The Christmas Secret. Lee McKenzie

hot water for your tea?” the waiter asked Kristi.

      “Yes, thanks. That’d be great.”

      He took the pot and disappeared.

      Kristi tossed her hair over her shoulders and grinned. “So … you and AJ Harris. What’s that all about?”

      Sam squirmed. Even being prepared for these questions didn’t make answering them any easier. “What do you mean?”

      Claire folded her paper napkin into a neat square. “Nice try. There’s something going on between you and AJ Harris.”

      Sam shook her head. “Not anymore.”

      “But there was. Anyone can see that.”

      Reluctantly, Sam nodded. “AJ and me … it didn’t last long, and was a long time ago. He worked for his father’s company then, I’m not sure what he does now.”

      “He told me he’s a freelance writer,” Claire said. “That’s why he works at home.”

      “And now he has a family,” Kristi said. “When do you think he got married?”

      Sam set her coffee on the table. “I assume it was after we broke up.” She only wished she was as certain of that as she sounded.

      “So, when were the two of you an item?”

      A lifetime ago. She shrugged. “I guess about three and a half years ago.”

      “What happened?”

      “I wasn’t good enough for the son of the great James Harris.”

      “According to …?”

      “James Harris.”

      “What a jerk,” Kristi said. “It didn’t take AJ long to find someone else.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “You saw his little boy yesterday.”

      “Actually, I didn’t.” She had deliberately avoided looking at the child in the backyard.

      “AJ said he was two,” Kristi said. “I’d say he has to be at least two and a half years old, which means … well, we all know what that means.”

      Sam stared into the bottom of her empty coffee cup and didn’t respond. She had spent all night coming up with possible scenarios for when and how AJ had become a parent, and she hadn’t liked any of them.

      “So you think the guy’s a player?” Claire asked. “His family’s loaded and men in that position never have trouble finding women, but I don’t know, he doesn’t seem like the type. Did the two of you ever talk about having kids?”

      Sam shook her head. The conversation was heading down a road that was way too close to home for comfort. “We were never that serious. Like I said yesterday, I did some work for his family’s business and …”

      “And …?” Claire asked.

      “And …” Kristi was always prone to exaggeration. “She and AJ mixed a little pleasure with business.”

      Sam’s face heated up.

      “That’s obvious,” Claire said before Sam could respond. “But there’s more to it than that. The two of you must have had a connection back then because you sure as heck have one now.”

      Sam thought so, too. Until James Harris told her otherwise.