Christmas on Main Collection

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

VAN

I’m about to flip the lights back on in the lot to see if I can sell a few more trees while Allegra works when the door from the shop to the alley flies open. I glance up as the woman behind the smug smirk on my face storms through it.

My smile disappears and I drop the light plug and make my way to her.

“What’s wrong?” I ask holding out my arms for her.

“I can’t believe her.”

She’s so agitated that Allegra slips out of my grasp and paces just out of my reach. I let my arms fall to my side and shove my hands into my pocket. I’ve never felt so useless.

“What happened?”

“While we were playing hooky. Something I’ll never do again”—she promises with a stern look my way—“Aurora decided to close up the store during peak business hours so she could bone the handyman.”

“Oh.” I pull a face, knowing how important these final days of the season are for their business. But I also doubt they lost too much money in the time we were gone. “Hopefully you didn’t miss too many customers.”

“Forget the customers, we might have lost out on the biggest offer for the place.” She flails her hands in frustration. “He was offering twenty percent above market value. In cash.”

“That’s a lot of money.” I want to be happy for her. In one sense I am. I’m proud of what she’s accomplished.

But I also hate thinking about what it also means. That she’ll be leaving soon and maybe she won’t want me in her life anymore.

“And now he’s so mad at us, he’ll probably pull the offer.”

“Who was the buyer?” I ask.

“Ernst Von Something-or-other.”

I frown. “Von Kleeman? From Munich?”

“Yeah, that’s him.” Her brows furrow. “How do you know him?”

“He wanted to buy one of my outlet malls in Sacramento, but my dad and I had a bad feeling…” I trail off, belatedly realizing I’ve shown more of my hand than I intended at the moment as her eyes narrow. “I can explain.”

“I hope so.” Her eyes take on a steely glint. “Because it sounded, to me, like you were saying that you and your dad own commercial property in Sacramento.”

“We do.”

“In addition to the farm?”

“The farm is my grandparents. My mom’s parents. The commercial portfolio belongs to my dad and me. Look”—I pull the beanie off my head so I can run my hands through my hair—“it’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?”

“It’s not. So I’m rich. Wealthy even.” I attempt to meet her gaze, but she won’t look me in the eye. “It doesn’t change who I am.”

“Besides the fact that for the past month, you’ve let me think you’re one person when you have this whole other life.”

“It’s just my job. One of my jobs.” I shove the hat back on my head and ball my hands in my fists at my side, though I’d rather hold her in my arms. “I’m still me.”

“Sure. You’re still you. Wait a minute.” She holds up a hand to keep me back. Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out her phone.

Her eyes dart back and forth, quickly reading the screen. If possible her eyes go wider.

She turns the phone around. “Is this you?”

I take a hesitant step toward her and scan the words on her screen. There in print—and color—is my name and photo. Along with a list of our company’s most significant properties and my net worth.

“That’s me,” I say, because what else can I do? There’s no denying the truth. Nor do I want to keep it from her now that it’s out.

“Unbelievable.” She releases a short, humorless laugh and tucks her phone. “You know. I always Google the guys I date. Always. But the one time I decided to trust the guy I’m seeing and take him at face value, he has a whole secret life.”

“It’s not a secret life. I was going to tell you.”

She folds her arms and looks at me expectantly. “When?”

“Soon.” I wince. “That sounds bad. But, I swear. I wasn’t going to keep it forever. I was going to tell you when the time was right.”

“Which would have been?”

I clamp my mouth shut. Unable to tell her that I was waiting to tell her until I was sure she loved me—the real me—and not the man worth a billion dollars. Because I love her, and I want her to love me back.

I can’t tell her now. Not when she’s so angry at me. I need to tell her when there are hundreds of candles lit and soft music playing in the background.

Not here in a dimly lit alley next to the trash bins.

“You know, it doesn’t matter.” She shakes her head. “I’m surrounded by strangers.”

“Allegra… you know me. You know you know me.”

“Do I?”

“Please, just… give me a chance?” I reach for her.

She shakes her head and steps back with her hands up. “Stop. Please. I need to think. I need to be alone.”

She raises her gaze to mine at last. The pain I see in her eyes cuts through the ache piercing my own chest.

“Please,” she says. “I need to be alone so I can think.”

Then she turns on her heel and strides across the lot toward her sensible sedan.

I stare after Allegra, wanting more than anything to go after her. But she asked for space. Self-sufficient as she is, it’s one of the only things she’s asked from me. Besides making her the occasional drink or taking her to my bed.

She wants space, and I owe it to her. Especially after the bombshells her sister and I just dropped on her.

But I have to do something. I can’t let her stew until she hates Aurora and me forever.

I wait until she slides into her car and closes the door. I release a breath when I realize she isn’t driving off but just making a call. That’ll give me time.

With a parting glance at the woman I love more than anything in the world, I turn and walk down the alley. I’m going to need reinforcements for what happens next.