After the Christmas Party(102)

Which meant there was a right idea.

He wasn’t exactly sure what that was, but he figured he had some time to figure it out. To figure them out because he wasn’t a forever kind of man and she deserved her own happy-ever-after.

At least he’d thought he had time and had told himself he just wouldn’t think about the future today, that he’d focus on the holiday and giving Trinity a day to remember always.

He just didn’t understand why she’d be back to bah-humbugging after the night they’d shared. He’d thought the night amazing, had expected all smiles and happiness on his favorite day of the year. Instead, she’d seemed determined to be contrary. Did she want to ruin their day? To fight?

Frowning, he slipped his shirt from the night before back on and went into his living room, surveying the room and trying to see it as she would.

He hadn’t gone overboard at his house, just hung on his fireplace mantel a stocking with her name in glitter on it. Plus a few presents. He’d wanted her main gift to be a complete surprise. Had he not done a little something for her, she’d definitely have suspected.

He wanted to catch her off guard and blow her mind.

“Riley?”

He hadn’t heard her step up behind him.

“What is all this?”

She’d put on one of his T-shirts and a drawstring pair of shorts that came down past her knees. She’d combed her hair and tied it back with a rubber band. Her face was freshly washed and ethereally beautiful. She looked like an angel.

One he was now afraid to touch for fear of upsetting her further. For fear that his feelings might show and set up expectations he couldn’t follow through on.

“Christmas morning.”

She glanced around the room, taking in where he had their breakfast cooked and waiting on the table, taking in the small package sitting beside her plate, taking in all the details of the room but not smiling. Instead, she looked distraught. “Why?”

He could list any number of reasons and all of them rang with truth. The panicky paleness to her face warned he might have miscalculated who she really was. “Because I want to make you happy.”

But had obviously failed miserably.

Her face pinched with obvious disappointment. “You think you have to give me things to do that?”

“No.” He frowned. She was taking all his efforts the wrong way. Not at all how he’d envisioned. “Haven’t you ever heard it’s more blessed to give than to receive?”

Without saying anything, she walked over to the fireplace mantel, ran her finger over the red velvet stocking with her name on it.

“There are presents inside.”

She glanced down at the bulges in the stocking. Her face was still pinched. “I see that.”

“They’re yours.” He’d wanted to watch her tear into the presents with excited gusto, wanted joy to sparkle on her face and laughter to curve her lips. He’d wanted her to throw her arms around him and wish him a merry Christmas. Instead, she appeared to be somewhere between starting to cry and darting out of the room.

“I…I’m not sure.”

She didn’t intend to open his gifts? What the…? He sucked in a deep breath. “Fine. If you don’t want to open your presents, we can eat breakfast first.”

“I’m not really hungry.”

Determined that he was somehow going to lighten her mood without letting her ruin his, he waggled his brows. “If you don’t want to open presents and you aren’t hungry, then whatever do we do to pass the time until we go to my mom’s house?”

Her gaze narrowed. “Not what you’re thinking.”

Yeah, her “Last night was a mistake” had clued him in that she wouldn’t be dangling any mistletoe over her head any time soon. He crossed his arms. “You don’t know what I’m thinking.”

“Sure, I do.”

“Then you should be ashamed of yourself.”

She didn’t crack a smile.

“Come on, Trinity. Lighten up. It’s Christmas and we’re young and healthy and have a lot of things to be thankful for. I’ve done my best to give you a special Christmas morning. Why are you acting this way?”

Trinity felt like a grade-A heel. She was being an ungrateful pain when he was doing his best to make the most of the morning. She realized that.

Just as she realized that she wanted to give in to his cajoling. But what would be the point?

Last night had blown her away then blown her to bits.

She was in love with him. Just look at how she’d fallen apart when she and Chase had ended. Chase had been nothing compared to Riley.

Nothing.

She’d given her word she’d go with him today, but beyond that she couldn’t do more. Couldn’t risk more.