Page 16 of The Lie That Stole Christmas

“What are you doing?”he asked as she thrust her arm into her expensive-looking coat.

“If Grandma Lily isn’t here to do it, then I’m going to.”

Carter glared at her, feet frozen to the floor.Only Ashley could turn his quiet morning into a headache.“What are you talking about?”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not.”There was no way in hell he could handle her in his truck, her scent filling the cab, her warmth clinging to his seat, those tights-covered knees sitting dangerously close to him.Nope.No.Not happening.He could not spend an hour trapped beside the woman he had spent years trying, and failing, to stop loving.

Ashley swung the door open, the early morning air biting through his coat.“You coming or what?”

Fuck him.With a resigned sigh, he grabbed the door and followed her out into the blistering cold.

The sun hadn’t finished its ascent, streaking the sky with gray and pink hues.His boots crunched over the thin sheet of ice coating the walkway, each step echoing in the silence between them.She didn’t glance back, her shoulders squared, her stride clipped as she gracefully but determinedly made her way toward the driveway.

Once there, she stopped and glanced around.He had already started toward the garage, tucked at the far end of the gravel path.She had been heading toward the guest lot, reserved for family and visitors.The help parked out of sight.

He slowed just enough to see her pivot, confusion pulling tight at the skin above her nose.“Wrong way,” he called out, his voice carrying across the quiet morning.

Her head snapped toward him, her eyes narrowing.She hesitated for a moment before going in his direction.

Slipping his hands into his pockets, he retrieved his gloves and tugged them on as he kept walking, leaving her to follow his lead.He opened the garage and stepped inside, going straight for his truck.It had been the first thing he bought when he got promoted.Not that he couldn’t afford it before, but he finally felt like he deserved it.

His dad was gone, no longer able to put a good word in for him, yet Mr.Wetherby still gave him the estate manager position.After all these years, he knew he had earned his place the right way, the respectful way.Some might say Mr.Wetherby felt obligated to give him the position after his father died, but that just told Carter they didn’t know Mr.Wetherby at all.That man’s loyalty only extended so far.

Ashley trudged in, her fingers running through her bangs in an attempt to tame what the wind had done to them.Her hand fell to her side, and she glanced at the large red truck.

“Trying to compensate for something?”she asked as she walked to the passenger side.

She stopped in front of the door, forcing him to step in beside her to reach the handle.She drew in a quick breath, the sound carrying through the otherwise quiet space.

“You and I both know I don’t need to compensate for anything,” he said against the delicate curve of her ear, then yanked the door open for her.“After you.”

Her chin lifted, head turned, and her gray eyes locked on his.“Careful.I might start to think you still know how to be a gentleman.”

His mouth curved.“Don’t confuse manners for mercy.”

Neither moved, the air thick with ghosts of the day she left Winterridge.Of the cruel words he’d forced himself to say and the feelings neither of them had ever managed to bury.She'd been back a day, and he’d already forgotten every promise he’d made himself about keeping his distance.

He wanted to tell her the truth.He wanted to tell her everything about that night.He couldn’t do either.

She broke eye contact and slipped into the truck, her intoxicating scent lingering in the air as she slammed the door harder than necessary.

This was going to be a long day.

He stopped at the bed of the truck and took a deep breath before hopping into the driver’s seat.He shut the door; her scent had already permeated his cab.

He gripped the wheel, fighting off the onslaught of memories he had no business reliving.Time hadn’t dulled a damn thing.If anything, wanting her had only become harder.

He still wanted her to know why he’d done what he’d done, but how the hell did he explain a lie that had destroyed the only thing he ever wanted?

It’s not something he could just blurt out.Worse yet… He still wanted the future she once offered him.

He’d forfeited that future the night he walked away.

He threw the truck in reverse and pulled out of the garage, heading through the black wrought-iron gates of the estate.Rays of sun broke free of the spotted clouds, shining brightly on the snow-covered bushes, and practically blinding him as he turned onto the road.

Ashley rubbed her hands together and held them up to the vents.“Why is the air cold?”