She stayed and tucked her fingers around his while pointedly ignoring their mothers, who exchanged a whole new set of looks with one another.
“I wasn’t the girl who had to trap boys under the mistletoe.” Lauren flipped her hair over her shoulder. “They all came quite willingly. Thank you very much.”
Her eyes met Jacob’s smoldering ones, and she almost broke into flame.
Collin turned his owl eyes on his dad. “Did you ever follow a girl under there?” He pointed to the mistletoe that hung over the entryway to the dining room.
Ethan lifted his chin. “A couple of times–yeah.” He pointed to Collin’s plate. “Now eat your ham, so we can have eggnog.”
Collin nodded and shoveled the whole piece of ham into his mouth.
The conversation turned to the cruise, and they were soon talking about all the places they’d like to be, the beaches they’d like to build sandcastles on, and the fruity drinks they’d try.
Mrs. Morris went home to get freshened up for the sing-along.
“I’ll stay and help with dishes,” Jacob offered.
“I won’t turn you down.” Mom looked at the clock and clicked her tongue. “I need to check my hair.”
Dad rubbed his stomach. “I could use a power nap myself.”
Ethan pointed to Collin. “I should keep him out of your way.”
Lauren glared over the meat platter in her hands as the crew made themselves scarce. “Don’t worry. I’ll wash dishes.”
“Best Christmas present ever.” Mom kissed her cheek before running off to her room. Dad ambled behind, and Ethan and Collin went to watch a movie in the front room.
Hyper-aware of Jacob and his broad shoulders and the way his hand had felt around hers, Lauren dashed off to the kitchen. She enjoyed every minute of being close to him, but there was this part of her that was afraid to let go.
What if…? What if she did and he…? She couldn’t even think of the words. All she could remember was the way her heart had shattered when she told him she loved him and he’d laughed at her.
The grown-up version of her knew that it’d all been a miscommunication, but that didn’t erase the feelings she’d had that day.
The closer she got to loving him, the closer she got to the memory of that rejection. Strange that the two of them were wrapped together as if they were a package deal. There must be some way to pull them apart.
She set the platter on the counter and plugged the sink so she could fill it with sudsy water. “You can set those there.” She nodded to a spot, and Jacob set the dishes down. He paused to scrape each one and then stack them carefully before going back for another load.
They worked in silence for a while. It wasn’t unusual for them to not talk. When they were kids, they would do homework for hours without speaking–it was enough just to be in the same space. That feeling came back, the one where she was more comfortable with him around than she was without him. Like she could just be herself–no pressure and no expectations.
When they finished clearing the table and putting away the leftovers, Lauren plunged her hands into the water and started scrubbing while Jacob loaded the dishwasher. “Excuse me.” He put his hand on her hip to scoot her over so he could get a new garbage bag from under the sink. His hand lingered and time slowed down even more than it already had by repeating every day.
She barely moved, and he didn’t open the cupboard.
He searched her eyes, and she hoped her feelings, the things she couldn’t put into words yet, were easy to read. “Thank you for including us tonight. I think this is Mom’s best Christmas yet.”
Lauren glanced down, breaking the spell enough that she could talk. “You’re welcome. As you said, it was long overdue.”
“I don’t know if I used the word: long.” He shook out the garbage bag and put it in the receptacle.
Lauren rolled her eyes.
“What about you? What would you want to do on Christmas if there were no consequences?” he asked.
“What do you mean, no consequences?” She instantly thought of how horrible she’d felt after humiliating Foster in front of the whole town. “There are always consequences.”
He twisted his lips, thinking. The movement was so familiar it took her breath away.
“Okay, let’s say you could eat a hundred pounds of chocolate and not gain an ounce,” he offered for an example.
