Page 120

You might be waiting a while…

I hold out for as long as I can before throwing him my best forced smile, which he takes as a green light. He walks past me without a single word of greeting, just as Vadim and Lily are already returning with plates and glasses. They busy themselves setting out the contents of a Thai restaurant’s entire menu on my large coffee table.

“That’s a nice puffer jacket—I love the fur collar!” Lily blurts out.

Felix doesn’t answer; he’s too busy checking out the woman my sister has become. He steps forward to kiss her on the cheek, and she lets out a little nervous laugh that doesn’t bode well.

“Don’t even think about it,” I growl in their direction.

“How about you two call a truce?” Vadim says with a smirk.

“Yeah, Alma, why don’t you give Felix a chance?” my sister coaxes.

“Did you hear that, bestie? They both agree that you’ve got to be nicer to me.”

“Oh, the nicknames just keep getting better,” I groan.

“Fe, maybe you could start by calling her Alma. It might lower the tension a little,” Vadim suggests.

“Or find her a more appropriate nickname,” Lily whispers to him.

“Like?”

“Girl-whose-little-sister-is-incredibly-hot?”

“Are they serious right now?” I mutter, rolling my eyes at Vadim.

He chuckles softly.

“Who would have thought I’d like a Lancaster girl this much?” Felix says, flashing Lily a smile that I don’t like one bit.

They’ve known each other for fifteen minutes, and they’re already inseparable. I give Vadim a distressed look, but he just laughs to himself again and sits down.

The rest of the evening goes surprisingly well. Against all odds, the four of us actually work. Vadim and Felix reminisce about the past, marveling at how pretty much everything’s changed—well, everything except us. The atmosphere is light-hearted. Lily doesn’t seem to have a care in the world tonight, and she fits right in.

I end up nestled in Vadim’s arms, feeling his calm, steady breaths brush the back of my neck every time his warm lips place a soft kiss on my skin. We both laugh as we watch the tragicomic scene unfolding before us: Felix and Lily circling each other like teenagers, starting a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets the last prawn, then attempting a few dance moves. I should probably be worried. Between my sister, a hopeless romantic, and Felix, whom I’ve never seen in a relationship, I don’t know how this could work without someone getting hurt.

But who am I to decide that, when I’m curled up against the man who wasn’t meant for me? Vadim + Alma. Nobody believed in us.

***

The magnificent Avenue des Champs-Élysées sparkles so brightly it makes me squint. With hundreds of illuminated trees, countless festive shop windows, and rows of immaculate Christmas market stalls, it’s impossible not to succumb to the holiday magic.

December 23. The sun has barely risen, but the King Productions offices are slowly starting to fill up. Even Skylight Pictures’ underhanded attacks haven’t managed to dampen everyone’s spirits. Filming for French Kiss is due to resume in early January, and everything is back to normal.

Better than normal.

The coworkers I pass in the hallways all seem cheerful and excited. Some hum Christmas carols, and others swap recipes, joking about bad gifts or explosive family gatherings to come. Everyone has their own dramas.

The offices have been decorated and are now sporting their new colors: green and gold. Vadim has really gone all out—the place looks like something out of a made-for-TV Christmas movie—and each King Productions employee has even received a generous end-of-year bonus. A group has also been created to bring together people who are alone, without close family, and who would like to spend Christmas together. Another initiative from our boss. The holiday spirit is everywhere… except in Kate Monroe’s office.

Too much enthusiasm might kill her.

I head to the meeting room, where Sophie and Clarence are waiting for me: she’s wearing a red winter hat with a white pom-pom, while he’s sporting a reindeer headband featuring antlers that light up every time he moves.

“You guys look great!”

“Merry almost-Christmas, Alma!” Sophie exclaims, wrapping a gold tinsel garland around me. “There, now you’re one of us.”