Page 10 of Silent Night Temptation

I hope this storm eases soon. Because being alone with Nyree, with these feelings building inside me….feels like I’m standing on the edge of something, and I don’t know what will happen if I fall.

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Nyree

Istep out of the shower, my skin still humming with the warmth that clings to it, water droplets trailing down my body as I wrap myself in the soft embrace of a towel. The cold of the storm outside feels more distant now, as if I’ve barricaded it with the heat that lingers on my skin. I reach for my hair, squeezing out the last traces of moisture, the strands clinging to the towel. I move slowly, trying to settle the restlessness in my chest.

The vacation house is quiet, save for the occasional gust of wind howling through the cracks of the windowpanes and making them rattle. It should be comforting, the peacefulness of knowing the storm is outside. But my mind is elsewhere, pulled in another direction, drawn back to thoughts of Coco.

She is probably sitting at the airport, waiting for updates on her flight. The image of her, hunched over in those uncomfortable chairs, scrolling through her phone as she waits for the announcement, flickers in my mind. I can’t help but feel a sudden twinge of worry.

But even beyond that concern, something gnaws at me. Something that doesn’t quite add up. Coco missing her flight. How? If she’d been on time, she wouldn’t have had to reschedule. The storm hadn’t hit that badly when her original flight was supposed to leave. In fact, the plane she was meant to be on took off not but thirty minutes after mine. She explained she had to get her ticket late because of something at work when I insisted we go on the same flight. It was a little relieving to know it was just thirty minutes apart, but that she’s not here now makes me feel anxious. She knows what something like this does to me.

Coco wouldn’t just miss it.

I feel a subtle unease as I grab my phone and send her a quick message, trying to shake the doubt clinging to my thoughts.

Hey girl… Got to the vacation house safe and sound.

Her reply comes almost instantly, as though she’s been waiting, poised with her fingers hovering over her phone.

Great! Getting comfy?

There’s a casualness to her words that feels deliberate, and I don’t know why it sets me on edge. Maybe I’m reading too much into it. But still…

Yeah… But now I’m wondering what happened? The flight you were supposed to be on, left before the snowing got really bad. How did you miss it?

I hit send and wait. The seconds stretch out into minutes, each one passing heavier than the last. My phone remains silent, butI can see the telltale sign:Read.Coco has seen my message, yet she doesn’t respond.

I tap my thumb against the phone, a nervous rhythm that matches the pulse of anxiety beginning to rise in my chest. And then, finally, I see the bubbles appear. She’s typing. But the dots vanish as quickly as they came. A long pause follows, too long for comfort. When her message finally appears, it feels like an eternity has passed.

Oh I just overslept…

Overslept?

I stare at the words on the screen, my brow furrowing as I reread them. Something about it doesn’t sit right with me. Coco doesn’t oversleep. Not when it comes to something like this. We were supposed to get here together.

I try to shake the doubt creeping in, telling myself that I’m overreacting and imagining things. But there’s something in the way her response feels clipped, almost hurried, as though she’s trying to close the conversation before it’s even started. It’s unlike her. Coco never holds back with me. If something was wrong, if she had a good reason for missing the flight, she would tell me. Wouldn’t she?

Or… maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m the one projecting, reading too much into her response because I’m the one keeping secrets. I press the phone to my chest, exhaling slowly. I hate the way the guilt churns in my stomach, making everything feel wrong.

Because Iamhiding something.

Coco is my best friend. We share everything, especially when it comes to men. Normally, if I had crossed paths with someone who made my heart skip a beat, someone who made me feel like I couldn’t catch my breath, Coco would be the first person to know. She would get an excited text from me, probably something cheesy like, “Hey, I just met the most gorgeous man!You have no idea!”We’d laugh about it, I’d gush over his looks, and she’d tease me for being smitten. That’s how it’s always been between us… nothing hidden, nothing left unsaid.

But now? Now, I can’t say a word.

Because the man I’m feeling all those things for, the man who immediately started occupying far too many of my thoughts, is her father.

Mr. Davenport. Marcus.

His brown hair, streaked with just the slightest hint of silver, the way it falls across his forehead in that effortless manner, like he hasn’t given a second thought to how perfect it looks. His strong jawline, sharp and defined, and those eyes, blue and intense. Always watching, always observing. There’s something about the way he carries himself, a quiet confidence, a subtle strength that makes it impossible not to notice him. He’s the kind of man who commands attention without saying a word, and I feel drawn to him in ways that make my head spin.

I bite my lower lip, catching myself before I go any further. I shouldn’t be thinking about him like this. It’s wrong. It’s ridiculous. I’ve only just met him, and yet here I am, already unraveling at the mere memory of him.

But God, the way he looked at me earlier… It was like he could see right through me.

I shake my head, trying to dispel the thoughts. This is insane. How on earth can I tell Coco that I’m attracted to her father? How could I ever explain that the man I can’t stop thinking about is the same man who should be off-limits in every possible way?

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