Nikole reached for my face, babbling nonsense and drooling on my shirt. I kissed her cheek and exhaled. This was why I kept going. This was why I couldn’t fold. Bree came storming into my bedroom with a glass of wine and her big personality.
“Alright, girl. We getting cute tonight, so I need you to snap out of your sad hour.”
I rolled my eyes but smiled. “You’re so extra, Bree.”
“I’m effective,” she corrected, setting her wine on the dresser. “Now tell me, are you mentally here yet? Or you still thinking about Mr. Fake Name, aka Caleb-not-Caleb, aka the man who had you walking crooked in the mountains?”
I snatched a makeup brush and threw it at her. “Shut up.”
She caught it mid-air. “I’m just saying. He had you in a chokehold.”
“And he was with someone,” I said quietly. “I’m not about to obsess over a man who probably went back home to his fiancée.”
Bree sucked her teeth. “Girl, if he married already after this lil’ bit of time, that alone should tell you he wasn’t meant. Besides… tonight ain’t about him. It’s about Sterling & Co. showing these Atlanta folks how Christmas luxury is supposed to look.”
She had a point. I stood in front of the closet, picked out a fitted emerald-green gown with a slit high enough to whisper trouble, and stepped into it. My sew-in was styled in soft waves, hanging down my back. My makeup was glowy, soft, but still giving that “CEO who knows she fine” energy.
Bree gasped dramatically. “Oh yes. That man fumbled. Hard.”
I rolled my eyes again but couldn’t stop the smile creeping in.
At The Gala…
The Crystal Villa had transformed into a holiday masterpiece overnight. Warm gold lighting washed over the entire space. Frosted garland draped across the balcony railings. Crystal trees sparkled in every corner. Burgundy and champagne florals filled tall vases. Snow machines blew a soft mist at the entrance so every guest arrived like they stepped into a winter fairytale.
“Bitch…” Bree whispered as we walked in. “You snapped. You truly snapped.”
“Thank you,” I said, trying to focus on the décor instead of the empty place in my chest.
We wandered toward the center of the ballroom. Guests were already complimenting the ice sculptures, the dessert tables, and the giant ornament arch I nearly broke my back installing yesterday. My staff moved around like a well-oiled machine, everything looked perfect.
“Girl,” Bree said suddenly, eyes narrowing at the entrance, “there is a fine-ass man in a tux that just walked in looking rich as hell… and he don’t have a woman with him either.”
I laughed. “Stop being thirsty for once.”
“I know rich when I see it, Noelle,” she whispered. “And that man is paid.”
I turned to see what the hype was about with this man and froze in my tracks It was him. He walked through the entrance in a black tux, broad shoulders filling out the fabric in a way that had my knees vibrating. His hair was fresh. His beard was sharp. His eyes were scanning the room like he was looking for something — or someone. And then his gaze landed on me. My breath stopped.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. “Bree… it’s him.”
“Mr. fine ass from the retreat? Your baby’s daddy?! she blurted. “Oh shit, Elle, he’s coming this way.”
My nerves where shot and my anxiety was taking over. I felt vomit rising in my throat. “What do I do?” I whispered.
“Girl,” Bree leaned in, “grow up and talk to him. This is definitely fate.”
He walked through the crowd, every step slow and certain, eyes locked on mine the entire time. He stopped right in front of me, close enough that I could smell cologne that had no business being that intoxicating in public.
“Noelle,” he said, voice low and deep enough to slide right down my spine. “We need to talk.”
My mouth went dry. “How… how did you find me?”
He didn’t smile, but something in his expression shifted, dark, determined, possessive in a way that made chills go up my spine.
“You’d be surprised what a little money and my status can get done,” he said. “And I’m not leaving Atlanta until we finish what started in those mountains.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. A part of me wanted to run the other way, the better part of me wanted to stay. Before I could decide, Bree nudged me not-so-subtly from behind.
