“Jason, Skyler, settle down boys, we have company.” Mom gives them a stern look. “Introduce yourselves, boys.”
“Hi, I’m Jason.”
“I’m Skyler.”
They both smile and look at Alex, then back at me.
“What happened to Tim?”
Jason laughs at Skyler’s question.
“Boys!” My mom snaps.
“It’s okay.” I smile. “I knew it would come up, so let’s just get it out in the open. Tim wanted space, or a break rather, so we are no longer together.”
“Good, that guy was an asshat,” my older brother, Troy, says as he walks around the corner. “Sorry sis, but you know he was.” He pulls me in for a hug. I smile and roll my eyes at his fiancée, Grace, who is standing beside him. She grins at me.
“Total asshat,” Jason agrees.
“Language!” Mom snaps.
“Troy said it first,” Jason argues, pointing toward his laughing older brother.
“Troy is a grown man. He’s twenty-eight. You’re seventeen and still living under my roof.”
This is so embarrassing, and exactly what I was afraid of. Alex must sense my tension because he leans closer and gently bumps his shoulder against mine, getting my attention.
“Relax,” he whispers.
“Okay, okay, we’ve embarrassed the girl enough. Let’s get settled and allow these two to relax after their drive. The boys and I were just about to set up the eggnog luge anyway. You like eggnog, son?”
“Dad, no. Alex is—”
“I do like eggnog,” Alex answers, smiling at me. “I’m happy to help if you need it, sir.”
“An extra pair of hands is always welcome.” Dad grabs Alex’s shoulder and leads him behind my brothers through the house to the garage.
I groan once he disappears from sight. “Oh god.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Let’s have some coffee. Grace, come on.”
We follow my mom into the kitchen, where she pours each of us a cup of coffee and sets us up to peel potatoes. The turkey and ham are already in the oven.
“You want to talk about what happened with Tim?”
I shrug. “Not really. The relationship wasn’t right for me, and it ran its course. We ended things weeks ago.”
“And Alex?” Mom asks, not looking up from the potato in her hand.
“What about him? He’s just a friend.”
She stops peeling and gives me the mom look. “That’s not how a friend looks at someone, Sadie. Am I right, Grace?” Grace just laughs and shrugs, shaking her head to indicate she doesn’t want to get in the middle ofthisconversation.
“What are you talking about? We just got here, and you literally just met him.”
“I know that look, there’s something there.”
I shake my head, not wanting to indulge in that kind of wishful thinking at the moment. Suddenly, several yelling voices erupt from the garage, making me drop the potato I was peeling. I walk to the door that leads from the kitchen to the garage, flinging it open just in time to see Alex standing up, his arms raised overhead, with eggnog running down his chin.