Today Alexis comes home.
We spend the morning in a strange limbo—making breakfast, shoveling the driveway, well, Joel shovels while I make snowballs and occasionally throw them at him, trying to act normal while we're both waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Joel's phone buzzes in the fternoon. "She landed. Should be here around six."
My stomach drops. "Okay. Okay. We can do this."
"Nina." Joel pulls me into his arms. "Whatever happens, we're going to be okay. You and me—we're solid."
"I love you," I say against his chest.
"I love you too, baby."
We hear Alexis's car pull into the driveway.
Joel and I are sitting on the couch, holding hands like we're about to face a firing squad. We decided earlier that we'd tell her right away—no pretending, no avoiding it. Just honest and direct.
The front door opens and Alexis comes in, dragging her suitcase behind her. "Oh my God, you guys, LAX was an absolute nightmare—" She stops, taking in the scene. Joel and me sitting very close on the couch, holding hands. "Uh, hi?"
"Hey, Lex." My voice comes out steadier than I expected. "How was your flight?"
"Long." She's staring at our joined hands, confusion clear on her face. "What's going on? You guys look weird."
Joel clears his throat. "Alexis, come sit down. We need to talk to you about something."
"Oh God, is someone dying?" She drops her suitcase and hurries over, sitting in the chair across from us. "Dad, are you sick? Nina, are you—"
"No one's dying," I say quickly. "Everyone's healthy. It's just... we need to tell you something and it's going to be kind of a lot."
Alexis looks between us, and I can see the moment it clicks. Her eyes widen, dropping to our still-joined hands, then back to our faces.
"Oh," she says faintly. "Oh? Oh!"
Joel squeezes my hand and jumps in. "Nina and I have developed feelings for each other. These past few days, snowed in together, we—" He pauses, and I can see him choosing his words carefully. "We realized we care about each other. Romantically. And we wanted to tell you directly, together,because you matter to both of us and we don't want to hide this from you."
Alexis is just staring at us, her mouth slightly open.
"Say something," I finally beg. "Please. Even if you're angry, just—"
"My dad?" Her voice cracks slightly. "Nina, you're dating my DAD?"
"I know how it sounds."
"You're twenty-five! He's—" She looks at Joel. "You're forty-eight!"
"I'm aware," Joel says calmly. "And we know this is probably shocking."
"Shocking?" Alexis laughs, but it sounds slightly hysterical. "My best friend and my father—I mean—how long has this been happening?"
"Since Christmas Eve," I tell her. "But Lex, I've had feelings for him for a long time. Years. I never said anything because you're my best friend and I never wanted to put you in this position, but—"
"Years?" She's looking at me like she doesn't know me. "You've had feelings for my dad for YEARS and you never told me?"
"I couldn't." My eyes are burning but I force myself to hold her gaze. "You're the most important person in my life. I didn't want to make things weird between us. But I also couldn't help how I felt."
Alexis turns to Joel. "And you? How long have you—"
"Since the first time Nina came here for Thanksgiving," he admits. "I tried to ignore it. Tried to keep my distance. But Nina is—" His voice softens. "She's extraordinary. And these past two days, getting to know her without the walls I'd built up—I fell in love with her."
