I follow.
“What’s up, Mom?”
“They bought these cookies at Jewel.” The statement is cold.
“Okay.” Tate’s head falls slightly to the side.
“They didn’t even make them.”
“I don’t see the problem.”
“They’re store-bought.”
“People tend to do that around the holidays. They’re one of the only things they didn’t make.”
I like how Tate defends my family. Not that I thought she wouldn’t; in many ways, they’re her family, too.
“Tate and I picked them up yesterday. My moms were worried we wouldn’t have enough desserts, so we grabbed some cookies and ice cream. But there are six homemade pies, two pumpkin cakes, and two cheesecakes.”
“Hm.” She gives a soft smile and then walks over to where her husband is.
“Hm?” I eye Tate.
“Welcome to my world.”
“I don’t know how you survived.”
“I wouldn’t have if I didn’t have your family. You guys kept me sane.”
“We kept you sane?” My eyes widen. “Nobody has ever said that.”
“Most of the people in your life come from a normal family, so to them, your family is insane. I’d take overbearing love over distant parenting any day.”
“Fair.”
She squeezes my shoulder and then joins Naomi and Stella across the kitchen.
Stella’s eyes meet mine, and she wiggles her eyebrows.
I flip her off and then head to the fridge and grab a drink.
If I have four more hours with Mrs. Lewis, I know I’m going to need it.
You look nice.” Stella leans against the door frame of my door. “What are you and Tate getting up to tonight?”
“Nothing, actually. We were supposed to get together with a girl we went to high school with, but she called a couple of hours ago and said she wasn’t feeling great.”
“She did, did she?” She crosses her arms, her eyes narrowing at me.
“What did I do wrong now?”
“Did you think that maybe she was worried she’d feel like a third wheel?”
“Why? It’s not like Casey and I are dating.”
“Wait, Casey Hill?”
My face twists.
