Lauren slipped off the arm of Tom's chair and sat down. Her ears burned. Her face burned. Everything burned.
She perched on the edge of the seat, spine rigid, every muscle locked in place.
The humiliation pooled low in her stomach—hot, heavy, impossible to hide.
No one spoke. The quiet stretched and stretched.
Jake cleared his throat.
"Well, that's a tough act to follow," he said finally, reaching under the tree. "But I've got something for my beautiful wife."
Lauren watched him pull out a box—the unmistakable size and shape of jewelry. A flat, small box.
Jake presented the box to Mia with a flourish. "Our first Christmas as husband and wife."
Mia's eyes went wide as she opened it.
Inside was a delicate silver chain with a tiny heart pendant.
Lauren felt something inside her chest crack.
The necklace.
Hernecklace.
It had to be a different one. A similar one. There were probably thousands of silver heart pendants in the world and this was just a coincidence and?—
"Jake, it's perfect," Mia breathed, lifting it from the box with reverent fingers.
“You’reperfect,” Jake said, grinning. “And far too nosy. I have to thank my brother for hiding it from you these past few weeks."
Tom was smiling, looking pleased with himself. "Happy to help."
Jake took the necklace from Mia. "Turn around, I'll put it on for you."
Lauren watched as Jake fastened the clasp at the nape of Mia's neck. The romantic gesture she'd been imagining for herself. Foolishly. Stupidly.
There was an odd rushing sound in her ears.
"It's beautiful," Mia said, touching the pendant at her throat.
Lauren's smile felt like it was cracking her face open. "It's beautiful," she echoed, and her voice sounded strange to her own ears. Like it belonged to someone else.
Her hands remained pressed together in her lap, knuckles white.
No one seemed to notice that she was falling apart in slow motion. How could she have been so stupid?
"Your turn, Lauren!" Mia said brightly, the pendant catching the light as she turned. "What did Tom get you?"
Lauren's stomach flipped. What if she hadn’t misunderstood? What if hehadgotten her the same necklace? What if this was all some crazy coincidence, and he was about to surprise her with?—
But Tom wasn’t holding a box.
He reached under the tree and came up with an envelope instead.
A simple white envelope with her name written on it in his handwriting.
A letter. He'd written her a letter.
