Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“Who’s hungry?” Mrs. Bryan asked as she appeared in the opening between the hallway and the family room. “Christmas lunch is ready.”
Mason stood, then reached down to help me up. I tried to ignore the way my entire body tingled from his touch.
Charlie reached up and took my hand. “You can sit next to me, Ms. Palmer.”
“I’d be honored to sit next to you.”
We made our way into Mason’s formal dining room, which had been miraculously updated since the last time I’d been here only two days ago. A beautiful wood table that seated ten people sat in the middle. I had no idea why in the world Mason thought he needed such a large table, but it looked stunning in the room. The upper half of the walls were painted a light blue, while the lower half was made up of white panels that kept with the age of the home. A matching buffet sat on one end of the room, while the other side housed a stunning grandfather clock that was chiming half past noon.
When I stepped up to the table, I nearly gasped. The first thing I saw were two beautiful, vintage-looking silver candelabras. There were also two single candlesticks with silver ornament balls resting on top. It was so simple, yet so elegant.
In the middle of the table was a beautiful flower arrangement with white, red, and green flowers. To either side were fresh Frasier fir bows with silver ball ornaments placed randomly among the branches.
Silver placemats were the base for the stunning place settings, which consisted of white plates with a simple silver lining. Red napkins rested on top, with a salad dish on top of that. Beautiful crystal glasses were placed at four of the place settings, while a Snoopy Christmas glass was at Charlie’s spot.
“Mrs. Bryan, this is beautiful. Where did all of this come from?”
She flashed me a wide smile. “Please, call me Jen, and thank you. I adore doing things like this and don’t get to very often. I knew Mason wouldn’t have anything unpacked, so we brought it all with us.”
“Where did you get this furniture?” I asked.
Mason glanced around the room. “Mom and Dad brought all of it with them, too. It was my grandmother’s set, and I’ve always loved it.”
“It’s beautiful.”
His mom chimed in, “We also brought a bedroom set that belonged to Mason’s great-grandmother, for the guest bedroom. It’s beautiful; I’ll show it to you later, Palmer. For now, everyone sit down. All the food is on the table, and Dan needs to go get the ham.”
“Dad, sit, I’ll get it.”
“Palmer, would you be a dear and grab the rolls and the bottle of wine I left on the kitchen island?” Jen asked.
“Yes, of course,” I said as I followed Mason into the kitchen.
“I feel terrible I didn’t help cook any of this,” I said as I found the basket of rolls on the island with the wine sitting next to it.
“Don’t,” Mason said with a chuckle. “My mother used to run a large catering company in Boston. She lives for doing stuff like this. Any excuse for a party, and she’s all in. Hence all the decorations, even though it was only originally going to be the four of us.”
“I bet your mom and my mom would be besties.”
He laughed. “They’re actually thinking of moving to Seaside. They miss Charlie.”
I gave him a sideways glance. “Just Charlie?”
A boyish grin spread over his face and my stomach did a little flop.
“I thought so,” I mumbled as I headed back toward the dining room.
“Palmer?”
Stopping, I turned to face him. “Yeah?”
Was that a blush on his handsome face?
“I’m glad you were able to join us. Charlie loves having you here…and so do I.”
My heartbeat sped up, and I had to focus on keeping my breathing steady and calm. The fact that Mason was happy I was spending Christmas with his family did things to me that I wasn’t ready to read into.
I replied honestly. “I’m really glad I’m here as well.”
We stood there staring at one another. Neither of us willing to admit the crazy attraction that was clearly there.
No, no, no, Palmer. Do not do this. This is your job, he is your boss, and no matter how much you adore Charlie, you cannot have playtime with his father.
Someone cleared their voice from behind me, and I jumped.
“Did the two of you get lost?” Jen asked.
“Oh, you scared me,” I said with a nervous laugh.
When she looked at Mason, something passed between the two of them.
“We were talking about how much Charlie loves having Palmer here,” Mason said. I ignored the little stab of pain in my chest when he only mentioned Charlie’s name.
“He hasn’t stopped talking about you since you walked away from the table,” Jen said to me.