Desire: Love and Passion - By Lesia Reid Page 0,48

said, “but I always spend it with my closest employees.”

“Willow is going to be so disappointed,” Edna said though she had never discussed the matter with Willow.

“I am sure she will understand,” James said. “I’ll come by on Boxing Day, if that’s okay.”

Willow withdrew and went back upstairs to her room. Though she had not discussed it with him or her grandmother, she was looking forward to seeing him Christmas Day. She had taken the time to put some thought into her present.

She heard a short rap on her door a few minutes later.

“Come in,” she said.

He came into the room, a big smile on his face. She got off the bed and went to him. They hugged and shared a short kiss.

“Are you staying?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“No.”

“Oh.”

“It isn’t that I want to go,” he said. “You are here, with your family. Henry, Larry, Cassandra and the whole group of people that live at my house, they’re my family.”

“So bring them here,” Willow said. “We can have Christmas together. I’m sure Nana would love Henry’s skills in the kitchen, even yours.”

“She suggested the same thing,” James said. “But tomorrow is a day for family.”

“We are your family,” she said with a hand on her belly. “And I talk to Cassandra all the time, even Larry’s not been like the Grinch lately. We have the space. If you stay over here with me then everyone else can hole up in the guest house.”

“You’re making this difficult,” he said. “Good thing I know it’s only hormones talking. I have to go.”

“I got you a present,” she said. “You cannot open it before tomorrow night.”

She gave him the small box from her bedside table.

“I have your present here as well,” he said. “And since I have a time restriction, you cannot open it until tomorrow night, too.”

He gave her a square box, about three inches thick. She was disappointed as she guessed it was jewelry. She walked him downstairs and to the door. Her cousins giggled as he kissed her briefly on the lips and left.

“I thought he was staying for Christmas,” Kenneth said entering the room with a reindeer hat on and eggnog in his hand.

Willow never ceased thinking how much he looked like her father. She could imagine her father exactly like that. The thought brought her some joy and some sadness.

“He had other plans,” Willow said.

“Nonsense,” Kenneth said. “Mother, did you ask James to stay for the holiday?”

Kenneth went into the kitchen to talk to his mother. Willow went back upstairs. Christmas was a difficult holiday for her. It had always been that way since her parents died. She’d spent a lot of it since with Michel and his family, but it was not quite the same as a Harper Christmas. As a kid, they would come over on Christmas Eve, just like now when everyone was still on their way or was already here. The house would be filled with the joyful noise of people discussing politics or some crazy subject. The kids would be running around having discretely stolen sips of Edna’s eggnog that was laced with rum. Come midnight they would start ripping presents open. There would be mayhem and paper everywhere. Until now, Willow didn’t realize how much she’d missed that. She also didn’t realize how much she’d wanted to share that with James.

She curled up in the bed with her e-book reader. The noise downstairs and the smells from the kitchen lulled her to sleep.

Knocks on the door woke her. It was Christmas morning.

“Who is it?” She turned towards the door.

The door opened and a tall lanky figure walked in.

“Ambrose!” She shouted and got off the bed. She hugged her cousin fiercely.

“Oh my god,” he hugged her back. “You look so much like Auntie Akyini. I can’t believe it.”

“When did you get here?”

“In the middle of the night but I had to go help dad drag your boy toy back here.”

“What?”

“You look so radiant,” Ambrose said. “I couldn’t believe I was speaking to you on the telephone. I am so glad you are alive and back with us. And your guy is downstairs making breakfast.”

“What guy?”

“Oh come on,” Ambrose said. “You’re pregnant with the richest man in the world’s baby and you were going to let him spend Christmas all by himself.”

“He wasn’t alone,” Willow said. “He was with his friends and it wasn’t as if I didn’t ask. So where is this fiancée you told me about?”

“Downstairs with Marcus and mom.”

“Marcus