Tangled in Christmas by Unoma Nwankwor

Author:Unoma Nwankwor [Nwankwor, Unoma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: KevStel Productions and Publications

5

NENGI

The sound of the heater filled the silence in my office, but it did little to warm the chill that had settled in my heart. I slumped back in my chair, gazing out at the bustling square of Luxe Noir below. People were setting up for the Christmas market, their voices and laughter muffled by the glass of my window. Soon enough, I would be down there with them, pretending everything was normal and fine.

But it wasn’t.

My mind kept going back to Charleston, miles away from here. That stormy night. I had tried to push it away, to convince myself it was just a random occurrence. An unplanned stop due to the weather. But the memory wouldn’t let me go, replaying over and over in my mind like it was begging to be analyzed.

The way Elijah had looked at me. The way our tension had built slowly, turning every glance and touch into something charged. And then, in the rain, his hand had reached out and brushed a wet strand of hair away from my face before he kissed me.

And I hadn’t stopped him.

I hadn’t wanted to.

The kiss had been tender yet intense, as if he was waiting for me to pull away. But I didn’t. In that moment, everything else faded away—our fake relationship, expectations, rules— and it was just us caught up in the midst of the storm. But now…now I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It had been a real kiss, and I hadn’t allowed myself to admit it until now. This wasn’t part of the plan—our time together in Charleston, how we kept getting closer despite all the warning signs in my head. The kiss was everything I tried not to want.

Temporary.

That’s what he’d said about his stay in Luxe Noir. And I knew it was true. I knew better than to get caught up. Luxe Noir was my home. For the past few days, I had been pretending it never happened, convincing myself it meant nothing.

Temporary.

He was temporary.

But deep down, I knew something had changed. It made me feel things I wasn’t ready to admit.

After we left the pavilion, Elijah led me to the reception where, against my protests, he had booked us a double suite. From their website, I knew they only had a few exclusive, expensive chalets like that. He took charge in a way only the men in my family had before him. He thought of everything—even buying flannel pajamas and another change of clothes from the boutique store in the garden that cost an absurd amount of money. Even after taking a hot shower, I still couldn’t shake off the chill. When Elijah noticed me shivering, I could see the discomfort on his face, so I quickly assured him it wasn’t his fault, explaining that I was anemic. That was all it took for him to wrap a blanket around me and hold me close, promising that his body heat would warm me up.

He ordered a late-night snack and some hot cocoa for the both of us while I convinced him to watch a few Christmas movies on KevStel TV.

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