The Secret Santa by Trish Harnetiaux

Author:Trish Harnetiaux [Harnetiaux, Trish]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473577039
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2019-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

Zara

Initially I thought it was sweet that Henry and Claudine answered the door together. I could tell it was her, the way she called me “darling,” just like on the phone. But there was something strange about Henry’s smile, like someone drew it on his face. Now I can see how she was almost overenthusiastic that first moment we met. Compensating for him.

She wasn’t what I expected. I don’t know what I was thinking, but in my head when the door opened I was expecting Claudine Longet to be standing there. The young, fashionable version of herself, the one who shot Spider. So it took a second for me to see her. The Claudines shared a few traits: thin, dark hair, big doe eyes. But this Claudine was taller, less fragile beauty queen, more domineering sharpshooter.

Oh boy, was she in charge from the start. As we were all saying hellos and I was explaining who Dave was, that he wasn’t like a guest but my bodyguard, Pip leapt into action. Now Pip loves nothing more than licking shoes, and she went straight for Claudine’s. I swear, I saw literal horror on her face, but not for long because Henry jumped in. He bent right down and lifted her up. Pip went crazy licking his face and I think that’s the only time I ever heard Henry laugh. They loved each other at first sight. I’ve never even had that. It was adorable. Thank god I brought her with me, she’s always an excellent judge of character and liked Henry right away, which made me like Henry right away. They were instant besties.

I think we were in the parlor when Claudine introduced me to everyone. Long ago I learned to be good with names. A little tip Madonna shared backstage at the VMAs. She was right. It’s so helpful when you’re asking people to get you stuff. Rashida brought me some champagne; Dave gave my gift to Jules. Then there was Alice and Louisa and Natalie. I thought it was cool it was mostly women that worked at the office. Then John and Kevin and Jerry. Some silent nods from the Alpine brothers, Jack and Bobby, like the Kennedys. I could tell they didn’t know what to do with someone like me. They thought they had to be overly polite and use phrases like “Good evening” and “Wonderful to meet you,” which didn’t exactly roll off their tongues. I appreciated how respectful they were and loved the whole look: big and rugged. Then the Tigglemans. Or—excuse me—Captain and Mrs. Tiggleman. They looked exactly how you’d want them to look—like they just walked off a yacht. I asked him what he was a captain of and he said, “Nothing anymore. Spent forty years on the high seas. Stationed in Norfolk. I’ve seen it all: breaching blue whales, men going mad, and more than a few pirates.”

“When he retired, it was my turn to choose,” said Mrs. Tiggleman. “He wanted to stay on the coast, but I’ve always loved the mountains.

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