Page 30 of Divine Sense

Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” played through the wireless speakers that were installed around my townhouse. I’d been bustling around trying to get ready to leave for my parents to celebrate Christmas at the house with them.

I was expected to be there at 11:00 a.m. sharp per the phone call I had yesterday with my mother. I’d made up an excuse not to go to their house yesterday for Christmas Eve, telling her I had a stomach bug and didn’t want to make anyone else sick. It was a lie, I was totally fine, I just didn’t want to be trapped in the house with her and my father more than I needed to be. After my exchange with Daniel at the Christmas party, my mother chastised me for not just doing what she’d told me to do and once again blamed our failed relationship on me. She then grilled me about where I had disappeared to and I had to come up with some story about my dress ripping and needing to have it pinned by Ms. Ruthie in my bedroom. The last thing I was going to tell her about was how I was really out in the garden making out with our head of security.

Kolbi.

My heart squeezed as I thought of his name. I’d tried to reach out to him a few times but he never answered any of my texts. That didn’t stop me from sending them though. Iknewwhat we felt for each other was real and unless he told me to, I wasn’t going to let this go. I wasn’t going to let him forget about what happened between us. With my father’s campaign officially kicking off after the new year, we would be seeing one another a lot more and he was going to need to figure out how to be in the same room as me without acting like I was the carrier of the plague. Looking at myself in the mirror, I fluffed my long dark hair around my neck and took in my features.

I had my father’s strong jawline and my mother’s perfectly buttoned nose. Scattered around it were the faint spots of freckles that you could see if you were close enough and that popped off my fair skin in the summer sun. My eyes were round and large and my lips were naturally plump and pink. I was pretty, but not being pretty wasn’t what was keeping Kolbi from me.

We’re from different worlds, he had said. I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, but I knew that until he could get over it, he would continue to pretend like he didn’t have feelings for me.

The alarm I’d set for myself this morning went off and I read the note I’d left as the label for it: ‘Ho ho ho, bitch! It’s time to go pretend like you’re one big happy family.’Grabbing the Kate Spade camel coat I’d bought last year from the hook on the wall, I slipped it on and pulled my hair out. It was perfect to wear on days like today where the temperature in the Lowcountry dropped below forty degrees. Knowing my mother, there would be a photographer at the house to snap our yearly family portrait, so I made sure to dress for the occasion. A pressed white shirt from Madewell with some classic holiday-plaid slacks from JCrew, finished off with my favorite nude ballet flats from Tory Burch. I’d tied a cream bow in my hair and curled the ends to look put together but still festive for the holiday.

As I mozied down the steps of my front porch, trying to not rush my departure, I sent Margaret a ‘Merry Christmas!’ text. I’d hardly hit the sidewalk before I slammed into something tall and strong. The force of the impact nearly knocked me backwards, but a strong hand caught me before I fell.

“Haven’t you learned to not walk and text, flower?” His voice was smooth and when I looked up at him, he gave me a lazy smile that set my insides on fire.

“Oh, so heisalive,” I sniped at him, unable to hide my annoyance at him for ignoring the texts I’d sent him over the last few days. “I’d thought you’d surely keeled over or fled the country by the way you’ve conveniently ignored my messages the last few days.” I side-stepped around him and continued to walk towards my car when he caught my arm and spun me around.

“I’m sorry for ignoring you,” he admitted. The way his jaw clenched and he bore his eyes into mine, it made it hard for me to look away. When I didn’t respond, he cleared his throat and dropped my arm. “I brought you something, both as an apology and as a Christmas gift.”

I watched as he tucked his hand inside the jacket he was wearing and pulled out a small, square, black velvet box. It had a bow tied around it that he had clearly done himself because the loops were uneven and the tails of the ribbon were way too long. Suddenly the irritation I’d felt for him was gone as I took the box from his hand.

“Go ahead, open it.” I looked at the box in my hands and then to him. He had his lips wrapped around his teeth and was shifting his weight from one foot to another.

“You nervous?” I asked, raising a brow at him.

“Would you just open it?” he encouraged hastily, stepping closer to me and pushing the box towards my chest. I chuckled softly and slowly opened the box. When I saw what was inside, I gasped at how beautiful it was. Carefully tucked inside was a dainty, gold-chain bracelet with a Magnolia flower in the center. On either side of the flower charm sat two, small, inset pearls. Looking at the bracelet, I felt my throat tighten—this was the most thoughtful gift I’d ever been given. I looked at the man before me and then back down at the bracelet before carefully pulling it from the box and handing it to him. He looked at me, confused, before I spoke again.

“Will you help me put it on?” I extended my hand to him and waited for him to unclasp the bracelet and reclasp it around my wrist.

“So you like it?” he urged, holding the bracelet in front of him.

“No, Jack, I hate it. That’s why I’m asking you to put it on me immediately.” I shook my head and took a step closer to him, placing both of my hands on his chest. He dropped his chin to keep his eyes on me and I pressed up to kiss him on the cheek. “I love it, Kolbi. It’s the most thoughtful gift anyone’s ever given me.” Taking a step away from him, I held out my hand again and waited for him to adorn my wrist with my new favorite piece of jewelry. Tiny sparks of electricity bounced between us as his hand encased mine, clasping the bracelet around my wrist.

“I’m glad you like it. I hope you have a merry Christmas, Magnolia,” is all he said before he turned away from me, got in his car, and drove off down the road.

As I watched him go, I held my newly bejeweled wrist over my heart and carefully spun the bracelet around with my fingers. I hadn’t expected to see him today, no less with a gift. When my phone buzzed in my purse and I pulled it out, I cursed under mybreath when I read the caller ID on the screen. Quickly moving towards my car, I answered my phone as I pulled out of the parking lot.

“Sorry I’m late, I wasn’t feeling well this morning but I just got in my car to head your way.Yes mother,I’m dressed appropriately for the family portrait…”

20

KOLBI

“Ithink I’m going to propose to Bailey,” Hank announced nonchalantly as we all sat around the table. It was the Monday before New Years and we were all gathered at my place for another campaign night. We hadn’t been talking about anything personal so his declaration created a sense of whiplash around the table. Malcolm, Conrad, and I snapped our heads to him as he sat with an easy smile while we all gawked at him.

“Youwhat?!” Conrad gasped, nearly choking on the beer he’d been drinking when Hank shared his news.

“I think that’s great, Hank.” I laid a firm hand on his shoulder and shook him. He returned the gesture and we laughed light-heartedly. Malcolm stared at Hank like deer in headlights, his shoulders slack and his mouth hanging open.

“You good, Malcolm?” Hank asked, leaning his elbows on the table. I looked to my other friend whose fear of commitment was so bad that the thought of being with someone longer than a week gave him hives.

“I think you broke him,” I glanced at Hank again with a grin.

“You sure, man? I mean, one person, for the rest offorever?” Malcolm gaped with his mouth wide open.

“Who says it’s forever? The average divorce rate in the United States is upwards of fifty percent,” Conrad started before I cut him off with a slug to the arm.

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