“Do you need help with anything?” I ask.
“Not yet.” Maggie motions to a cozy window seat. “Relax for a minute. I’ll be right back.”
As I sit, I search for John, but he doesn’t seem to be in the kitchen any longer. There are multiple entrances, so maybe he went out a different way when I came in with Maggie. Yet I’m surprisingly not uncomfortable being surrounded by strangers.
Maggie returns and hands me a steaming mug with a candy cane sticking out and topped with a tower of whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. “These hot cocoas are a tradition around here on Christmas.”
The chocolatey-peppermint aroma makes my mouth water. “It looks and smells delicious.”
“Drink up. It’ll chase away the chill from standing at the front door,” she says with a grandmotherly smile.
I take a sip, and I nearly sigh with pleasure. “This is the best hot cocoa I’ve ever tasted.”
“Thank you, dear.” Maggie touches my arm. “It’s one of Johnny’s favorites. Now, tell me. Are you hungry?”
“The hot chocolate is fine. For now,” I say.
“Just let me know if your stomach gets a grumbling. We have more food than we can eat.”
The cousin who was chopping veggies now holds icing tubes. “I’m Lizzy, in case you forgot. Do you want to help me decorate the gingerbread cookies after you finish your hot chocolate?”
“I’d love to, but I don’t want to mess up if this is a family tradition.”
“Nonsense.” George is in the kitchen checking on the turkey, which my dad never helps cook. “You’re family now. Show us how it’s done.”
I finish my drink, wanting another one, but then I’d have to wait to decorate cookies. I join Lizzy at the counter where she’s set out the icing and small bowls full of candy pieces. Various shapes of gingerbread are on cooling racks.
An older gentleman comes up to me. “I’m John’s great-uncle Ross. Not to be confused with his great-uncle Rusty, because we’re identical twins. Fair warning. If your gingerbread men come out good, you’ll be on decorating duty for life.”
“Looks like I’ll have to make a few mistakes so I have options in the future,” I joke, feeling more at ease by the minute.
He laughs. “You fit right in.”
I’m speechless.
The reason?
I’ve wanted someone to say that to me…forever. I never expected the words to come from a person I’d just met, when I’ve done nothing to earn the acceptance.
Warmth flows through me, and the feeling has nothing to do with the cocoa I just finished. Maybe feeling giddy comes with being at this house, or it’s a Christmas miracle. Whatever the reason, a lightness I never expected flows through me. The knot I’ve had in my stomach for days is all but gone.
John catches my eye from across the room, where he’s helping his aunt Theo with what looks to be a heavy baking sheet, and smiles at me. My heart does a backflip.
“So, Abby.” Maggie settles next to me at the counter with a cup of tea. “Tell me how you and Johnny met.”
I squirt too much red icing on the reindeer’s nose I’m decorating. This cookie will not be earning me a permanentspot on the cookie decorating squad, but what should I tell his grandmother about us? Saying I’m just faking it with her Johnny but I hope it turns real by the time he drives me home won’t cut it. “Oh, um, well…”
“We work together,” John finishes for me before I embarrass myself more with my lack of eloquence. He walks toward us with quick steps. “Abby is the top financial consultant at the office. She goes above and beyond with the clients. We’d be lost without her.”
The affection in his voice makes me blush yet again. Is he playing the role of my fake boyfriend, or does he really mean that? I hope I can get the nerve up to ask him when we’re alone. Though that doesn’t seem likely soon. Everyone is pitching in to help with the food.
Maggie beams. “That’s wonderful. I had a feeling the new position would be good for him. How long have you two been dating?”
As my brain ceases to function, and I panic, John wraps an arm around my shoulders like he’s done it a million times before. “It’s new. We’ve known each other since July, but we only recently realized there’s something more here.”
My heart races. Yes, that’s our cover story. My brain is now functioning, but his words feel so achingly close to the truth it almost hurts.
“That’s so lovely, and I’m so happy you brought Abby home with you,” Maggie says. “Now, she needs to work on the gingerbread men, and I need help with the Christmas pudding.”
