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“Not so ht to”

Jade shook her head “There’s hardly a point to it Like my birthday, holidays are meant to be shared with family”

He regarded her for a moment, then said, “But your friends are your family”

She thought of the multitude of dinner and party offers she’d received over the years for the major holidays None of which she’d accepted She’d always preferred to be alone or work at the tavern It didn’t seeood would it do anyway?

Except…Darien ument

“I suppose I’ve been narrow-minded,” she admitted “Selfish even Perhaps a tiny bit martyr-ish as well” She picked at her food It s suddenly weighed heavy on her nore any sort of tradition I’d shared with my parents, but the fact is, I’ve only isolatedthis”

She paused and inhaled the rich scent of an apple cider, butter and sugar coating on the ha, and took in the entire cozy at at the table with her, sipping his wine A long-forgotten sense of belonging and the feeling of being a part of a fah her

Tears suddenly prickled her eyes “I have to confess I made my life miserable”

“You can’t place all the blame at your feet”

“My parents’ deaths were tragic, yes But people die Even Michael’s parents have passed Lisette’s husband Jinx Many others I’ve known in h I withdraw a little more into myself” She found this ironic “I’m the one who insisted death is part of the hu to obsess over because it’s a natural progression in life”

She reht here in her cottage

“But the truth is,” she continued, “it jars me every ti the time I have with the people I care about?”

“Fear of attachment?”

A shiver of reckoning chased down her spine She took a healthy drink frolass Then another

Setting the wine aside, her gaze locked with his and she said, “I’ve shared an—than I ever have with ers… I consider thehbors People I care about and have a natural concern for, but whom I keep a measure of distance from—emotionally”