Page 64 of Keep Me

“Here, Sylvie,” Anna says as she drops a present in my lap.

“What is this?” I ask nervously.

“Open it,” she replies.

“I…didn’t realize we were exchanging gifts.”

She waves me off. “Don’t worry about that. Just open it.”

As I peel off the paper, I feel sick with guilt. Under the wrapper is a cardboard box, and I lift the lid to find a soft cashmere scarf folded up inside.

“This is beautiful,” I say, pulling it out and letting my fingers slide over the silky weave. “Thank you so much.”

When my eyes meet hers, she sends me a smile. “You’re welcome.”

“I didn’t get anyone anything.”

Killian squeezes my shoulder. “It’s okay. Really.”

It doesn’t feel okay. I feel like an ass. How was I supposed to know that this was going to be a family occasion? I don’t belong here. I feel like an imposter in someone else’s home. It’s just that my parents never did a conventional Christmas. We did events and parties, and our gift exchanges often took place in the early hours and for never more than fifteen minutes.

“I got you something, too, but you don’t need to feel bad.” Killian stands from the couch and crosses the room to the tree. Hetakes a small box out and brings it over. My skin grows hot with anxiety as he sets it in my lap.

When I gaze up at him, our eyes meet, and I feel that same pull I felt last night.

I quickly look away. The gift in my lap is wrapped messily, which means he must have done it. He wrapped a present for me.

With a tremble in my hands, I tear off the paper. Inside is a brand-new cell phone. Blinking, I stare at him in confusion.

“I figured I’d replace the one I broke,” he says with humor. I swallow down the emotion rising in my throat, remembering that day all those months ago when I watched a complete stranger shatter my phone with his boot.

“I know you have a new one already,” he replies casually. “But this one has a better battery life, so it won’t die on you while you’re out shopping.”

Lifting my eyes to his face, I meet his stare again. The rest of the room is quiet, and I can feel them watching us.

“Thank you,” I whisper to him. His lip curls in a subtle smirk. “I got you something.”

Jumping up from the couch, I rush over to the entryway where my winter coat is hanging. Digging into the pockets, I find the leather gloves I picked up last night. Staring at the gloves, I instantly remember how things feltsodifferent between him and me just twenty-four hours ago.

I carry them into the living room and set them on his lap. “It’s not much, but I saw them yesterday and…”

My voice trails as his eyes lift to my face. I don’t even recognize us anymore.

He reaches into the plastic bag and pulls out the brown leather gloves. I watch nervously as he gazes down at them, a smile tugging on the corner of his mouth. “I love ’em,” he says.

As he slips his large hand into the glove, I bite back the emotion that rises to the surface. My obsession with his hands only grows stronger seeing them covered in that soft leather.

“Aren’t those lovely,” Anna says with a smile from the other side of the room. When I look up, I see that they’re all watching us.

It makes my skin crawl. Like the walls are closing in.

None of this was supposed to happen.

Suddenly, I feel a strange sense of irritation. Killian has clearly tricked me into feeling something for him I never wanted to. Or maybe it was just from being stuck in this house for so long.

I need to get out. Clear my head.

In a rush, I burst up from the couch. I go into the kitchen, forcing deep breaths into my lungs to stave the rising feeling of dread, like a rat in a cage.

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