The Christmas Invitation by Kate Kasch

Author:Kate Kasch [Kasch, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

The day wore on and Ella was in a distracted haze. She went through the motions, helping customers at the store, inserting the appropriate smile or nod when expected, but her heart wasn’t in it. Her heart was full of an ache she didn’t was possible.

The pain and sorrow she suffered when her father passed away had been intense, she didn’t know if she would ever feel happiness again. But as time moved on, that burning anguish dimmed to a dull twinge. It was always there, buried a little deeper with each passing day, but there, nonetheless.

However, this current brand of agony which consumed her was something altogether new. Thoughts of Wyatt had her eyes pleading for the next glance, her skin smoldering with anticipation of the next touch, and her heart longing for reciprocating love.

Sensing her mood, Marney surprised Ella with a caramel macchiato from the café across the street. Ella slowly sipped the warm, sweet caffeine without tasting a thing. During the quiet moments in the store, she studied without retaining a word. It was as if her body and brain were filled to the brim with a passionate yearning, and therefore had no capacity for anything else.

Her shift at The Book Nook ended like any other day and like no other day she had ever experienced. She reprimanded herself on her walk down to 430 Fifth Avenue, for letting a man get so far into her head that it became impossible for her to focus. And with a week of final exams ahead, she needed to get back on her game. Tonight’s plan was to keep her head down and get the cleaning done at Dawson & Hancock as quickly and efficiently as possible, and then to go home and study for tomorrow’s exam. However, even as she tried to re-center herself, she couldn’t help but feel a thrill that she would spend the next few hours in Wyatt’s office, so close yet so far away. Her life was suddenly one giant paradox.

Up on the 22nd floor she changed into her cleaning uniform and quickly scanned the office for any lights left on, signaling someone was still there working. Thankfully, the entire floor was dark and quiet. Rosie actually showed up on time and the two women got to work. Ella started in the bathrooms like she usually did, and Rosie started with the large offices. With Christmas love songs blasting through her earbuds, it wasn’t long before Ella had finished cleaning the bathrooms and the cubicles. She went to check on Rosie and see if she needed any help. She found Rosie in and office that looked like the North Pole. Almost every square inch of the space was covered in faux snow, twinkle lights, life-size nutcrackers and even a giant inflatable snowman that Ella was pretty sure was meant to be an outdoor lawn ornament.

“Rosie!” She yelled over the sound of the vacuum. “Rosie!”

Rosie shut the vacuum off. “Look at all these pine needles!

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