my pulse hammered. He pulled my arm up to eye level, inspected the charm, and pressed a kiss on the inside of my wrist.
Ren’s eyes twinkled with mischief as he said, “So do you like it?”
“Yes. Thank you. But . . .” My face fell. “I didn’t get you anything.”
He tugged me close and wrapped his arms around my waist. “You got me the best present of all. You gave me today. It’s the best present I could have wished for.”
I laughed and teased. “Pretty poor wrapping job I did then.”
“Hmm, you’re right. I’d better wrap you up properly.”
Ren grabbed my grandmother’s quilt from the back of the recliner and wrapped me up like a mummy. I kicked and squealed as he scooped me up in his arms and onto his lap.
“Let’s read something, Kells. I’m ready for another Shakespearean play. I tried to read one on my own, but I had a hard time sounding out the words.”
I cleared my throat noisily from within my cocoon. “As you can see, my captor, my arms are trapped.”
Ren leaned over to nuzzle my ear, and then suddenly stiffened. “Someone is here.”
The doorbell rang. Ren jumped up, set me on my feet, and spun me out of the blanket before I could blink. I stood there for a moment dizzy and confused. Then I flushed in embarrassment.
I hissed, “What happened to your tiger hearing?”
He grinned at me. “I was distracted, Kells. You can hardly blame me. Are you expecting someone?”
It suddenly hit me: “Li!”
“Li?”
I grimaced. “We have a . . . a date.”
Ren’s eyes darkened, and he repeated quietly, “You have a date?”
“Yes . . .” I said haltingly.
My mind raced with thoughts of the man next to me and the one outside my door. Ren is back, but what does that mean? And what am I supposed to do now?
The doorbell rang again. At the very least, I knew I couldn’t leave Li standing there.
Turning to Ren, I explained, “I need to go now. Please stay here. There’s sandwich stuff in the fridge for dinner. I’ll be back later. Please be patient. And don’t . . . get . . . mad.”
Ren folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes. “If that’s what you want me to do. I will.”
I sighed with relief. “Thank you. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Slipping on my shoes, I picked up the wrapped set of DVDs I had bought for Li. Tight-lipped, Ren helped me into my coat and then stalked into the kitchen. He leaned back against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest and a raised eyebrow. I gave him a weak, pleading smile and headed for the front door.
I felt a twinge of guilt at having a gift for Li and not for Ren, but quickly dismissed it and pulled open the door acting as if nothing strange was happening. “Hey, Li.”
“Merry Christmas, Kelsey,” Li said, completely unaware that everything in my life had changed once again.
My date with Li did not go as originally planned. We were supposed to see a martial arts movie and have Christmas dinner at Grandma Zhi’s. I was somber, and my thoughts kept drifting back to Ren. It was hard to focus on Li—or anything for that matter.
“What’s wrong, Kelsey? You seem very quiet.”
“Li, would you mind if we skipped the movie and just had an early dinner? I need to make some calls when I get home. You know, to say merry Christmas to friends.”
Li was disappointed but rebounded cheerfully, as usual. “Oh. Sure. That’s not a problem.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie. I was planning on calling Mr. Kadam later. But that didn’t make me feel one bit better about changing our plans.
At Grandma Zhi’s, the boys were mid-way through an all-day-game marathon. I played, but I was distracted and made bad strategic decisions—so bad that even the guys commented on it.
“What’s up with you tonight, Kelsey?” Wen asked. “You never let me get away with a move like that.”
I smiled at him. “I don’t know. Christmas blues maybe.”
I was losing badly, so Li grabbed my hand and led me to the living room to open our presents. Li and I exchanged gifts and opened them at the same time.
We pulled the paper off and laughed long and hard. We had bought each other the exact same present. It felt good to let go of some of the tension I had pent up.