Lydia's Pine Harbor Christmas, стр. 20

“You look so… pretty.”

If he didn’t stop looking at her like that, Lydia might swoon. So far, her plan of putting distance between them wasn’t going too well, but Christmas was always different. It involved new rules for eating and drinking and talking to guys you were in love with. She was losing her heart, and more than a New Year’s resolution was required to remedy the situation.

She needed to get back to the friend zone. Smiling, she said, “I’m surprised you’re not here with a date.”

Though she’d expected a clever quip, he just gave her a puzzled expression. “When’s the last time you saw me with a date?”

“I don’t know. I guess I haven’t—not in a while.” Lydia felt so uncomfortable that she wanted to flee. Drawn into his brooding gaze, she fought back with a laugh. “Given how you feed on attention from women, you must be starving.”

Her attempt at humor fell flat. He muttered, “Don’t believe everything you hear.”

With his usual perfect timing, Bryce turned and put his arm around Lydia’s waist. “Oh, hi, Marco.”

They shook hands, then Marco said, “Speaking of starving, I’m going to check out the buffet.” Then he left.

Lydia’s mom and Dylan joined Bryce and Lydia for a quick hello on their way to see Caroline. Kim flitted over to chat then left just as quickly. Lydia felt as though everything was going on all around her like a carousel, and she stood alone in its midst yet somehow apart.

Her face felt hot. Before she embarrassed herself by turning into a freckly beet, she said, “Excuse me,” and headed down the hall.

The only place where she might have a moment alone was the bathroom, but that was already occupied. Lydia headed upstairs to the master bath. Having been in Caroline’s house before, she knew where everything was. Once there, she filled her hands with cold water then lifted them to her face. At the last second, she remembered she was wearing makeup and velvet, neither of which would look good splashed with water. So she moistened one of Caroline’s guest towels and blotted her cheeks.

Just get through Christmas. You can do this. So what if there are tons of parties and events that you’ll both be attending? The holiday will fly by, then you’ll have the freezing-cold winter to hibernate indoors. Months will pass. We’ll barely see each other.

Lydia looked herself up and down in the mirror then smoothed her dress. Look at you looking… pretty. See? Everything’s fine.

She pulled open the door, and Marco stood inches from her. “Oh, sorry! Excuse me.” She tried to sidle around him to get a clean shot at the stairs.

He held her shoulders. “Hey, wait. Is everything okay?”

She drew in a breath. “Sure. Why wouldn’t it be?”

He lowered himself to her eye level. “Because I know you.”

“Not everything about me.” But he knew all the relevant stuff, so she couldn’t meet his eyes.

“I know that the edges of your ears get a little bit red when you’re stressed or upset. Something’s wrong.”

“Well, isn’t that just like a man?” What do I even mean by that? He was probably wondering that, too, and he would ask her if she didn’t distract him. She lifted her chin. “If you must know, I had to go to the bathroom. It happens.”

She tried so hard to look slightly perturbed yet unruffled, but he didn’t buy her act for a minute.

With a smirk, he said, “I thought all women powdered their noses in pairs. Isn’t that what they do in the movies?”

“Not any movie since 1950.” She tried to look over his shoulder to the stairs, which was ridiculous considering their heights. “So now that we’ve had our little film retrospective, would you mind if I went back downstairs?”

Marco looked lost, which completely threw Lydia. She wasn’t even sure what to call it. Every bit of his usual bravado was gone.

He asked, “What are you doing?”

He looked too intense to be kidding, so she resisted the urge to say something snarky. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“What are you doing with him?”

“Who? Bryce?”

Anger flared in his eyes. “Of course Bryce—unless there’s someone else you’re wasting your time with.”

“Since when do you care how I waste—spend my time?”

“Since I’ve known you.”

Lydia wanted to say so many things, but she refused to.

“Dammit, Lydia, we’re friends—better than friends. You can’t expect me to just stand here and watch this train wreck without doing something!”

“Train wreck? Oh, wow. I am so lucky to have someone like you to rescue me. For the first time in my life, I’ve found someone who cares about me.”

“I care!”

“Not like that. Bryce cares about me. And I’m happy, so leave me alone.”

She pushed past him. At the same time, he took a step back, throwing Lydia off balance. Marco took her arm long enough to steady her then stepped aside and let go.

Once downstairs, she headed for the kitchen, forgetting that the catering crew would be all over it. Then she stepped outside the back door. It was well below freezing, but at least her face didn’t feel hot anymore. She stood on the deck for a moment. The distant harbor lights were blurry in the night sky.

Sometimes it seemed as though Marco was deliberately torturing her with his version of friendship. He couldn’t know what he did to her. Every time he told her he cared, it came with an unspoken reminder that he didn’t care enough. Lydia shivered and went back inside. She only hoped she didn’t see Marco again, though she couldn’t avoid him completely unless she asked Bryce to take her home early. But she would need a reason. Complaining of a headache would work. Then she would be free of Marco, at least for the night.

“There you are!” Bryce exclaimed as he put an arm around her shoulders and drew her against him.

Of course, Marco was standing nearby with Theo and Allie. She caught Allie’s eye and her concerned expression, but