Page 73 of Home Ice

"You spent ten minutes talking about it and telling me how much you like it. I hadn't even met the girl yet, but I could picture exactly what her hair looked like by the time you were done. Your father had to leave the call to go for snacks because it went on for so long." She pulls back and smiles at me. "You really are just as beautiful as Brant said, by the way."

My cheeks flare. "Thanks."

As soon as his mom steps away, his dad comes at me with arms out wide. "Trace isn't lying. I feel like we already know you. Come here."

The way he squeezes me feels exactly like the way Dad used to do it when I needed a reminder that he was always there for me. But now he's not. And he never will be again. The tears that have been looking for any excuse to start falling are making a full-scale assault now, but I squint my eyes closed and refuse to let them through.

"I should have warned you that everyone in my family likes to hug," Brant says. "Dad, let her breathe. You two are probably scaring her away." I wish I could sneak off to the restroom to get these tears out of my system, but I'm not scared away. Just the opposite. Is it possible to love two people thirty seconds after meeting when you've barely said a word to them?

His dad shakes his head with a look that says, don't listen to this one. "I'm Kevin. I might not be as showy as Trace, but I'm really glad our boy is finally bringing you around."

"Not as showy?" Tracy puts a hand on her hip. "Whose idea was all this damn glitter on the sign?"

"It needed something to make it pop," Kevin protests.

"And the matching outfits?"

He tosses his hands up.

"I think it's all adorable," I smile. "Thank you for doing it."

"See?" Kevin grins. "I think you're right, Brant. I think this girl is the one. Now let's all load up and head out to the farm."

My cheeks that were already heated feel like they're made of fire now.

Brant laces his fingers through mine as his dad loads our backpacks into the back of his van. "It's not really a farm," he whispers. "He just calls it that."

Oh good. Because that's the part that has my insides wobbling. It's not the talk about me being the one. Talk that Brant isn't denying.

CHAPTER 48

THE ONE?

LILY

The one?

His dad can't mean that. Or maybe it means something different in Canada. Maybe Brant didn't overhear what his dad said. I look at Brant. He's sitting beside me in the van's backseat. Chloe is on his other side. And that little brat is holding his hand. I lean forward to glare at her, trying to raise an eyebrow as I motion down to their joined hands. She just shrugs and sneers, and I'm pretty sure she would stick her tongue out at me if Tracy didn't turn around in her seat right then.

"Did Brant tell you girls about our Christmas traditions?"

"Do you still want to do that?" Brant asks. "I thought maybe you and Dad would want to just spend the time getting to know Lily and Chloe, since it's their first Christmas with us."

Before I can catch my thoughts, my heart beats just a little faster when Brant says it's our first Christmas with them, as if he expects there to be more. It's one word, I tell myself. It doesn't mean anything. One.

"What better way to get to know each other?"

Brant acts like he doesn't care, but he's clearly excited for whatever it is. "Sure, but maybe we could get takeout instead of cooking dinner? I'd kill for a Nova pizza. Please?"

"Absolutely not." His mother sounds offended that he would even suggest such a thing. I smile at this glimpse of a Brant I've never seen before. I can almost picture whining teenager Brant. "You can get pizza anytime. This is special. And I already have the turkey thawed. I can't exactly refreeze it."

"No, but you could?—"

"Absolutely not. Unless that's what Lily wants." The way she looks at me tells me she's genuinely asking my opinion, but I still can't help but feel like it's a test. So even though Brant hasn't said a word about his family's traditions, there's no way I can tell her no.

"Turkey sounds delicious to me. Sorry Brant."

His mom looks satisfied. "Then it's settled."

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