Hi Friends. I'm back. I can't believe it's been 10 years since I updated. I plan on finishing this story so stay tuned.

~Dee

Last Christmas: A Greek Winter Tale

Chapter Three

Casey stared down at her watch. Time was going by too slowly. She had excused herself and was in the ladies room. The gang was at Tavern Hills for dinner. Rebecca mentioned that it was sort of an exclusive spot for Vail goers. It was quite cozy inside the chalet style building. As much as she was enjoying dinner and seeing all her friends, she couldn't wait to get back to the Logan villa and change into her pajamas. She looked at herself in the mirror and re-applied her lipstick.

Tonight, she was wearing a red cashmere sweater dress over black sheer leggings. Her outfit was complete with a thin black belt that accentuated her waist and black knee-high boots with a low heel. Casey had also applied her make-up impeccably; her hazel eyes were lined perfectly with a charcoal eyeliner, her lips were the same shade as her dress, and her skin glowed. Her blonde hair hung in curls past her shoulders.She decided that just because she felt miserable, she shouldn't have to look it.

But no matter how good she looked, it didn't compare to the way Cappie and Lana acted together. They seemed so genuinely happy. Cappie was attentive and only had eyes for Lana. They were constantly touching each other's arms or hands; these gestures were torture to witness. She had to excuse herself several times tonight to go to the ladies room. She was pretty sure at some point, Ashleigh or Rebecca would think she had some urinary problem. She hoped that by the time she got back to the table, their entrees would be there.

Just as she was about to grab the door handle, it opened towards her.

"Hey Carrie," Lana greeted with a smirk.

"It's Casey," she muttered. She knew what Lana was trying to do.

"I'm sorry," Lana said with a fake laugh. "I don't know why I keep doing that? Anyway, is everything okay?" Lana asked, pretending to be concerned. "You've been to the bathroom like four times already. We're all worried."

"I'm good," Casey told her, trying hard not to roll her eyes at Lana's act. "Thanks for checking though."

"Of course," Lana said.

"Well, I guess, I'll see you back at the table." Casey said as she started to head out.

"Actually, now that we are alone, I'd like to talk to you." Lana declared.

Casey paused in the doorway and turned around slowly. This should be interesting, she thought. "Sure," Casey said as she let the bathroom door close. She crossed her arms across her chest. "Go ahead."

"I know about your history with Cappie. I just hope that you respect him enough to respect our relationship." Lana said pointedly.

"You have some nerve," Casey said with annoyance. "You clearly didn't respect my relationship with Cappie last year."

Lana crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "All I did was kiss him under the mistletoe. Did I know that he had a girlfriend? No. He never once said anything. Never." Lana said with a smirk.

It took all of Casey's control not to smack Lana across the face. "If you and Cappie have such a strong relationship, then what are you worried about?" Casey challenged.

"I know the effect you have on him." Lana replied. "So, I just want to make sure that we have an understanding. Keep your hands off my boyfriend. Understood?"

Casey looked at Lana and saw that behind her bravado, she was nothing but insecure. Casey knew she should be the bigger person and walk away with her head held high, but she was in no mood to be threatened by Cappie's new girlfriend. "Of course, I'll stay away from Cappie. He and I already had this talk earlier." She turned to leave, but not before she could get the last word in. "But Lana, who's to say your boyfriend won't keep his hands off of me?" Casey walked out of the ladies room before Lana could respond.

As Casey made her way back to her friends, she couldn't help but smile. She was quite proud of the way she handled Lana back in the ladies room. She was walking by the bar and didn't see that the floor was wet from a spilled drink. She felt herself sliding until a pair of strong arms caught her around the waist. She looked up to thank the person and was at a loss for words. She was staring into kind brown eyes that were the shade of dark chocolate. It took her a moment to realize that she knew her savior.

"Max?" Casey exclaimed. She couldn't believe that Max Tyler of all people was in Vail. As soon as she said his name, he dropped his arms from her waist. They both sported smiles on their faces as they recognized each other.

"Casey Cartwright." He shook his head. "You're still klutzy as ever, at least that hasn't changed."

Casey gave him the evil eye and laughed. "Ha ha ha," she said sarcastically. "Wow, what are you doing in Vail?"

"I'm here with my family," Max replied. "We've been here for the past two days."

As she heard him mention family, Casey couldn't help but wonder if it meant a wife and children. She tried to look at his ring finger but figured it'd be too obvious. "That's nice," Casey said lamely. "I hope things have been going well for you. It's been what, almost four years."

"Yep, just about four years since you broke my heart." Max said with a twinkle in his eye as he put his hands over his heart.

Casey groaned. "Please don't remind me. I was such a jerk. I felt so awful."

"I'm just teasing you, Case, that's all in the past." Max assured her. "Anyway, I'm doing well. After our breakup, you know that I left CRU and I finished grad school in England. I loved it. I just came back to the U.S. about six months ago. I'm still adjusting."

"England? That's amazing. Where do you live now?"

"I'm currently in Fairfax, Virginia. I'm finishing up my PhD at George Mason University."

Casey could feel her mouth slightly drop open. "Are you serious?"

Max nodded. "I wouldn't joke about it. Why?"

Casey didn't know what this was, but was fate playing a joke on her? Here she was in Vail, Colorado of all places and she just happened to bump into her ex-boyfriend; the very same boyfriend that had dropped grad school to stay at CRU with her. This was crazy. "I live in DC. In the Georgetown area." She shook her head. "We're like 30 minutes away from each other."

Max gave her a smile. "Well then, I guess it must be my lucky day, or should I say night."

Casey could feel her cheeks getting warm as Max stared at her. "So, where's your family?" She looked and noticed he seemed to be all by himself.

"My sister, her husband, and their kids all headed back to the house we're renting for the week. I wanted a night off from Disney movies and board games."

"So, there's no wife or children?" Casey blurted out, before she realized how weird that came out. "I mean, what I meant was –"

"It's just me." Max reached out and lightly touched her arm. "Is that a good thing?"

Casey nodded. All of a sudden things were starting to look up. "I think so," she said barely above a whisper.

He grinned at her and gently squeezed her arm. "What about you? Who are you here with?"

"I'm here with a bunch of CRU alums. We're all staying at Rebecca Logan's family villa. You'll have to come with me and say hi to everyone. We're all sitting at a table in the back. I'm sure Rusty would be so happy to see you, along with Ashleigh, Rebecca, Dale, and everyone else."

"You don't mind if I tag along?" Max asked.

"I'm inviting you," Casey said happily as she grabbed his hand to follow her. "You'd be great company and a life saver. I'm like the lone person in the group. Everyone is in a couple."

"You're single?" Max asked. "How is that possible?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "I could say the same thing about you." As they neared their table, she noticed that everyone was eating their entrees. She noticed three of the chairs were empty. "Hey guys, guess who I ran into?"

Rebecca and Ashleigh looked up and shot her an alarmed look. They both gestured for Casey to sit down. "Did you really say it?" Ashleigh asked; her eyes lit with glee.

"Say what?" Casey asked with confusion.

"Did you actually tell Lana that you'd break her and Cappie up?" Rebecca asked. "I mean, if you did, more power to you, but Cappie is pissed. Lana refused to be in the same room as you, so they left. Evan drove them back to the villa."

Casey shook her head. "I never said a thing about breaking them up," Casey argued. "She's the one that accosted me in the bathroom. She's the one that threatened me."

"Well, let's just say, whatever Lana planned, it worked. If I were you, I'd stay away from Cappie." Ashleigh said quietly. "I've never seen him so upset."

"Great," Casey muttered. "That's just what I need." She looked down at her pasta dish and realized she no longer had an appetite. She was about to force herself to take a bite when she realized she'd forgotten about Max. She looked up and saw that he was with Rusty and Dale. The three of them were chatting as if time had never passed. Casey couldn't help but smile. Max had definitely gotten more handsome over the years. She noticed how nice his arms looked in the dark gray sweater he was wearing.

She was staring at Max and didn't realize Rebecca and Ashleigh were staring at her. "Earth to Casey," Rebecca teased.

Casey knew she was blushing. "What?" She asked innocently.

"Why is Max Tyler with you?" Ashleigh asked. "And is it just me, but has Max gotten much cuter? He looks like he's got some muscles on him."

"He literally caught me as I slipped in the bar area." Casey said with a laugh. "If he hadn't caught me, I would've fallen on my butt. I was just as surprised when I looked up and recognized him."

"What are the odds?" Rebecca asked. "What is he doing in Vail?"

"He's out here with his sister and her family. He just moved back to the US six months ago. He's been in England the last few years." Casey said with a smile. "Actually, you'll never guess where he lives now."

Ashleigh gave her friend a look. "You know I don't like guessing games. You might as well just spill it because you certainly look a little too excited."

"Fine," Casey said teasingly. "Max lives about 30 minutes from me – isn't that crazy? Or is it fate?"

"Wait a minute," Rebecca interrupted. "Does this mean you might be interested in Max again?"

"No," Casey said with a wave of her hand. "I don't know what any of this means. We're both single, we're both in Vail, and we live near each other. It'd be great to talk to Max again and reconnect."

"You'll have to invite him to come hang out with us." Rebecca said. "Even if you don't date, a little hook up might be something you need."

Casey knew she was blushing. "I don't think that would be appropriate. Max is not that kind of guy you can just hook-up with."

"Seriously, when was the last time you had sex?" Rebecca asked, lowering her voice so that only Casey and Ashleigh could hear her.

Casey gasped. "Are you kidding me? That is so intrusive. If you must know, it's been," Casey didn't really want to tell her friends the truth. She'd been too heartbroken over Cappie and had only started dating again the last three months or so. "Um, it's been – "

"If you have to think about it, it definitely has been too long." Rebecca said with a giggle.

Casey sighed and looked at her friends. "Honestly, the last time I was with anyone, it was Cappie." As her friends' eyes grew wide at the news, Casey shrugged. "I know. It's almost been a year since we broke up. I just wasn't ready to sleep with anyone. Am I pathetic?"

Ashleigh put her arm around Casey. "You are not pathetic. You just weren't ready, and I admire you for that."

Rebecca put a hand on Casey's arm and gave a small squeeze. "Sorry for putting you on the spot. Even if you don't hook up, having a guy clearly giving you some attention isn't such a bad thing either. Clearly someone can barely take his eyes off you."

Casey smiled a little. "He is not." As Casey looked over in Max's direction, his eyes met hers and he gave her a smile. She felt her cheeks flush.

"Mmm hmmm," Rebecca teased. "We just want you to have fun and smile. I know it was hard seeing Cappie and Lana today. I think it's great if Max can come and hang out with us. At least show Cappie and Lana that you could care less about their relationship. Plus, you know it will totally bug Cappie."

Casey laughed. "Is it bad that a small part of me hopes Cappie is bothered if he sees Max hanging out with us? In all honesty, I think it would be great to really re-connect with Max. Not gonna lie, the man does look good."

"Yes, he does," Ashleigh agreed. "Like Rebecca said, a little attention isn't a bad thing."

Casey snuck a peek at Max again. He was telling a story and both Rusty and Dale were laughing. She had to admit seeing Max so at ease with Rusty made her feel a little something. It would make the holiday week a little easier if she had someone like Max by her side.