Page 130 of 'Tis the season of Wicked Deeds

A draft of air touches my limbs as I leave the heat of his body and stand up naked. I follow the sound of the ringtone to the door where I’d dropped my purse. On my way, I pick up Kingston’s discarded shirt and put it on.

Pulling out my phone, I become overjoyed and excited at seeing Tina’s name flash on the screen. Before it can go tovoicemail, I hurry into the bedroom for a bit of privacy and accept the call.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR, TINK!!” Tina screeches in my ear.

Yep… my best friend is shit drunk.

“Are you trying to scream it to all of Switzerland?” I tease while trying not to laugh. It slips free when she complains in the next breath.

“I wouldn’t have to if you hadn’t decided to ghost me.”

“Ghost you?”

“Uh… huh,” she slurs slightly. There’s background noise on her side as though she’s out on the street.

“I am coming back, you know.”

“And you better bring me a bucketload of delicious Swiss candies.”

“How could I ever forget about your sweet tooth?”

She chuckles and eagerly demands, “So, did you celebrate the night? Was the trip everything you hoped? And tell me you missed me.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” I sigh as I lie down in the middle of the canopy bed surrounded with wooden upholstery. The rustic vibes are top-notch here. “I’m having the time of my life, Boo. This town is magical.”

I hold back from revealing to her that I’ll probably extend my trip for a few more days to spend time with Kingston, since there’s no way I’m leaving tomorrow—which is technically today, I guess.

Or am I getting ahead of myself?

Gosh! There’s so much to think about in terms of us dating. How long will we have to do the long-distance thing until he moves to India for work?

See, this is why I need to admit my feelings to Kingston. But first, I need to confess to Tina so she doesn’t think I blindsided her. At some point, they will have to meet each other.However, I’m not sure she’ll even remember or hold on to the conversation considering her drunken state.

I decide to bite the bullet, because I can’t keep it to myself any longer. If our situation wasn’t such a clusterfuck of epic proportions, I would’ve told her about him the moment we met.

“Tina, there’s one more thing I—”

“Tink, you won’t believe what happened to me,” she exclaims at the same time.

“That’s my line ’cause I have sooo much to tell you too.”

“Me first! I’ve been dying to tell you this.”

Chucking at her eagerness, I turn over onto my stomach, prop my chin on my palm, and reply, “Go on.”

“I ran into Julian.”

I’m certain I didn’t hear her right, and mutter, “Sorry?”

“This!” she says loudly. “I swear this was my reaction too.”

How drunk is she? I frown as a pit form in my stomach, and I sit upright. Swallowing the bag of rocks in my throat, I ask again, “Who did you meet, Tina?”

“The one you catfished in the summer,” she grumbles. “The one Mom picked for me through the matchmaking agency.”

If what she’s saying is true, then who the hell have I been fucking for the last week?

“That’s not the twist, though.”

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