Page 19 of The Christmas Cookie Crush

Grinning, I shoo her out of the way of my closet. “I’m not too cool for the Christmas sweater tradition. I just …” I shrug, biting my lip. “I thought I’d change it up a little this year. Besides, this sweater looks good on me.”

Sarah gives me an assessing look. “There’s a boy, isn’t there?”

I scoff.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Aman, is that better? But please don’t tell me he’s like forty or something.” She makes gagging sounds.“I mean, I know it’s Arcadian Falls and dating options aren’t exactly abundant, but don’t go for some skeevy asshole twice your age.”

I pull the first Christmas sweater I can find off the shelf in my closet and hold it up. It’s a Fair Isle design that I actually think is pretty. Plus it’s on theme. It doesn’t hug my curves quite as nicely as my white cabled sweater, but it’ll do.

Peeling off the white sweater, I toss it at Sarah. “Number one, I never said there was a boyora man, thank you. And number two, if there were”—I pause long enough to get the sweater over my head and hold up a finger at my sister—“and I’m not saying there is, but if therewerea guy, he definitely wouldn’t be a skeevy asshole twice my age.”

“That’s a relief,” Sarah mutters.

“If he’s going to be twice my age,” I continue, fixing my hair and checking my makeup in the mirror over my dresser, “he’ll be a rich, sophisticated, silver fox.”

With that, I turn for the door, leaving Sarah gaping after me, my stained sweater dangling from her fingers. “Wait, what? Nora?Nora!”

But I just wiggle my fingers in a wave. “Gotta go finish helping set up. Better hurry if you’re going to deal with the stain. Or leave it on my bed, and I’ll get to it later.”

Her growl of frustration as she follows me out of my room makes me laugh.

But when I return to the living room, everything’s already set up. Dad has Christmas music playing over the sound system, and my parents and siblings—minus Sarah—and their partners are allchatting. Dad’s dancing with Sophie and Mom’s taking a video of it, clearly besotted with both of them.

As much as my siblings and I might bicker and tease each other, I love it when we’re all together like this. And adding Shane and Sophie, Olivia, and Lydia has only made our family better. Happier. They fit in and add to everything.

“Oh, I like that sweater,” Lydia says as she slides up next to me. “Here, I got you some punch. You looked like you were getting warm from moving everything around before.”

“Thanks,” I tell her, accepting the red paper cup. I look down at my sweater. “This is one of my favorite Christmas sweaters. It’s on theme andisn’tugly, even if it doesn’t look as good on me as the white one.”

She looks me over and shrugs. “I think you look great in both of them. We got in so late last night, and today’s been so busy, I feel like we haven’t had any time to catch up! And I feel like we’ve barely texted since Halloween! How was your last semester? How are things here? How’s ChristmasFest this year? I told Dylan we have to go tomorrow. He grumbled, but I’m gonna drag him along anyway. I think it’ll be good for him.”

Laughing, I shake my head. “You definitely should. And if he gets too grumpy, send him home and come hang with me. I’ll wander with you on my break. Or we can go together when I have a day off. I should have Sunday off, assuming no one calls in sick again.” I hold up my crossed fingers.

“Why not both?” Lydia says, shrugging dramatically.

Soon, the house is filling with people, and Lydia and I are interrupted by other guests and well-wishers wanting to catch up with both of us.

I’m so caught up in all the festivities that I completely forget any lingering nerves from before the party started.

Until the door opens, and he’s here. Austin Stanton, in the flesh.

We lock eyes for a beat, but I quickly look away, pushing the corners of my mouth back into the smile that slipped when I saw him and refocusing on my conversation with Shane and Sarah’s neighbors, Hal and Georgia, who are the sweetest older couple I’ve ever met. They even give Dale and Diane, Austin’s grandparents, a run for their money.

And anyway, Dylan’s here. Austin was specifically invited because Mom thought he and Dylan would want to catch up. Him being here has nothing to do with me at all. So I don’t need to notice or care about where he is, who he’s talking to, or what’s in the white bakery box he’s carrying.

But when Georgia says, “Oh, well then,” in a delighted tone and Hal’s eyes look past my shoulder, I know he’s got to be right behind me. I can practically feel his presence.

Turning slowly, I find him standing there holding up the bakery box.

“This is for you.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Austin

I hold my breath.Nora looks at me, looks at the box I’m offering, then looks at me again like she’s not sure what to do.

Suddenly it hits me that she probably thinks I stuffed the box full of Warheads or licorice or both. Or somehow made some kind of cake or something with both candies worked in.

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