You Had Me At Christmas: A Holiday Anthology(30)

“It still hurts.” He added his folded towel to hers. “Kayla, I’ve been there.”

She snorted.

He folded his arms. “‘You’re a musician, Jared? Tell me a hit you’ve written that I’d be familiar with.’ With every passing year the guys we went to school with were making money, building real careers. I could see them wondering, ‘How did such a dynamic woman wind up with such a loser?’ I told myself it didn’t matter, because it didn’t matter to you. But it still f*cking hurt.” He glanced at his son, who grinned at him and offered another peg. “Thanks, buddy.”

Kayla was staring at him. “You never talked to me about it.”

“And be a whiner in addition to a loser? Hell, no. Besides, you might have decided, ‘Hey, you’re right’ and divorced me. So yeah, I understand how you feel. Know how I dealt with it?”

He gave her the peg and accepted a third from Rocco. “I’d say to myself, ‘Yeah but she chose me. There’s something about me that beats anything these other guys have to offer, even if I can’t always see it.’”

She turned the peg, a lurid green, over in her hands. “I know I’m beautiful in your eyes. I know that it’s shallow and bullshit and I shouldn’t let it affect my confidence.”

Empathy drove out anger. She was really stuck in this.

“My opinion doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it.”

“I’ve read the studies, guys are visual.”

“One hundred percent,” he agreed. “When you glance at me through your lashes, when you dance, when you walk, when I watch you draw breath, I’m totally turned on.”

Her mouth curved in a smile, she shook her head. Mixed messages. Jared decided to go with his gut.

“I’m not going to be the understanding husband on this.”

“You’re not?”

“Nope, I’ve been telling and showing you that you’re gorgeous practically from the moment I set eyes on you. So get your head together, because I want the old Kayla back—the bold, beautiful woman who skinny dips in our pool in summer, who enjoys sunbathing naked and who believes she’s sexy in sweats because she f*cking is.”

Rocco held out a peg. Maybe this was his version of a swear jar. I’ll stop now, buddy, I promise.

Kayla’s face was inscrutable.

Jared resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her until she saw sense. Instead he kept his tone stern. “You have me on the leash, woman, always have. Stop trailing it behind you and tug it.”

He didn’t allow her to speak. “Okay, that’s all I have to say. I’m leaving for Moss and Seth’s house to write songs, and then I’ll see you at the hotel. Bring your A game.”

He kissed his son lightly on the head, kissed his wife hard on her mouth, and walked out to say goodbye to Maddie, hoping to hell he hadn’t blown all his good work of the past nine days.





Chapter Fourteen





“First off,” Kayla began when Jared’s cell went to message. “I’m okay. I was in a minor car accident.” Her voice wobbled, which surprised her, because she really was okay.

“An elderly lady outside the drugstore hit her accelerator instead of the brake and banged into my car.”

A miracle, the tow truck driver called it. Kayla’s door had been so crushed that she’d had to wriggle her hand free from the steering wheel.

“I’m in the ER waiting for X-rays on my wrist, but they’re pretty sure it’s only a sprain. The good news is that our insurances are up-to-date for car and medical.” A joke would make up for the wobble in her voice.

“The bad news is this is going to take a while so you’ll have to attend the awards party without me. And yes, I insist you go. The publicity is hugely important for your career.”

She stepped to one side of the hospital corridor to let an orderly wheel a gurney past, trying to think of anything else he needed to know. “Don’t panic when I don’t answer my cell. It was damaged in the accident and I’m on a borrowed one. I’ll catch a cab to the hotel when I’m done.” She stopped and swallowed. That wobble wasn’t going to sneak up on her again. “I’m bringing my A game, so bring yours. I love you.”

Cutting the connection, she returned to the waiting room and gave the cell to the middle-aged woman who’d lent it to her.

“Thanks, Dawn, I appreciate it, and for watching my suitcase.” She resettled in her chair. “Any update on your mother?” Dawn was the daughter of the old lady who’d caused the accident.

“They think her new medication might have had something to do with her confusion.” Dawn laid her hand on Kayla’s arm, the one in the makeshift sling, and she tried not to wince. “Listen, do you need anything before I go back to her? I could buy you a coffee, food.” She was a nice woman, terribly apologetic about what had happened.

“No, I’m good now I’ve made that phone call.”

She had stopped at the drugstore for a new pair of tights and was checking her cell’s GPS for the best route to the downtown hotel, when the other car slammed into her SUV.

She was starting to shake again remembering it, and she didn’t want Dawn upset. So she said goodbye and wheeled her suitcase into the bathroom, where she splashed cold water on her face. Soon as she got to the hotel, she’d call the babysitter and check on the kids. Briefly, she closed her eyes and gave thanks. It could have been so much worse.