Page 15 of The Right Kind of Wrong

“We can spend Christmas together, Nana. I can come over and spend the night here.”

“Oh, nonsense. You're young, you'll probably want to have fun with your friends. Don't worry about me.” Nana looked back at the clock on the wall, muttering something under her breath.

“What is it, Nana?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing, dear. Tell me, how is life with your sister so far?”

“She hates me.” I shrugged. “But you knew that already.”

“Pardon my language.” I rolled my eyes at her need to excuse herself, I cursed way more than she did. “Your sister hates anyone that doesn't kiss her ass.”

After a few more minutes of talking, I saw Carter pulling up to Nana's house and with it, another wave of disappointment.

We watched him step out of the car, following until he was knocking on the door. Like a scene from a movie, my grandma opened the door. “Will you be coming with us, Anne?” Carter directed the question towards Nana, eyes sparkling.

I never liked playing cupid but…

“Yes, she will be. Why don't you help her to the car, Carter?”

Both of them knowing what I was doing, they laughed, shaking their heads as I stepped foot in the Escalade. I didn't bother asking about anyone at home. It didn't matter anyway. Everyone had their lives to live, as did I, and I wasn't about to spend the last hours of my birthday being miserable.

We arrived at the house and I hopped out, Carter and Nana already sharing secrets. They followed behind me as I opened the door into the silence, turning on the light.

“Surprise!”

I gasped, looking around only to find Karla there along with friends I had attended high school with before I left. The place was decorated with balloons and stringers, and leaning against the wall was Nathan with his arms crossed over his chest, a grin on his face. I was too stunned to say anything, still staring in shock at the people in front of me.

Karla was the first to step forward and hug me.

“You bitch,” she complained. “I'm here all the way from Florida and you can't even greet me. Happy birthday, girl.”

Next came a group of friends I'd grown up with: Evan, Helen, and Jenna. I hadn't seen them or talked to them in years, so how they even remembered me was a surprise. They hugged me as if time had never passed; one of those group hugs like when we were sixteen.

“I can't believe you're all here,” I said quietly.

“You look beautiful,” Jenna, the oldest from the group said.

“We've been in contact with Nathan for a few weeks. He let us know you were coming back,” Evan said with a smile. “We're so happy you're back.”

“Thanks so much for being here.”

“Thank your brother-in-law over there.” Karla nudged me. “He bought the ticket for my flight, picked me up at the airport, and everything.”

Nathan was talking to Nana and Carter, eyes still fixed on me. I excused myself from my friends and walked over to Nathan, hugging him tightly.

“Thank you so much.”

“You deserve it.”

It was in that moment when I took a step back and looked into his eyes that I knew I was deeply crushing on my brother-in-law.

And I was pretty sure he was crushing back on me too.

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