Owen barked out a laugh. "As if. I'm not enabling your bad decisions. That’s what we did for years with Mom and Dad."
The bartender brought him another drink, and he drained half of it then said, "Do you know when you were a baby, they never once came to comfort you when you cried? Belle was the one who did it. Or I did since I had to share a room with you. Mom and Dad were oblivious, of course, or they just didn't care. Mom's friends would always remark on how well rested and fresh faced she looked, all while her elementary-aged kids were picking up her slack."
"I'm not asking you to pick up slack," I said.
"Yes, you are," Owen said. "You need to man up."
I glowered at my drink then downed it and signaled for another one. It was turning out to be yet another terrible Christmas.
"Did I tell you I saw Mom?" I asked him, hoping to break some of the tension between us.
"Really?"
"She just randomly saw me in the street," I said.
"Let me guess, she wants grandchildren," Owen said.
I looked at my older brother in surprise.
"She told me all about it when I saw her and Dad," he explained.
"Why would you see them?" I asked.
"It was against my better judgment," Owen said sourly. "They said they wanted to make amends. I think Mom is baby crazy. She had the blueprint for the perfect life, and now her oldest kids are at the age when her spreadsheet is telling her it's time for grandchildren, so grandchildren there must be."
I scowled, and Owen looked at me seriously. "Mom said you were buying lingerie for Hartleigh. Are you seriously together with her?"
"Never!" I said. "I'm shocked you would even think that!"
"That’s a relief," Owen said. "Dad went on and on about how Hartleigh and you were going to be a perfect couple and their friends' daughter and their son were going to have babies. Somewhere in the word vomit, I heard Mom say you were going to move back home with Hartleigh."
"Absolutely not!" I couldn't believe my mother. No wonder Hartleigh was after me—my mother was stirring up the pot of crazy in her head.
"Then who were you buying the lingerie for?"
"I…" I snapped my mouth shut. Owen smirked at me.
"Jack," he said, "you deserve to be happy, but do me a favor and make sure this girl isn’t anything like Mom."
35
Chloe
Iwas so hot after all the baking and from Jack's comment about eating something other than my cookies that I needed some air. Eddie wasn't in the lobby; he had probably gone to buy alcohol. I hoped he wasn’t in a ditch somewhere. I looked around cautiously but didn't see any Santas waiting outside.
A few blocks away, there was a pop-up Christmas market, and I wanted to take some photos. The booths had cute decorations, and several sellers displayed gorgeous Christmas ornaments.
"I really don't have the money for this," I muttered as I looked longingly at the ornaments.
"It's buy one get one," the woman at the stall said. "These will add Christmas cheer to your home!"
"I don't really have a home," I said, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I was thinking of buying one for a male friend."
The seller winked at me. "Maybe these will bring you a Christmas engagement ring."
I laughed but handed over my credit card anyway. It was a good deal, and they would add some much-needed Christmas cheer to Jack’s penthouse. I had just given Cody five dollars; surely I could buy something for Jack.
As I meandered through the market, trying not to feel guilty for spending money I didn't have, a Santa approached me. I thought it was Eddie for a second. But as the Santa came closer, I saw that he was much too tall to be Eddie or my cousin Cody. The Santa stopped right in front of me. I didn't even think it was the stalker Santa from the mall. Why was I attracting so many men dressed up as Santa Claus?
