Page 55 of 12 Days of Mistletoe

“Oh.” I hadn’t thought about any of that, seeing how I am currently lying to my entire family. “You think Autumn will tell her?”

“No doubt. There’s a chance she has texted her while simultaneously talking to your mother.”

“For real?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her. She and Meg might be linked psychically.”

“Your sister lives in Hawaii?”

Bonnie nods, worry still etched across her face.

“Then tell her the truth. She’s not going to give us away. Gran and Bill know. Why not Meg?” I shrug. Gran can’t argue with that. And if it’s causing Bonnie this much stress, she should just tell her.

The wrinkles around her eyes soften. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’ll be okay.” Instinct has me leaning down, and without thought of fake or pretend, I press my lips to her cheek and breathe in that Bonnie raspberry sweetness.

“Is your family watching?” she whispers, holding my hand close to her body.

“I’m not sure,” I flick my gaze up to my siblingsand parents.

“May said you had to kiss me in front of someone or it didn’t count.”

Is Bonnie asking me to kiss her? Or is she reminding me that we have an assignment due? Gran did indeed say that. But I’m still trying to decide which column this request goes in.

“Um—”

“Come on, you two. We have a tree to find,” Mom calls, interrupting my thoughts and making me hyperaware of our audience.

Autumn walks us through rows and rows of pine trees—scotch pine, white spruce, sugar pine. So many kinds of trees. Noel walks on one side of Bonnie and I walk on the other—we make up a Bonnie sandwich. I keep a hold of Bonnie’s hand in mine. I do so for three reasons: it’s cold (and I feel like I can, in some small way, keep her warm like this), it’s part of our deal with Gran, and I think it might help her when she’s nervous. That’s it. There are no selfish motives involved. At all.

And then, I hear Bill White’s voice in my head—nope,of course there are selfish motives involved.

My family walks ahead of us, not seeing any of my non-selfish hand-holding when Bonnie pulls me to a stop. “How are we going to do this?”

“Do what?” My brain is on the simple, small act of my hand in hers, and I’ve forgotten everything else.

“Kiss. In front of your family. You know?” She rolls her shoulders and her cold, rosy cheeks somehow grow pinker.

“Oh.” My brows pinch. “Um, naturally? I don’t know.”

“There’s nothing natural about this setup,” she says.

She’s right. And yet, her kisses feel real.

She blows a puff of air out, leaving a chilly trail of smokewafting in the air. “Next time we’re in the middle of your family, just lay one on me.”

“Lay one on you?” I start to sweat despite the chilled air. I stare down at her.

“Yeah.”

“That isn’t something I would do. I think it would feel forced to us and them.”

Bonnie rolls her head back and strawberry-blonde falls down her back. “Ughhh. We need May here to tell us what to do. She’s our trainer.”

I laugh. Can she hear herself?

“Shut up,” she says, but she’s smiling. I think she’s holding back laughter too.

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