Page 21 of Silent Night Sins
Just another hour, and I’ll be done.
I sighed and cracked my back. Amanda, to make up for last weekend, was taking tomorrow off, and coming back early in the morning for a full, three-day weekend. She didn’t know yet if she’d have to go back to New York for Monday and Tuesday before Christmas Eve on Wednesday. The Grinch. But that gave me today and…tonight. Maybe I could have another encounter with my midnight monster.
If he came back.
“I hope he comes back,” I muttered. He might not come this weekend when I wasn’t home alone.
That morose thought made my chest squeeze tight. After multiple nights without another break-in, I missed his visit last night. But the ghost of Christmas present had left me several gifts. It made his presence more than a dark fantasy. Cristiano was thoughtful. Observant.Caring.The intruder had stalkerish accuracy in that he found things I wanted and put thought behind his gifts.
And it made my poor, stupid heart melt a little more.
If I was going to unmask the monster, if I was going to reveal the man beneath, that was going to make this twisted relationship real.
Or send him running.
With another sigh, I flicked off the mixer right as the front door rang. “My packages!”
I took off sprinting for the delivery. It was going to happen tonight! Time to unmask the monster, to confirm my suspicions that this was the boy I’d known, and see if the man was ready for the future.
I was.
Ripping open the front door, I pulled up short. “Oh, hi.”
“Nicole, damn,” Donald Patrick Jefferson the Third breathed, sending an appreciative glance over me. “You look sweet enough to eat, girl.”
I crossed my arms over the pink apron, my bare arms and legs already covered in gooseflesh from the cold. “What brings you over?”
Donny grabbed the back of his neck, tugging on it awkwardly. “This is meant to be romantic, but I should’ve given you a heads up.”
“You think?” I groused. I did not enjoy being caught in my spandex shorts and athletic tee, covered in flour and sugar, with my hair flopped messily on the top of my head. “And what do you mean ‘romantic’?”
The smile he plastered on his face would win him a senatorial candidacy. “I came to take you out.”
“Donny,” I groaned. “I’m not interested.”
He raised a palm. “Before you say no, hear me out.”
I pursed my lips. Would it be social suicide to slam the door in his face? Did I care? This family was connected in the city, and I did have to find a job at some point. My references were already botched thanks to the disaster back in Europe, so I shouldn’t burn the already feeble threads here.
But it was hella tempting to do it, just to see the shock on the golden boy’s face.
While I’d been contemplating the result of my actions, Donny jabbered away.
“So what ’dya say? Sounds like fun, right?” The hope glowing in his sky-blue eyes would have sent any other girl into a flutter of delight.
I tried not to gag. “I’m busy.”
And just like that, it was as though I kicked a puppy. “I thought you’d like it. They say Messina is the best fighter in the country right now.”
That name sent a rush of adrenaline crackling through my veins. “You mean Cristiano Messina?”
“Yeah, I think that’s his name.” Donny frowned. “I can’t remember. Sorry, I’m new to the sport.”
“Okay, fine.” I stepped aside. “I’ll come. Do me a favor? Go shut the stove off, put the frosting in the fridge, and I’ll be right down.”
I tore upstairs.
On the drive over, I would make it very clear that this wasn’t a date. This was two friends catching up, and Donny would have to understand I wasn’t interested in anything else. I put on jeans and a chunky sweater. Hopping on one foot, I zipped up my knee-high boots that gave me a few more inches, and then slid large gold hoops through my earlobes.
