Page 37 of The Lie That Stole Christmas

“You practically threw your hand at it,” Uncle Rick said.

“Reflexes aren’t what they used to be, dear brother.I’m sure you know all about that.”She held up her glass.“Gabe, sweetie, be a doll and fix me another.”

Gabe stared at her.“Are you serious right now?”

“Very.”

Ashley bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to laugh as the tension that had held the room hostage just moments ago turned into chaos again.Ms.Porter mumbled under her breath while blotting the tablecloth as Celia ran back with another towel.

Relief loosened the knot in Ashley’s chest, but it was a brief reprieve as her eyes drifted to Carter.He stepped away from the table, one hand braced against a chair.The anger that had hardened his expression earlier had faded slightly, but tension still lingered in the hard line of his jaw.

His gaze met hers, and the chaos ceased to exist as the years of distance between them faded, and she saw that familiar look.The one that once made her heart race at seventeen.No matter how chaotic Winterridge became, his focus always somehow landed on her.

Gabe shoved a glass of wine into Marilyn’s hand.“Congratulations.You avoided another crisis with cabernet.”

“It’s a gift, darling.”Marilyn squeezed Gabe’s hand, smiling before taking a sip.“You’re welcome, by the way.”

Gabe rolled his eyes and returned to his seat, pulling his tray close as Ms.Porter started to remove the tablecloth.

“I have to wash it before it sets now.Celia.”She motioned to the table, and Celia went about replacing the old with a fresh tablecloth.Everyone lifted their trays, and Carter instantly stepped in to help her get the cloth in place.

“Good as new,” Ms.Porter announced.“Now, back to it.The staff is looking forward to judging the final products.May the best Wetherby win!”

She, Celia, and Tiny raced from the room, not that Ashley could blame them.It was only a matter of time before more chaos erupted.But as Ashley picked up the pieces of her gingerbread and started to frost the edges, she got lost in the moment.

Voices died down, and the only sound was the clattering of fingers against the tray of decorations and the clanking of hard candies being retrieved from little bowls.

Ashley placed a green gumdrop at the right side of her door, and pictures of Grandma Lily doing the exact same thing flashed in her mind.With each piece of candy placed on her house, more and more memories flooded back.

It was as if she had locked them away so deep, she was able to completely forget about them.But now, as she sat at the dining room table of Winterridge, surrounded by her entire extended family, she unlocked the door that she had slammed so long ago.

She smiled to herself.Gabe used to steal her gumdrops every year just to make her chase him around the dining room.Grandpa mumbled about how this wasn’t the Belmont Stakes.Gabe had claimed she used too many, while secretly slipping the red ones into his own pocket because he knew they were her favorite.Grandma Lily would eventually catch him, confiscate the candy, and divide it evenly between them.By bedtime, Gabe always showed up in her room with a handful of red gumdrops, and she would eat them while he readA Night Before Christmasto her.

She glanced at him now.He sat cross-armed with a scowl on his face as if he were being held against his will.The truth was, no one was keeping him at the table; he was free to leave, but he didn’t want to.It was obvious in the way he fought a smile when Taylor and Tori both laughed as Taylor’s frosting bag exploded out the back.Or how his eyes kept drifting to Ashley’s gingerbread progress.

She handed him a bowl of gumdrops.“You’re going to lose if you don’t get started, and we both know how much you hate to lose.”

He let out a loud sigh before taking the bowl and getting to work.Ashley chanced a peep at Carter, who was busying himself with the garland on the fireplace mantel.His job had nothing to do with actual housework, but he always kept his hands busy when he was uncomfortable.She wanted to offer him a place at the table, so they worked together on the gingerbread house.

It would be a statement to everyone in the room, proving Grandpa right—that Carter was as much a part of this family as everyone else, but it made no sense for her to do it.Not now, at least.She’d forfeited that right years ago.

He was wearing another suit tailored perfect to his frame, highlighting the muscles of his arms.It had been so long since she touched him, felt his skin beneath her touch.She wondered how much harder he was now and if he had lines that cut across his stomach, accentuating his abs.

Heat curled low in her gut at the thought.The peppermint popped from her hand into the air, and she quickly recovered the hard candy before it rolled across the table.Carter’s gaze cut to hers, but she focused on the roofline of her gingerbread house.She pressed the peppermint into place with a little too much force, nearly collapsing the entire structure.She pulled back and inhaled deeply.

She glanced up from her house in his direction again and instantly locked eyes with him.She swallowed at that same unbearable intensity.It didn’t matter how much time had passed, nor the fact they hadn’t spoken in almost a decade.And it didn’t matter that every interaction between them had been wrapped in tension and old wounds.One look from him still melted her insides.

His gaze dipped to her lips before he looked away and adjusted the garland again.Ashley’s heart stuttered.

“Oh my God,” Tori whispered loudly.

Ashley brought her attention back to the table.“What?”

Tori nodded toward Cole’s gingerbread house… or rather what remained of it.One entire section had collapsed under the weight of frosting.Ashley almost expected him to cry like he did so many Christmases ago.

Cole stared at it in confusion.“It was structurally sound five minutes ago.I don’t know what happened.”

“You’re starting to sound like your father,” Marilyn muttered before taking another sip of her almost empty wine glass.