CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“That’s not how it happened.” Doug walked into the dining room after clearing the last of the dishes away.
“Yes, it is!” Emme followed with a glass of wine for her mom. “That’s exactly how it happened and I was the one that got grounded for two weeks.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Mom!”
“Don’t drag me into this, sweetie. This is between you and your brother.” Her mom shook her head and sipped her wine.
Jordan dropped his arm over the back of her chair. “Admit it, Emme Lou Who, you were the one who broke the window.”
Emme gasped. “Don’t you start, Jingle Balls! You were just as much to blame!” She tried to scoot her chair away from him while sitting, annoyed that he and her brother were still trying to pin the broken front window on her after all these years, but he grabbed the bottom and wouldn’t let her move.
“What’s with the nicknames?” Gilly asked.
Doug kissed her temple. “Emme’s full name is Emmaline Louise. I don’t remember when we started calling her Emme Lou, but it morphed at some point to Emme Lou Who. I think one year around Christmas after we watchedHow the Grinch Stole Christmas?” He looked at Emme for confirmation.
She stuck her tongue out at him, causing Gilly to grin.
“What about Jingle Balls?” Gilly asked. “Is that from the same thing?”
“I don’t remember,” Doug said. “How did that start?”
Emme smirked when Jordan groaned and edged away from her. “Do you remember that really annoying kids’ song,John JacobJingleheimer Schmidt?”
“Kind of,” Gilly said.
Emme propped her arms on the table. “Well, Jordan’s middle name is Jacob.” She tilted her head to the side. “Didn’t you spend an entire year trying to convince everyone to call you J.J.?”
She looked back at Gilly. “Anyway, I got annoyed when he called me Emme Lou Who one time and changed the song to Jordan Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.” She glared at Jordan. “And yes, it was around Christmas because that’s when I started calling you Jordan Jacob Jingle Balls. I don’t remember why I shortened it to Jingle Balls, though.”
Jordan sighed and leaned his head back in the chair. “Because you went around singing jingle balls instead of jingle bells the entire Christmas break.”
She laughed. “That’s right, now I remember.” Her body leaned toward Jordan, wanting to share the physical connection of their happiness, but she jerked away at the last minute. His thumb brushed across the top of her shoulder. The look in his eye soft and it made her want to curl into him even more. This was their last night together and they had to pretend they weren’t together. Even if her parents knew, she wasn’t comfortable enough with the idea of them knowing to lean against him the way she wanted.
“Are you named after your dad?” he asked.
“Kind of,” her mom said.
“She was supposed to be named Emerald,” her dad grumbled.
Jordan’s eyes rose almost to his hairline and he pressed his lips together. She could tell he wanted to say something, but was holding back.
Gilly had no such problem. “Wow! How’d you manage to dodge that bullet?”
“Emmard was gone when I went into labor,” Lori explained.
“Snuck it on the damn birth certificate. I called her my little Emerald for nearly six months before anyone told me the truth.” Her dad had the look of a man suffering the greatest indignity of his life.
“I like Emmaline,” Gilly said.
Emme winked at her. “Thanks.”
“Didn’t matter after a while anyway since Doug couldn’t say Emmaline and everyone shortened it,” her dad said.
Gilly scrunched up her face and pressed a hand against the slight swell of her belly.
