Page 32 of The Christmas Cookie Crush

Austin’s eyes widen a fraction, and he smoothly steps back, though he keeps his arm around me as I turn to face my dad.

“Yes. Dad, you remember Austin, don’t you? He came to the open house.”

Dad steps forward and holds out his hand for Austin to shake. He’s mostly changed out of his Santa costume, though he’s still wearing the pants and boots to go home in. On top, he’s wearing one of the many Christmas sweaters he’s acquired over the years. He has his coat and belly stashed in the red velvet bag at his feet.

Austin shakes his hand. “Good to see you again, sir.”

Sir? I raise an eyebrow and smirk at Austin.

Dad chuckles, waving him off. “Please. I’ve known you since you were tiny. You used to eat dinner with us at least once a week. You never called me sir then. No need to start now.”

Austin clears his throat, but just nods in response.

“Austin and I are going to grab a bite tonight too,” I put in.

Dad still eyes Austin, like he’s not quite sure what to make of this, humming noncommittally. “Tomorrow we’re having dinner as a family,” he reminds me. “Better talk to your mom if you want to invite an extra.”

“Thanks, Dad. I will,” I say over Austin’s nascent protests. Wrapping my arm through his, I steer him toward the exit. “I’ll talk to her after I get home.”

We’re not quite to the door when Austin voices his protests again. “If you need to go home,” he starts, but stops when I shake my head.

“You heard my dad. Family dinner is tomorrow night. Sure, they’d probably like me to spend time with my brothers and their girlfriends, but I can do that later. The world won’t end if I don’t have dinner with them tonight, especially since the night before a big family dinner, it’s mostly rustle up whatever you want to eat. Sandwiches, leftovers, a bowl of cereal …” I shrug, letting him fill in the rest.

Stopping by the door, I turn him to face me. “You don’t have to come tomorrow.”

He examines my face closely, his expression giving nothing away. “Do you want me to?”

I inhale deeply, considering. “Yes,” I say at last. “I think it’d be fun. Plus, I want to be able to see you, even if it is in the context of my entire family getting together.” I hold up a finger. “Fair warning, though, my brothers will give you endless amounts of shit. So if you come, be prepared for that.”

He captures my finger, bringing it to his lips and kissing the tip, making me melt once again. “I can handle your brothers,” he assures me quietly.

“So I should tell my mom to add one more?”

He returns my grin. “Yes.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Austin

I’mnervous all day waiting for dinner at the Daniels’ house. I keep trying to remind myself that I’ve had dinner at their house countless times growing up.

This is different, though. And my brain won’t let me forget it, no matter how many times I try to tell it that it’s notthatdifferent.

It absolutely is. I’m going as Nora’s … date? Boyfriend? I’m not sure. We’ve only been out twice, so we haven’t had any kind of conversation about defining our relationship or what will happen when she goes back to school. Will we continue long distance? Is that something she would even be interested in?

I think I would, given that’s an option.

I thought she was pretty, of course, but dinner the last two nights have allowed me to get to know her even more. She’s funny and smart and witty, and while I know the open question of her future after graduation is a sore spot, the fact that she’s not locked into any specific plan might work in my favor.

I know she feels like coming back to Arcadian Falls would be a step backwards, and I totally understand why, but might she be willing to move at least closer if I’m still here? She could find a job in Inglewood or one of the other towns that’s close-ish. If she were an hour away, that wouldn’t be so bad. We could see each other on weekends more easily, maybe even weeknights depending on her schedule and what she’s doing.

I’m getting ahead of myself, though, and I’m trying not to do that. Going too hard, too soon is a sure way to scare her off.

I’ve made that mistake before—my last girlfriend in college hated that I wanted us to plan our future together post-college once we were officially in a relationship. In my defense, we’d been dating for six months at that point, and while we didn’t have the “exclusivity” talk until a month or two in, we were exclusive the whole time. So it didn’t seem like such a reach to me. But she freaked out and broke up with me, and I don’t want to make that mistake again. Especially since Nora and I aren’t even officially anything at this point.

We enjoy each other’s company.

And I’ve been invited to a family dinner.

---