Page 35 of Christmas Kisses

I’m about to slam the door in Peter’s face, when a third person joins our conversation. “Peter?” Stepsister number two skips down the hallway, her excitement increasing with each step she takes. “I thought you said you couldn’t come.”

Noelle curls the hand not lugging a two-tiered cake and sugar decorations around Peter’s waist and snuggles into his chest.

I step back, shocked when I notice the loved-up expression on her face.

“What the… You’re… He’s…”

My bewilderment grows when the last person I want to witness their lovey-dovey exchange freezes halfway down the hallway.

Kelsey’s wide eyes bounce between Noelle, Peter, and me for several heart-clutching seconds before she murmurs, “I shouldn’t have come.”

When she spins on her heels and races for the elevator still idling at my floor, I shout, “Kelsey!”

I race after her, but since I have to barge past Noelle without ruining my mother’s wedding cake, she makes it inside the elevator before me. I only just reach it as the doors snap shut.

When my stab of the call button fails to keep the car on my level, I throw open the emergency exit stairwell and race down the stairs at a million miles an hour.

What Kelsey thinks she saw isn’t close to what is happening, but I understand the hurt she’s facing. My father endures the same pain every time he attends one of my mother’s weddings so he can support Casey and me.

I told him not to come anymore, that he doesn’t need to torture himself like that, but he shows up to every ceremony without fault because sheltering our pain is more important than sheltering his own.

When I break into the foyer of my hotel, I’m sweating and woozy but determined. This isn’t how things are meant to go down, especially since Kelsey has nothing to do with my company.

“Kelsey?” I scan the people milling on the sidewalk outside the hotel.

Ravenshoe’s streets are always packed, so I struggle to spot her in the crowd, even with her having curves and a gorgeous face that stand out.

When “Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas” sounds from the west, I push off my feet and race in that direction. Santa won’t let me down. He can’t claim a victory if he’s yet to help me win it.

I suck in a relieved breath when I spot Kelsey preparing to cross the intersection on the corner of Westin and Trace. Charity Santa is standing on her right.

I catch up to her just as the pedestrian light switches to walk. Not wanting her to get trampled by last-minute Christmas shoppers, I pull her under the awning of my hotel before steadying her swaying movements by gently gripping the tops of her arms.

She sucks in a shaky breath before endeavoring to ease her shock. “Peter… Noelle… Why, Zane? Why were they at your apartment?” Her low tone exposes her surprise, not to mention that she’s seeking answers from the wrong person.

I know why Noelle is here. She’s been my stepsister for over half my life. But I don’t understand why Peter showed up out of nowhere. I’m as clueless as Kelsey as to his motives.

When Kelsey continues seeking answers from my eyes, I say, “I don’t know. But if you stay… if youtrustme, I will find out.”

I’m confident I would have gotten her over the fence if Peter hadn’t followed us out. “He does this for a living, Kels. Men hire him to help their exes move on because a woman who thinks she has the world at her feet can’t be fucked taking her ex tothe cleaners for his scheming ways. She rarely goes for her share once Zane plants himself in her life.”

I’d deck him for his lies if I believed I could leave Kelsey’s side and not witness her collapse. Instead, I use words. “That’s not true. That isn’t how it works.” I return my eyes to Kelsey. “I help women learn who they are and regain their independence.”

“For a fifty-thousand-dollar fee.”

I’m about to tell Peter to shut the fuck up, but before I can, Kelsey murmurs, “Fifty thousand?”

Peter nods. “I thought it was worth it when you called to say I could have my mother’s ring back. It’s valued in the millions. But then I realized how much I miss you. How much I miss us.”

“Peter—”

He disrespects Noelle in a way he will never disrespect Kelsey again by shoving his hand into her face before stepping closer to Kelsey and me. “I made a mistake, Kels. I was scared, and I got cold feet. But the worst thing I ever did was hire him to build your confidence to the point that you believe you no longer need me in your life.”

I’m glad Kelsey’s trust in him is so low that she doesn’t seek the truth from him, but I really wish she wouldn’t look at me how she is. “He hired you to help me move on?”

She knows the words Peter is speaking are fraudulent, but she still needs me to spell it out for her. “No.”

“He’s lying. I transferred his requested fee into his bank account Wednesday night at?—”

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