Christmas Pet

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

“Merry Christmas, mom.” I pulled out all the gifts in my stocking. They were the usual socks and underwear. Even though I never wore any boy shorts, my mom still bought them for me. She would never, in her wildest dreams, think about buying me a thong. In her eyes, I was still twelve years old and believed in Santa Claus.

“Let’s have some breakfast before we open the presents,” she said. Like every other Christmas, she’d made bacon, sausages, eggs, and a cinnamon roll casserole. And like Buddy the Elf, I covered my casserole in syrup. After we’d eaten our fill and cleared up, we moved to the tree. An abundance of wrapped gifts sat beneath the twenty-year-old branches.

“Where did all these come from?” I asked. “We agreed on a gift minimum.”

“A courier dropped them off this morning while you were still snoring your head off. They’re numbered one to twelve. Like the twelve days of Christmas.” She nudged me with her shoulder. “Just your boss, huh?”

“Maybe he’s a teeny bit more,” I admitted. “It’s not serious.”

“These gifts say something different.”

If I told her James and I had agreed to part ways in the New Year, she would ask too many questions. I hadn’t been expecting anything from him, but I was secretly ecstatic.

I opened up my mom’s gift first. It was a scrapbook filled with pictures of all of my Christmases throughout the years. The pages held many beautiful memories, and I took my time studying each page and reminiscing. I hugged an arm around her and held her tight. “This is the most precious gift anyone has ever given me. It means the world. I’ll treasure it forever.”

Now it was her turn to open the gift I’d gotten her. She squealed. It was a signed copy of Nora Roberts’s latest release along with a year’s subscription to audible.

“Sorry it’s not as thoughtful as the gift you gave me, but since you love Nora so much...”

“Are you kidding? This is perfect. I can listen to her books while I walk and clean.” She set her book to one side. “Start opening up your other gifts. I want to see what your boss got you.”

We arranged the gifts in order, and I unwrapped the first one. I wasn’t sure if I should open them with my mother sitting by my side, but I crossed my fingers and hoped they weren’t personal or kinky.

The first gift was an intricately carved box with a key inside. An attached note said… unlock nothing until you’ve unwrapped every gift. James had obviously gone to a ton of trouble.

Once I’d unwrapped all the boxes, I sat them side by side. “These boxes are beautiful, Pearl. They must have cost a small fortune. What’s in them?”

“I don’t know.” I blew out a long, excited breath. “Let’s find out.” I unlocked box one and lifted the lid. A photo sat on top of red velvet. My stomach roiled as I picked it up. The image was a picture of James and Lyla kissing. The date stamp was from last night.

“That’s not you, is it?” My mom took the picture from my hand and lifted it to her face. “What’s this about, Pearl? Is this some kind of joke?”

My heart fell to my toes, and my hand shook as I opened box number two, knowing exactly what I would find.

It was another picture of him kissing Lyla but from a different angle. I opened up box three—the same thing. Unable to stop myself, I opened every single box. Each held a picture of James and Lyla kissing.

“Baby girl… Who would do such a thing?”

I clenched the key so tight I almost drew blood. Pain stabbed my heart and my vision blurred.

My stomach heaved. I pressed a hand over my mouth, and ran to the bathroom, fell to the floor in front of the toilet, and threw up everything in my stomach.

I retched until there was nothing left, then sank onto the tiles and hugged my knees to my chest. This was supposed to be nothing serious, but my heart broke as if I’d lost the love of my life.

And maybe I had.Chapter Twenty-One - JamesI sat in my home office and looked out at the silent city. Everyone was at home celebrating with their families and loved ones. My sister Sylvie had checked into a facility for depression in Arizona, and my parents were on a cruise—separately. And once again, I was knee-deep in work. Daniel had gone to the media and had posted a picture of him and Sophia on his Instagram account announcing their pregnancy. My phone hadn’t stopped all day. I’d had to prepare a statement for Erin, and I was now working with her PR team.

I hadn’t had a chance to catch my breath or think about the question I would ask Pearl tomorrow. I glanced at the gifts I’d gotten her. We hadn’t planned on getting together today, but I was desperate and needed to see her.