Two ghosts of Christmas’ past.
I think I stop breathing. And my heart? That traitorous thing doesn’t just sink. It flips, ricochets, and takes off in a sprint I didnotgive permission for.
Klaus lifts his hand, beckoning me to come forward with a wave of two fingers. Nick, on the other hand, remains unmoving and unreadable. Together they look like the universe scripted a scene specifically to ruin whatever emotional progress I made since making my resolution.
Or maybe it’s some twisted cosmic intervention.
FOUR
For a solid three seconds,I am stone. Frozen. Statuesque. A mannequin riddled with anxiety. The only thing moving is the tiny gold truffle now rolling off one of my plates because my grip has officially given up.
Alma recovers first and catches it before it hits the ground. “Absolutely not. Donotwalk over there. Don’t evenlookover there. Pretend they’re ghosts. Pretend you can’t see them. Pretend?—”
I thrust both overloaded plates into her hands.
“Noelle, no!” she squeaks, juggling my food like a contestant in a very upscale circus. “We had a plan! You had a resolution! Please tell me you’re not about to?—”
I am.
Straightening my mask, I lift my chin and stride across the ballroom as if my heels are weapons and my pride is the fuel. Every step feels heavier, sharper,louder.My pulse roars in a rapid staccato within my ears as both men watch me approach like I’m the storm they summoned but aren’t sure how to survive.
Good.
Let them sweat.
The moment I enter their orbit, I pounce without hesitation. Grabbing each of them by the lapels of their perfectly tailored tuxes—Klaus on my left, Nick on my right—Iyank.They go willingly, which only pisses me off all the more as we slip out of the ballroom into the quieter hotel hallway. The door thuds behind us, quelling the blaring music to a muted thump. It’s only then I realize this was a terrible idea. The lighting is much softer out here, warmer and entirely too romantic for the interrogation I’m about to conduct.
I release them and immediately plant my hands on my hips. “Start talking.”
Klaus flashes me that lopsided grin and flicks a piece of imaginary lint off his jacket. “Nice to see you too, kitty cat.”
Nick simply lifts a curious eyebrow as the corner of his lips hike up in a smirk, the same one that once made my knees buckle. I amnotfalling for it now.
Probably.
Maybe.
“No,” I snap. “No charm. No pet names. None of that suave, sexy shit. I want answers.”
“About?” Nick asks, his voice that maddening calm tone.
I gesture wildly between them, my hand flapping about almost comically. “This.You.Appearing here like…like?—”
“Like two men who want to talk to you?” Klaus supplies dryly.
“Like stalkers,” I correct. “At amaskedball, for mywork.”Some things never change…“How did you even know I was here?”
The father/son duo exchange a look, the kind that hints one of them is about to say something of incriminating variety.
Klaus sighs and runs a hand through his dark hair. “We went by your place on Christmas Eve.”
My stomach drops, eyes widening behind the shield that is my mask. “You didwhat?”
“To surprise you,” Nick explains, waggling his brows. “Like last year.”
Jesus-fucking-Christ.
Some things reallydon’tchange.
