“He’s not used to you yet,” Luna says. “Give it a few days.”
“Okay, heartbreaker.”
“Come help me unpack?” she asks. “My hands are so full.”
I glance at Gavin, who’s waiting at the top of the stairs. Things are already different. That didn’t take long. He smiles, heading down the stairs, which feels like a dismissal, in a way. This is going to take some major recalibration. I’ve passed the last few days spending every moment with that man, not needing to worry about anyone’s schedule but our own and what we’d like to do.
Now my sister is here, his cousin is here, and things are going to be different. Gavin’s in the same house as me, but I miss him. It makes no sense.
Snap out of it, Callie.This man is an acquaintance. I don’t even have his phone number. We’re so distant, he’ll forget the sound of my voice before my plane lands in California.
Except I can still feel the energy that pulsated between uswhen we were talking about stockings earlier. Smell his earthy warm scent. Feel his arms around me, my back against his chest.
I let out a breath and follow Luna across the hallway to the room she’s staying in, where Rhys is kneeling on the floor putting together a portable crib for Oliver. I need to talk to her about the whole fake-girlfriend thing so she doesn’t get the wrong idea if she ever catches wind of it.
“Close the door, Cal?” she asks. “I want to put Oliver down, and I’m afraid he’s going to run for the stairs.”
I shut it while Luna drops on the end of the bed and puts her son on the floor. He immediately runs toward the short bookcase in the corner of the room and pulls out children’s books.Elephant and Piggiestories, by the look of them.
“Okay, tell me everything.”
I look up sharply. Luna is watching me with a greed I’ve never before seen on my sister’s face. But what the mistletoe is she wanting from me? She has no idea I need to talk about the party. Is my face giving me away? Can my sister see through my façade and discern the weird feelings I’m battling? “There’s nothing to tell.”
“That’s not true. You were so upset when you found out we couldn’t make it straight away, then yesterday I didn’t hear from youonce.What did you call Gavin that first morning? Toxic and self-absorbed, right?”
Had I really said that? It couldn’t be further from the truth. “I was having a bad morning.”
“See!” She points right at me. “You’resointo him.”
“Leave it, Lu,” Rhys says, his attention on fitting two metal poles together. “You’ve done enough, haven’t you?”
Her eyes whip toward her husband, widening in a secret spousal message.
The thing is, as her sister, I know a little of the language too.My hand finds my hip, and my gaze narrows in on her. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“I know you didn’t have the roads closed, because that would be insane and you can’t control the weather. But you did something. What was it?”
She casts me a stubborn smile. “Rhys exaggerates.”
“We both know that isn’t true,” I counter.
She rolls her eyes. “It’s all in the past, okay? The good thing is that we’re here now, Mom and Dad will be here soon, and we’ll all be making fudge and caramels and singing carols before you know it.”
The picture she paints is a cozy holiday full of traditions in a warm household where no one ever forgot important things like stockings. My gut tugs uncomfortably, considering the difference in my upbringing and Gavin’s. Will having my entire family in his house be difficult for him? Or will it be a nice change of pace? Give him a taste of something different?
He isn’t six anymore, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t appreciate a good Christmas.
A strange protectiveness slides over me. Maybe waiting to talk to her for a bit longer wouldn’t be the end of the world. If I tell her about the party and the fake girlfriend situation, I’ll have to give her some background, and I don’t really feel like sharing Gavin’s past. I trust my sister more than anyone, but it feels disloyal to Gavin somehow. Just like I haven’t posted the picture we took together yet. I can’t quite identify why I hesitated.
Luna slides to the floor to begin a yoga routine. “I’ve been working on our movie list so we don’t forget anything.”
I welcome the change in conversation with open arms. “I might have already watchedWhite Christmas.”
She bends forward, exhaling. “I forgive you, and we can watch it again.”
Yep. Predicted that. “Can I take Oliver downstairs? I’m going to see if Gavin needs any help.”
