CHAPTER SIX
Soft flames flickered and licked around the fresh logs, emitting heat into the already warm room. Wynn stared into them, amidst the roar of laughter behind her. Taunts of her friends amongst her brother’s boasting trickled through the room with the delicacy of a bull. Her mind was in another place other than the room filled with people and the competitive game of Catch Phrase ensuing behind her.
“Wynn, come on. It’s your turn. Get over here.” Her brother, Jim, yelled across the room, flailing his hands.
Wynn turned to the crowd huddled together on the large leather sectional and forced a smile on her face. She moved to the end of the couch and sat next to her sister-in-law, Christie.
Screwing up her face, Christie spoke softly out of the side of her mouth so only Wynn could hear. “Good thing you came over quick. Jim’s in full blown competitive mode now. If we don’t get this one, watch out. That bulging vein in his head is gonna bust.”
Wynn snorted. Christie was right. Jim stood toe-to-toe with his best friend, game face in place, concentrating on the clues to the key words being flung at him like Frisbees. The sleeves of his dark blue sweater with knitted reindeer across the front—the ones her mother unfailingly purchased for him every year—were pushed up to his elbows. His navy pants and sandy hair were rumpled, a result of rubbing excited hands over their once smooth surface.
When the buzzer sounded and Jim had yet to guess the correct phrase, he swiped a hand through the air. “Shit!” He plopped down on the couch next to his wife, who soothed him with mock sympathy.
With a nudge, Christie whispered, “So, where’s Kevin? Are you guys not dating anymore?”
“No. We broke up about two months ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. You two were together a long time.”
Wynn shook her head. “Don’t be sorry. It was for the best, actually. You wanna know the worst part?”
“What’s that?” Concern flashed in Christie’s eyes.
“I don’t even miss him. It’s Christmas, and I don’t even miss him.”
“I think that says something.”
Nodding, Wynn turned to her. “The other day, Gemma told me that I jumped into a relationship with him because it was safe. And you know…she was right. I didn’t need to worry about getting hurt because he wasn’t right for me, and I knew it. I wasted my time with him.”
Christie’s hands, smooth and warm, gripped Wynn’s and squeezed. “I’m so sorry, honey. But at least you realize it now, right? You’re free to move on and find someone really special.”
Disappointment gripped Wynn’s heart, as a picture of Zane flashed through her mind.
Tilting her head, Christie peered into Wynn’s eyes. “There is already somebody, isn’t there?”
Sadness swept over the delicate plains of Wynn’s face, but before she could answer, her brother shouted for Christie. In seconds, the pair was wrapped up in the game again, leaving Wynn alone with her thoughts.
Unable to sit still, Wynn got up and retrieved something to drink. Her gaze moved across the room. From her brother and sister-in-law, to the other friends that typically shared in the annual Christmas Eve party—she was the only single person there. She took in their smiling faces, the warm glow of their skin and contented expressions as they glanced at each other, and her stomach sank.
Suddenly, the Coke in her hand fell flat on her tongue when she drank. She no longer wanted to run from the person or things she really desired; but was it too late for her? Wynn was tired of excuses. She was tired of running. Most of all, she was sick of the picture of the tall blond Zane was with at the mall—the one that showed up at the Christmas party. Her image kept flashing through her mind at regular intervals like some cruel form of self-imposed torture. She needed to accept that she screwed up. Maybe it was too late. He was with someone—a gorgeous someone she had no chance against.
The vague sound of someone calling Wynn’s name, registered somewhere in the back of her mind, but she couldn’t seem to focus. Perspiration beaded the top of her forehead. The room was too warm and the walls too close. She watched her sister-in-law lean over and whisper something into her brother’s ear. His eyes lit up and he chuckled before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on her mouth. Wynn’s stomach churned. She needed air, a change of scenery. Unable to take being in a room full of couples any longer, she jumped up, ignoring the questioning looks everyone gave her as she started to leave the room.
“Wynn, where you going? We’re just getting started,” her brother called after her.
She raised her hand in the air behind her without turning around. “Sorry, but I just have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Wynn grabbed her coat out of the hall closet, suppressing the urge to sprint outside and ignoring her brother’s protests behind her. She left the house in a flurry of movement, inhaling the clean, fresh scent of the frigid air and falling snow. The cold seeped through her booted feet, leaving behind gaping holes in the snow with every step. With one click, the keys in her pocket, served as her escape. She got in her car and leaned her forehead against the steering wheel, recognizing the sting behind her eyes and ache in her throat as oncoming tears. She bit her lip and willed them back. She was being ridiculous. Zane was never hers. She had to forget about him.
She sat up, determined to salvage the night, but doubtful it was possible to revive her melancholic mood. Turning, she eyed the tins decorated with snowmen and jolly Santa’s filled with cookies, pies, and cakes, sitting in the backseat. She still had several places to stop before she ended at her mother’s house for the night. Sighing, she decided her Uncle Leroy’s place would be the most upbeat—partially due to the fact that it would contain the most alcohol.
