The corner of his mouth lifts in a small smile, despite everything going on around us. “Hey.”
Maddie throws her arms wide toward the door like Vanna White. “Okay! Inside! Story time! Everyone wants to know how long you two have been sneaking around.”
“I don’t—” I start.
“Yes,” Marla says at the exact same time, cheeks pink, eyes bright. “Yes, let’s go in. I want to hear that too.”
And just like that, instead of caroling, the entire Bristol clan plus the neighborhood audience turns around and files back into the house, still in their boots and coats, like we’ve just announced a surprise episode of their favorite show.
And Cole and me? We have to follow them in and tell them everything.
If there’s a hell reserved for people who make out on porches, I’m pretty sure this is it.
Because right now, Cole and I are standing in the middle of the Bristol living room, me clutching a mug of hot chocolate I don’t remember accepting, Cole grim-faced beside me, and every single person from the porch debacle is crammed inside, still in their coats, like we’re about to host a press conference.
The fire crackles. Bing Crosby hums softly from the speaker. A couple of kids are sitting cross-legged on the rug like it’s story hour. And Maddie? Maddie has perched herself on the arm of the sofa with her hands clasped in mock reverence. “Alright,” she says. “Spill it.”
Cole pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Marla is smiling in that warm, too-sweet way that’s somehow worse than if she were angry. “Sweetheart, no one’s mad,” she assures. “We just… want to understand how this happened. You two have known each other since you were kids.”
Exactly. Which is why this is mortifying.
Cole’s jaw flexes. “Mom, maybe not everyone?—”
But it’s too late. The neighbors are fully invested. Reindeer Beanie is sipping mulled wine like she’s watching a live soap opera. Mr. Bristol has given up trying to herd people out and is now standing by the fireplace, shaking his head in amused resignation.
“I’m not telling this in front of the neighborhood,” Cole mutters.
“Then you’d better start,” Maddie says, wiggling her eyebrows, “before they start making stuff up.”
Laughter ripples through the room. I bury my face in my mug and mutter, “We weren’t exactly trying to hide it, just… not broadcast it.”
“Oh, please,” Maddie says. “You absolutely were trying to hide it.”
Cole gives her a look that could melt snow. “You done?”
She grins. “Not even close.”
Marla gestures gently between us. “Start from the beginning. When did this turn into… whatever this is?”
I meet Cole’s eyes, silently pleading,Help me out here.
He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “When Hailey moved to Denver obviously.”
I nod, voice small. “He helped me move in. Maddie left that Monday and my couch was heavier than it looked.”
“Oh, I bet it was,” Maddie murmurs under her breath.
“Mads,” her father warns, but he’s clearly fighting a smile.
Cole clears his throat. “We grabbed dinner afterward. Then… one thing led to another.”
Marla gasps softly. “Cole Bennett Bristol, did you take your sister’s best friend on a date and not tell us?”
“It wasn’t a date,” he says too quickly. “It was just dinner.”
“Uh-huh,” Maddie drawls. “And how long after ‘just dinner’ did you end up?—”
