Harlequin Special Edition November 2019--Box Set 2 of 2 by Melissa Senate

Author:Melissa Senate
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

When Ellie napped, Vivian was finally able to work. She’d opted to hole up for the day in Della’s office with her laptop, because being in that kitchen with Nick this morning had been way too tempting. Not just to eat ten more omelets, the entire stack of waffles and every last blueberry muffin, but to touch him, kiss him and find out why he’d agreed to that crazy plan of a date tonight. The initial plan of a full day of playing hooky had been replaced by a full day of working and an evening off. Anything else was too distracting and awoke a craving inside her she’d never known before.

An insane part of her was looking forward to the whole thing. She hadn’t been on a date in over a year, and had never picked out a Christmas tree. The few holidays that she’d had when she was in foster care had been half-hearted at best, with overwhelmed temporary parents and houses full of kids. Every year, her mother had promised. I’m gonna get you girls back, and we’re gonna have the best Christmas you’ve ever seen. I’m just waiting on a paycheck—or the courts or a man or whatever the excuse was that year—and then I’m gonna get you and we’ll be a family again.

Even before foster care, there had been broken promises and empty dinner tables. Vivian stopped believing in her mother a lot sooner than she stopped believing in Santa Claus. There were no Christmas miracles, just a lot of empty promises.

But maybe this year she could create a little Christmas magic for Ellie. Her niece wouldn’t remember it, but years down the road, Vivian could show her pictures, and tell her that for her first Christmas, there had been a tree and a Santa.

Vivian took a sip of lemonade—yet another homey touch from Della and Mavis—then got back to work on an email reply to the equipment manufacturer’s legal team. They wanted to avoid the lengthy court trial and millions it would likely cost them by settling out of court. The settlement they offered, however, wasn’t enough, not without an admission of guilt and a recall of all other similar machines in use in factories across the country. Vivian didn’t just want justice—she wanted to protect anyone else from suffering as Jerry and his family had.

She glanced over at Ellie, who had just nodded off. The day with Ellie had gone smoother than Vivian expected, mostly because there were plenty of hands on deck whenever Ellie was awake. It hadn’t been the trial by fire that Vivian had expected, thank God. Nick had popped into the office between shifts in the kitchen, but a guest who asked for a last-minute birthday cake kept him busy most of the day. Between chores around the inn, Mavis and Della hovered around the office, ready to offer advice when Vivian was feeding or changing her, and to pick up Ellie the second she let out so much as a squeak.

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