Dear Santa(47)

“I’m going to miss you. I honestly hate to see you go.”

“I know. I hate it, too. I’ll keep in touch,” Lindy promised, and hoped they would be able to maintain their friendship. Like anything else, friendship was an investment in time. Lindy couldn’t help wondering how much spare time she’d have once she sank herself into this assignment.

“I’m holding you to that,” Peggy said.

Telling Peggy she was heading back to Seattle was hard enough. She didn’t know how she would manage leaving Billy.

Leaving her family.

Leaving Billy and Peggy.

Rolling into the parking lot at the Wine Press, she stood outside her vehicle while dread filled her. She should be over-the-moon excited, and in a way she was. She wavered between excitement and dread.

It was almost as if Billy had been waiting for her. He came out of the restaurant and met her outside.

Lindy couldn’t see any need to delay the inevitable. “I’m heading back to Seattle.”

    “Today? Now?”

Lindy nodded, and felt the strongest urge to cry, which was ridiculous. She should be jumping up and down, cheering, jubilantly tossing her fists into the air.

Billy’s face fell. “What? Why? I thought you had another week left of your vacation?”

“I do.” She explained the phone call that had come in earlier that day. “It’s the opportunity I’ve been waiting for my entire career,” she said, as if she needed to remind herself. “I can’t say no, Billy. Media Blast made an investment in me, and I can’t let them down now. I’m sorry.”

He nodded. “I understand.” Then, without emotion, he added, “Go.”

“This doesn’t mean I won’t be back,” she hurried to tell him.

“Lindy, it’s okay. Go. Like you said, this is what you’ve wanted your entire career. I understand. Yes, I’m disappointed, and yes, I hate that you’re leaving, but I don’t begrudge you your dreams.”

Of all the things she expected him to say, this wasn’t it. Deep down she’d thought…she’d hoped he’d plead with her to stay, to do whatever was necessary to have her come back so they could make a go of this relationship.

With her heart solidly lodged in her throat, Lindy turned to leave before Billy grabbed her and hugged her close for several long moments. He knew as well as she did that this was the end.

    “It was fun while it lasted.”

The finality of his words hit her hard. Was he really saying it was completely over? That what they shared was forever gone? Billy didn’t really mean for them to make a clean break, did he? Lindy was convinced, as strong as their feelings were for each other, even in this short amount of time, that they’d find a way to remain in touch. Where there was a will there was a way, right?

The drive over the pass went without a problem, and she arrived in Seattle in record time. Once at the apartment complex, she unloaded her suitcase from the car and unlocked her door.

As she stepped into her home, it felt cold and empty. Standing in the middle of her living area, she looked around at the life she had built in Seattle. The contrast between the big city and Wenatchee, with those she loved most, couldn’t have been more striking.

Peggy’s disappointed voice echoed in her ear, and the look in Billy’s eyes when she told him she was returning to Seattle haunted her as she went to bed that night. Before leaving Wenatchee, she’d grabbed the letter she’d written to Santa and read it again. She’d gotten everything she’d asked him to bring. A new best friend. A love interest. And that her proposal be the one accepted.

Her entire wish list was complete. She should be ecstatic, until she realized she would need to forsake the first two wishes in order to have the third.



* * *



—

    First thing the next morning, Lindy arrived at Media Blast. After receiving a round of congratulations from her coworkers, she met with the Ferguson Group. Together with several of her own team, Lindy reviewed her proposal. The enthusiasm was high, and excitement filled the room.

After the lengthy session, Lindy knew she should be walking on air. This was what she wanted, what was important. Sitting at her desk, her thoughts weren’t on the project, though, they were back in Wenatchee and all she’d left behind.

Being Peggy’s roommate would be one crazy, fun-filled adventure after another. Lindy had never had a better friend.

And then there was Billy.

Her heart ached just thinking about him. She’d sent him a text late, before she’d gone to bed, which he didn’t answer. She knew why. A long-distance relationship would be nearly impossible for them. He knew it. She did, too. But they could manage if they were both willing to sacrifice. Lindy was afraid Billy had chosen to sever all ties with her in order to protect his heart. She didn’t blame him. He couldn’t risk Dede and David’s investment because of her, no matter how much he wanted things to work out between them.

Convinced once she was settled back in she would feel more excited about the project, Lindy chose to ignore the voices in her head, telling her to follow her heart.



* * *



—

    For the next several days, Lindy threw herself into the project, working long hours, putting in the sweat equity required. And this was only the beginning. There would be far more late nights in her future. At the end of the day, she checked her phone for text messages, hoping to hear from Billy. The silence ate at her heart. Peggy and Lindy exchanged several notes. She wanted to ask her friend about Billy, desperate to know if he missed her even half as much as she missed him. She didn’t, though, and Peggy didn’t volunteer any information.