Page 56 of Dare To Take

“I love them.” I manage a weak smile. “I’m not feeling very well.”

She sits forward, to press a hand to my forehead. “You’re not hot.”

“Cramps.”

Understanding softens her expression. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier? Are they bad?”

I nod. “I didn’t want to spoil the day. I think I’m going to go back to bed for a while.”

“You and Eli still need to swap gifts,” Elliot points out when I move to rise.

My heart sinks at his words. I’ve been trying to avoid it. I collect the two parcels wrapped in silvery paper and give them to Eli. “Merry Christmas.”

He arches an eyebrow but doesn’t reply.

I retake my seat on the couch beside my mother and watch him rip open the paper. The personalized leather roll-out case to carry his pencils is handmade and adorned with the initials E.T. embossed on the front in a fancy cursive script. Eli caresses it, his fingertips lingering over the E.

The surprise on his face is clear, but he doesn’t say a word.

Without looking up at me, he opens the second bulkier gift.

A box set of Christopher Lee movies, including the ones we’d watched together when we’d stayed at the hotel.

Hunching my shoulders at the memory of everything we’d done together there, I drop my attention to the floor. I don’t care if he thinks my gifts are lame. It doesn’t matter if he hates them.

Who are you trying to convince?

Because it mattered when you bought them. A voice whispers in the back of my head.

And, as much as I despise him right now, I liked the secret side of himself he’d shared with me. And it hurts my heart to admit that I do care what he thinks.

Chapter 37

Eli

I can feel her staring at me as I sit with the box set and leather case on my lap. My fingers stroke over the details embossed into the material. I’m pretty sure she’s spent over the one-hundred-dollar limit Elena set us, which suits me because I ignored it as well.

It’s only when my dad says my name that I realize I’ve been lost in my own thoughts, and I blink, refocusing on the room.

“Thank you.” My voice is rougher than I want, so I clear my throat, stand, and walk out to where the tree stands in the entrance hall. The gifts I wrapped for her are at the back, tucked out of sight, and it takes me a minute or two to get them. Returning to the living room, I stop in front of her and place the biggest one at my feet.

I rub my jaw and look at her. “I need a promise from you before you open these.”

Her eyes narrow. “What kind of promise?”

I slap one of her gifts against my palm. “No screaming and no hitting.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that. Arabella doesn’t have a violent bone in her body,” Elena speaks up from behind me.

I laugh at that and touch the tattoo on my throat. Neither of the adults can see what I’m doing, but Arabella’s eyes follow the movement. “I’m sure even Arabella has her triggers.” I hold out one of the gifts, just out of her reach. “Well?”

“I won’t scream at you or hit you today.”

I give a faint smile at the qualifier. “Good enough.” I hand her the first gift.

She opens it slowly, picking at the tape, suspicion written all over her face when she unwraps a dark wooden box, padlocked closed with a small silver key. “What is it?”

“Open it and find out.”

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