Page 90 of Christmas Criminal

I sigh. "Don't make fun of me for it."

She throws her hands out in front of her. "Okay. I promise I won't make fun of you for confessing to me that you're in love with the exceptionally hot Clark Kent-wannabe Snow Falls High Schoolmath teacher."

My nose twitches.

She raises her eyebrows. "That's what you were going to tell me, right?"

I make a face at her. "Maybe not in those exact words. And I mean, I don't know aboutlove."

She rolls her eyes, waving me off. "Oh, stop. I've never seen you stare at someone all goony-eyed like that. And the last timeIgot you to participate in anything arguably Christmas-related, I had to buy our groceries for a month."

"In my defense, you made me dress uplike the Grinch I was. I deserved free groceries for a month."

She grins. "That picture of you is one I will cherish until my dying day."

"And I can't wait for that day so I can finally delete it off your phone."

She leans back into the couch, searching for her coffee mug on the end table, and brings it to her lips for a quick sip now that she's sure I'm not going to do my best disappearing act. "So?"

I bite my lip.

"You're in love with him?"

I lean back into the couch. "Ican'tbe in love with him. It's too soon." I rub my hand over the spot in my chest that hurts, thinking about the time we could be spending together but instead I'm here, without him. "But I'm literallyachingfor him."

Her face breaks. "Aw, Noelle. The tin woman found a heart."

I reach over and knock her arm. "This is why I don't talk to you about things!"

She takes the opportunity to wrap me in a big, one-armed hug, holding her coffee mug carefully out of spilling distance. "I'm so happy for you. You deserve a big love."

I shake my head. "Again, I don't know if I'd call itlove. I just... I like who he is. Like, this kind of quiet guy who's nice to everybody but he doesn't hesitate to clap back at Dad–even if Dad didn't realize it. I feel like I have somebody who's truly in my corner. Who... I don't know, maybe makes it worth going back to Snow Falls every once in a while."

She nods. "I mean, I won't take it as a slight thatIwon't be worth visiting in Snow Falls–"

"Christina! You know what I mean. Of course I'd visit for you."

She lets out a long breath as she takes another sip of coffee. Her voice is serious when she speaks again. "Honestly, Noelle, maybe it's time you give up the angry teenager act."

I blink, my heart dropping. "My... what?"

She shrugs. "It's like yourthing. You hate Snow Falls because you had a bad experience in high school. You hate Dad because he had a second family. I'm not saying that either of those things aren’t worth being upset over. They are. But Noelle, it's been almost ten years. Don't you think somebody like Nick is worth… I don't know… finding a way to get over it? By any means?"

I swallow. My sister and I mostly joke with each other–she's my best friend–but on the rare occasion she decides to deal me some truth, I know it's at least worth listening to. "How do I just... get over it?"

"That, I don't know. But Noelle, I've never seen you this happy. And sure, it boggles my mind that you’ve found happiness in Snow Falls. But don't you think maybe everything that you've been through put you in exactly the right place for something good?"

"You mean, if I didn’t get bullied in high school and move here with you, and if Dad wasn’t a dickhead deserving of a good egging, I never would have met Nick?"

She shrugs, a grin overtaking her face. "It's like a little Christmas miracle!"

I shake my head, pointing at her. "No. No Christmas miracles here."

"Come on, Noelle. Your name means Christmas. And he's Saint Nick! Don't you think it's a match made in heaven?" She starts laughing. "Wait, no! He's Father Christmas! Does he like it when you call him daddy?"

"Oh my god, Christina," I say, standing from the couch. "You are such a problem!"

She grins. "Sit down and tell me about the sex. This cast had seriously been a cock block so I need to hear it from you. All gory details included."

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