowling has reportedly said that Neville and Luna don’t end up together after the end of the series.” I had never figured out why Noah decided to name his dog Luna. When he’d gotten her several months ago, he’d asked me who Neville’s girlfriend was in the Harry Potter series. Neville never really had a girlfriend, but he’d crushed on Luna.
Noah shrugged. “I have a feeling they’ll eventually find their way back to each other. As it was meant to be.” His ice-blue eyes bore into mine as if he were trying to tell me something meaningful. He was acting strange lately. I had a hard time believing he really cared if our dogs hooked up. I didn’t even think that was physically possible, even if Neville hadn’t been neutered.
“Whatever you say.” I turned and opened the cupboard near the sink to grab two mugs.
Noah stood and made his way to me, which only took a couple of steps in the tiny U-shaped kitchen. He acted right at home as he grabbed two bags of coffee from the bamboo tea bag holder I kept them in.
“What are you doing up here anyway?” I asked.
Noah lived in Carson City, which was about a half hour from here.
“Besides annoying you?” He placed a bag in each cup like we were doing an old familiar song and dance together.
“Yes, besides that.” I filled up the cups with steaming hot water from my faucet’s instant hot water dispenser. One of the highlights of my little place.
Noah opened the ancient white refrigerator door and pulled out a carton of half-and-half. “Not that annoying you isn’t reason enough, but Mara needs me to give her a quote on some work she wants done for an upcoming listing near here.” Noah was the best contractor around and could fix anything. He did a lot of work for Jenkins & Scott Realty. You know, my dad’s and his dad’s realty firm.
Mara was my best friend, confidante, and ex-sister-in-law. Yep, Mara was Ben’s sister. Thankfully, I’d gotten her in the divorce. Some relationships were thicker than blood, even those of siblings. But don’t tell my brothers that. That being said, it was hard having my life so intertwined with my ex’s. I couldn’t say enough about how it was never a good idea to fall in love with your dad’s business partner’s son. When my dad’s real estate firm merged with the Scott family’s firm ten years ago to create Jenkins & Scott Realty, I remembered my dad saying big things were on the horizon. Who knew then how big? And awful. Everyone thought it was kismet that Ben and I ended up falling for each other. We were treated like the crowned heirs who would see to it that the kingdom remained strong for generations to come. If I had only known the prince would be royally unfaithful. At least I got Mara out of the deal—the best real estate agent out of the bunch if you asked me. And the best friend a girl could ask for.