Read Online Annihilate Me: Holiday Edition by Christina Ross - Free Book Online

you’ve got.”
    “Tonight,
when each of you are ready for bed?   Why not wear a sexy piece of lingerie, make sure the lights are on, and
give him a meaningful kiss before he goes to sleep?   Not on the cheek—on the lips.   And when you lean in to kiss him?   Put your hand on his chest.   Hold it there for a moment.   Look into his eyes.   Then see what happens.”
    “What
if nothing happens?”
    “Then
we’ll wait and see.”
    “Until
when?”
    “Christmas
Eve.   Maybe Christmas night.   Because if nothing happens if you do
that tonight, he’ll still be processing it.   He’ll still be thinking about it.   I can guarantee you that.   We’re only here for a few days.   If nothing happens?   You have that conversation with him when
you go home to New York.   As much as
I don’t want this to happen, I’m going to be honest with you, Lisa.   You might have to end it right there and
be a free agent.   You need to be
prepared for that.   You can always
spend New Year’s Eve with me and Alex.   You won’t spend it alone.”
    Her
voice was thick when she said, “I don’t want to end it.”
    “I
know you don’t.   I don’t want you
to, either.”
    Still,
when she said it, she put her hands over her face, and I did what I could while
she took a deep breath and faced the limitations of the man she was with.   Either Tank could trust her, or he
couldn’t.   That wasn’t for me to
judge, because I’d never know how deeply he was hurt.   So, I sat beside her on the bed, put my
arm around her, and said, “You deserve someone who is ready for a
relationship.   If he isn’t, my best
advice is to move on.   Alex has many
single friends who are looking for someone special like you.   I’ll see to it that you meet some of
them.”
    But
when she pulled her hands away from her face, I saw the grief in her eyes.   “I know you mean well, and I appreciate
that, but I want him.   I really
do.   When it’s good, it’s
great.   I just don’t know how to get
past whatever is holding us back.”
    I
had to be truthful to her, so I said what I felt.   “At this point, it’s not up to you.   It’s up to him.   If he’s too damaged, you can’t change
that.   My best advice is to say
goodbye to him and move on.”
    “You
make it sound easy.”
    “It’s
not easy.   But most of life isn’t
easy.   Like moving away from our
parents, leaving behind our friends, and moving to Manhattan?   That wasn’t easy, and neither will this.   Still, you need to know where you stand
with him.   If at the very least, for
your own sake.”

 
 
 
 
    CHAPTER TEN

 
    Later
that afternoon, after Blackwell and Tank had returned from the local Hannaford,
I was able to steal away a moment with Alex, whom I’d barely seen since we’d
arrived.
    “Walk
on the beach with me?” I asked.
    “It’ll
be cold, but we’ll have our privacy.”
    “I
just need to be with you.”
    “And
I need to be with you.   I’m not sure
if this was the best idea, and that’s on me.”
    “It
was a fine idea. What’s the holidays without a healthy shot of drama and dysfunction?   Everyone will pull it together.   Eventually, we’ll have fun.   You’ll see.   And if Blackwell blows it in the
kitchen, I have a backup plan.”
    “What’s
that?”
    “Christmas
dinner at the Crocker House.”
    “I
haven’t been there in years, not since I was a kid.   I love that place.   I wonder if it’s the same?”
    “It’s
still very good and very charming.   I was there last year.   Same
owner.   I talked with him, told him
the situation, and he said to call at three to let him know if we were on or
not.   That way, he’d be able to fill
our table should Blackwell come through with dinner.”
    “You’re
a genius.”
    “I
just want to eat something edible.”
    “Let
me get your coat.”
    He
went to the closet, pulled out my red cashmere overcoat, and helped me into
it.   Then he put on a black