“God, there goes my Thanksgiving,” Carla mumbles under her breath.
My gaze darts back to her. “Because Noah’s here?”
I picked up on a weird vibe between them during the welcome function at Trinity.
“Yeah.” Her eyes find mine and a look of frustration crosses her beautiful features. “I swear he hates me … ugh… just for freaking breathing.”
“Did anything happen between the two of you?” I ask, worried my cousin did something terrible. I’ll slap him so hard upside his head he’ll be seeing stars for the rest of his life.
Carla shakes her head, then admits, “No, he just treats me like a six-year-old.” She shrugs. “I shouldn’t let him get to me.”
There’s a five year age gap between them, and Carla is Jase’s little sister. I can’t fault Noah for treating her like a kid.
“Hey,” I hear Noah’s voice and turn toward him.
“Hey, how’s your Thanksgiving?” I ask as I give him a hug.
His gaze settles on Carla. “It was great until I heard we’re babysitting.”
Carla rolls her eyes, and walking away, she mutters, “Screw you too.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I scowl at my cousin. “Seriously? Was that necessary?”
Noah grins at me. “Yeah, totally worth it.”
My lips part as the realization hits. “Do you have the hots for Carla?”
Noah pulls a disgruntled face. “Ewww. Come on. She’s my friend’s baby sister.”
I let out a chuckle, and patting him on the shoulder, I say, “We both know Carla’s no baby, Noah. But you keep telling yourself that.”
I walk back to the house and go to greet the rest of the crowd. Not even an hour later, the place is bustling with life because all the families ended up at my parents’ house.
I have a constant smile on my face as I watch my uncles and aunts joke with each other.
I glance at my own group of friends and ask, “You think that will be us in twenty years?”
Everyone looks at our parents just as Mr. Chargill slaps Mr. Cutler upside the head. Hunter and Hana’s fathers are always fooling around.
Hunter lets out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, I’ll be the one beating on Jase.”
“My god-babies!” I hear Miss Sebastian, my godmother, screech. A wide smile spreads over my face, and jumping up, I run to hug her.
“You made it,” I say as I hold her tightly. “I missed you.” Pulling back, I let everyone hug her first. She’s been gone for way too long, and it feels like the heart of our family has finally returned.
It takes a while for Miss Sebastian to do all her rounds, but then she comes to sit next to me. Taking hold of my hand, she says, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here, my baby girl.”
I lean into her, giving her a comforting hug. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Pulling back, her gaze searches my face, then she asks, “So you and Jase are dating now?”
I nod happily.
Then Miss Sebastian looks at Jase, where he’s talking to my brother on the other side of the room, and she yells, “Jase, I have a gift for you.”
Hunter begins to laugh as Miss Sebastian pulls a box out of her bag. Remembering what she did with Jade by giving them a huge box of condoms in front of their parents, I grab the gift from her and run out of the room.
“Mila,” Miss Sebastian shouts after me. “Just make sure he wraps it before he gets any.”
I burst out in laughter and don’t make it much further before I lean back against the wall in the hallway.
God, there’s no stopping my godmother when she sets her mind on something, and it seems she’s making it her goal in life to tease us.
Jase comes out of the living room, and when he sees me, a bark of laughter escapes his lips. “Give me that.” He takes the gift from me and walks back to where Miss Sebastian is.
Opening the damn box in front of everyone, Jase shakes his head. “Tsk, it’s a great gift, Mamma G, but they’re way too small.”
“They’re extra-large, you little shit,” Miss Sebastian laughs.
Jase shrugs. “Can’t help it I’m blessed.”
Miss Sebastian shakes her head at him as she mutters, “Or overcompensating.”
“Oh yeah?” Jase lifts his eyebrows at her, and then Miss Sebastian screeches as he throws her over his shoulder.
“Ohhhhh. Myyyy. Gaaawwwd, “she keeps shrieking as Jase walks outside with her. “Jamie! Stop your son.”
Everyone cracks up as Jase breaks out into a run, jumping in the pool with a squealing Miss Sebastian.
When her head breaks through the water, she yells, “I’m going to drown your bedazzled ass.”
Deciding to join them, I kick off my shoes and run out of the house. I manage to spray them with water as I jump into the water.
I wipe the drops from my face and let out a spurt of laughter as Miss Sebastian tries to doggy paddle toward the shallow end.