CHAPTER 24

Vivian

I talked to Boyce every night once I was back at the apartment. We spent whatever time we could together, under the radar of course. I was starting to hate it and when the Christmas holidays grew closer, I brought up telling Bella at some point when we were all together. He agreed. We also planned our getaway and I couldn’t wait to be alone with him somewhere that we could let go of our fears.

We planned to go to the city to see the play the weekend before Christmas with some family and Boyce reserved a hotel for everyone, booking separate rooms for each of us. It killed me to sleep away from him, but I stayed quiet as he made the reservation in Vermont for us.

I came home from school with just a night before we went to New York. I crawled right into bed with Boyce and finding his mouth with mine. We stayed there until the morning when I got up to check that I packed properly for the few days extra that we were going to be gone. We chose to fly with the snowy weather and boarded the plane to slip into our first-class seats as I smiled at him.

Boyce reached for my hand underneath the blanket and I clutched him tightly. I knew that I was starting to weaken, and I dropped my head to his shoulder. We landed in an hour and a half and caught a cab to the hotel where Boyce checked us in and I walked inside of the beautiful, lonely room and set my luggage on the single bed. I knew that Bella was going to try to come over before the performance and I walked over to the window to look over the city. It was gorgeous, and I soaked in the energy of the streets just standing here as I wrapped my arms around myself. Bella came, and we had an early dinner before she headed to the theater to get ready as we walked the streets together, going to meet the rest of the group.

“I feel like no one would give us a second look here,” Boyce said beside me as I looked at him.

“Nobody apart from your family,” I reminded him as I looked ahead on the crowded street. I almost kissed him today, not even thinking for a fleeting second. I caught myself and even though Bella shot me a weird look, I doubted that she suspected anything. I knew that she was distracted with the play and I just wanted to see her live her dream.

It was a gorgeous play and Bella was the star. Her part was not a main one, but her skill made her rise above the rest. She was meant to be here, and I pressed my leg against Boyce for a moment before stretching in the dark. We all hugged and kissed her once it was over, which was when Boyce mentioned a last-minute trip for work. He assured everyone that he’d be back for Christmas, that this came up suddenly and it was a very important client.

“Want to stay here with me?” Bella asked as she moved to my side with a glass of champagne. “It’s a bit tight being small and with Kellan staying with me most of the time, but we could make it work. We could go home together.” Kellan was a set designer that she’d been dating for a while now and I shook my head.

“I’ll be fine.” I assured her as she frowned at me. “I will. We’ll see each other soon.”

Boyce and I left to catch our flight, claiming that I was going back to Maryland. Instead, we boarded the flight to Vermont and rented a sturdy SUV to get to the private bed-and-breakfast in. It was gorgeous, and the lower part of the house was twinkling with lights and a giant tree on a corner. We went to our room and found it to me small but charming before we finally kissed without abandon. I was tired of sneaking around and I moaned as I ripped at his pants to get them off. “I love you,” I said before I bent down to take him into my mouth. Boyce stopped me before he let go and I dropped to my back and spread my legs as he crawled between them and kissed me while he slid inside. He pulled my feet to his shoulders and rocked inside of me as I arched my back and cried out his name.

We stayed in the room for the next two nights, staying up late and sleeping in. We ate downstairs, sometimes at the table and other times by the fire since we were the only guests. A part of me hated to leave, but I knew we had to face reality sooner rather than later.

We prepared for the holiday, getting food ready and planning the dinners. I loved Christmas here once I settled in since Boyce made it about helping others and traditions. I touched the diamond necklace that hung low on my chest, his gift to me the last night of our stay in Vermont. It was beautiful.

I got through the Christmas Eve dinner and the party the night before. I smiled when I was supposed to and laughed at the right times, but I knew I was distracted. I didn’t mind when Boyce took me into a dark hallway for a quickie when we had a moment. I would take anything.

Christmas morning came, and I woke up in Bella’s bed like I did when we were kids and waited all night to see what Santa brought us. We walked out to the living room and saw that the tree had a lot of gifts under it as Boyce greeted us with a cup of coffee in his hand. We got our own cups and sat down to unwrap, finding great gifts to help with school in the form of electronics and some things to pamper ourselves. We cooked breakfast after that and a few relatives came over to eat with us, making me smile through my pain.

I watched as the last person left late that night as Bella piled dishes in the sink. Boyce walked over from the front door and we shared a long look before he cleared his throat. “Bella, I’d like to talk to you about something. Come and sit down.”