Page 128 of Kings & Chaos

Like the fucking Christmas present I hadn’t known I’d wanted.

I looked up at him and had to remind myself to breathe. The amber flecks in his eyes were lit up, a fire blazing a path through the little bit of distance between us.

“I heard it’s snowing,” he said.

I nodded. “It is.”

“Do you… like snow?” he asked.

I smiled. “I do.”

“Then I’m glad it’s snowing,” he said, his voice gruff.

My pulse raced, my mind trying to wrap my head around what was happening. Was Neo trying to be nice to me?

“Me too,” I said.

He dropped his arm. “I’ll take that coffee now.”

I moved past him into the hall, feeling like I’d just witnessed a Christmas miracle.

* * *

We gorged ourselves on Rock’s doughy, sugary cinnamon rolls and cup after cup of strong dark coffee while we opened presents in front of the tree and a fire started by Oscar.

I hadn’t expected to have a Christmas tree this year — it wasn’t exactly practical to bring one back on the boat — but Neo had cut one down in the woods and we’d decorated it with shells, pine cones, sea glass, and whatever else we could find on the island.

Neo had even found a string of lights, the old kind with big colored bulbs. He’d grumbled that they’d probably burn down the house, but they gave the tree a happy, childish vibe I loved.

I was giddy with excitement while the Kings opened my presents, which was dumb considering how silly they were. Still, Oscar loved the disposable camera, saying it reminded him of the ones he used to take on family trips when he was a kid. He said he liked them because it meant you had to be careful about which pictures you took since you only had so much film.

Rock laughed when he saw theWho’s Your Crawdaddyapron, his blue eyes crinkling in that way that made my heart feel all squishy. Then he winked and told me he’d wear it for me later when we were alone.

I was most nervous about Neo’s present. Nothing at the little mainland store had seemed right, and I’d finally dumped out all the sea glass I’d collected on the beach, looking for a piece that was special.

I’d found it in a shard of pale blue glass with slightly rough edges. If you turned it just right, it looked like an angel with wings and a halo.

At least, that’s what it had looked like to me.

Now I was nervous watching Neo open the gift, wondering if he wouldn’t know what it was, or worse, if he’d be offended, like I was reminding him that he had me tattooed on his chest.

Like he’d been when he’d shoved me out of the shower.

I almost couldn’t breathe as he opened the package. He took off the lid and set it aside, then peeled back the tissue paper.

I watched him take the angel out of the box and turn it in his fingers, head bent to the sea glass as he studied it.

“I thought maybe… I don’t know,” I said. “I thought maybe it would bring you good luck. When you fight. Or… whatever.”

When he raised his eyes to mine, I knew it was okay. He understood. Something passed between us, something warm and private.

“Thank you,” he said. “I love it.”

I exhaled the breath I’d been holding and made a point not to get too excited. Neo was like a wild animal. It took work to get close to him.

Patience.

One wrong move and any progress could be lost.

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