“I’m happy to get you as much fruitcake as you want, Amanda,” Rob calls. “I’ll even ship to—to wherever you are.”
Dane and I both look at him.
Have we done it?
Have we convinced him to give up the feuding too?
“I won’t make the same offer to your grandmother until she apologizes for telling me that the raisins Dad painted on our shop a few years ago looked like turds, but you’re not your grandmother. You make my nephew happy. So I—I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better.”
“And this is why I don’t give two shits if that ring never shows up again,” Dane murmurs to me while he squeezes my hand tighter.
“Does this mean I can call you Uncle Rob?” I call back across the street.
Rob flinches.
Then squeezes his eyes shut.
I can almost hear him sigh too.
“You know what? Sure. And not because it would piss off your grandmother. Just because if it would make you happy, and you’re marrying my nephew, why not?”
“Aww, thank you! I promise I’ll send good Christmas presents. My relatives get only the best.”
Shut. Up. Amanda.
That could make it worse.
Dane snorts quietly beside me, and when I glance up at him, he’s repressing a smile.
But he can’t hide the amusement in his eyes. “Very nicely done,” he murmurs.
“See you soon, Uncle Rob,” I call across the street with a wave. “I’m glad we don’t have to uninvite you from the wedding.”
Yep, that’s me, still not listening to my orders to myself to shut up.
“Don’t make that face,” Dane calls to him. “She’s funny. The sooner you appreciate that, the happier you’ll be.”
Quieter, to me, he says, “Wave goodbye and let’s leave well enough alone now.”
I blow Uncle Rob a kiss. “Toodles!”
“I fucking adore you,” Dane says.
Oh, my heart.
For all that it’s prancing happily in a field of sunflowers while swooning over this man today, it will hurt like hell tomorrow.
But that’s why I have today.
Right now.
This moment where Dane’s smiling while he opens the door of the Gingerbread House for me, the familiarHo ho ho!announcing our arrival.
Mom’s behind the counter, checking out some customers. “Did you find it?” she asks.
“Not the ring, no,” Dane says.
“I need to look in the kitchen again,” I tell her.
