Page 150 of A Sin So Pure

“Usually, I’d add some orange zest to the frosting,” Josie says, licking her thumb. “But these were good.”

“You’re a little food aficionado, aren’t you, Josie?” I say.

“Ehh,” she drawls, tilting her head back and forth. “You could say that.”

We laugh, the sound as cheery as wind chimes filling the room.

“Okay, present time.” I clap, unable to hold back my giddiness any longer.

I hop up and scurry to my suitcase, pulling out the wrapped boxes for each of them.

“Wait, we’re doing presents?” Nora asks. “Today? Right now?”

Leo laughs, a short singular “ha,” then quickly covers his face with his hand.

I raise a brow in Nora’s direction. “Yes… it’s Solstice.”

“I didn’t bring them,” she says, her pale face losing its color. “I swear I got you all gifts. But I didn’t think we were going to do this while we were here.”

“Hey, hey.” I hurry back to Nora, placing my gifts on the coffee table. “I didn’t explicitly tell you to bring them. It’s not a big deal.”

Nora turns to Josie, caught off guard. “You brought yours?”

Josie grimaces, reaching behind the couch and holding up a small bag of presents. Nora groans, scrubbing her hands over her face.

“Shit,” she says. “I’m sorry.”

“The almighty Pride, brought to her knees in apology,” Leo croons overdramatically. “I’d say that’s enough of a gift for me, Nor.”

“Ha-ha,” Nora deadpans. Her hands still cover her cheeks, which are flushed pink.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen her embarrassed. Or so amicable to Leo’s jokes.

Is this the same woman who I went to bed with last night?

“It’s fine,” I say, rubbing my hand on her thigh. “Gives us an excuse to host a party when we get back.”

Nora heaves a sigh.

“Okay,” she says. “Alright. Who’s first then?”

“I’m going last,” I claim. I want mine to get the prime present spot.

“I’ll go first,” Josie says.

She tosses Leo a small box and passes me a similarly wrapped one. We both rip open the carefully wrapped presents.

“Aw…” Leo lifts up a gorgeous brown leather watch with a simple square clockface lined with gold.

“So you won’t be late to any more meetings,” Josie snickers.

Leo smacks her arm playfully. “That was one time!”

Josie laughs, but Leo adds a quick thank you before turning to me.

I sheepishly hold up the box I opened; a stately gold ring with a large amethyst set in its center sits in the plush black cushion. The gold is shaped into filigree detail around the stone, giving it an elegant daintiness that you wouldn’t normally expect from a ring of this size.

“The stone is for protection and calming clarity,” Josie explains. “Plus, I thought it looked nice.”

---