Page 30 of Holiday Hostilities

For some reason, this makes me think of Olivia. The memory of the expression she made yesterday—the one when she realized she was being kept in the dark as to the change in her Thanksgiving dinner plans—waspriceless.

I can’t help but wonder if she’ll turn up today.

A part of me reallyhopes so.

“Dinner?” Nonna peers past Mom with narrowed, scrutinizing eyes. She has the same eyes as me; my dad had them, too. And for the past, I don’t know, six to eight years, Nonna has been demanding that I give her a green-eyed great-grandbaby asap. “That reminds me. Have you been making my soup?”

“All the time,” I lie. Nonna’s Italian Wedding soup recipe is beyond delicious, but I don’t really have time in a day to cook.

Nonna sniffs, like she smells a rat. “You look skinny. Tired. Always so hard on yourself and never giving yourself a break. Are you stressed about hockey?”

“Nah,” I lie again. I don’t need to relay what went down yesterday with the media. They’ll just worry for no reason.

“Stressed about that girl?” Nonna throws out.

“I wouldn’t saystressed,” I muse absently, my mind tumbling back to Olivia again and the hilarious look on her face yesterday. I wonder how Jake broke the news to her that she’d be having dinner with me tonight. Well, me and a bunch of other hockeyplayers, but I have a feeling that Olivia only focused on the “dinner with her nemesis” aspect.

“Good.” My grandmother tsks. “Silly story, anyway. Nobody will believe such things about you.”

“Oh.Thatgirl,” I say, the penny dropping that they have, indeed, heard about the mess with Brandi.

My mom’s eyes narrow. “Who did you think your grandmother was talking about?”

“Uh… nobody.”

“Well, are you bringing this ‘nobody’ home to meet us at Christmas?” she asks with a sly smile.

“No, Mom.” I shake my head. “It’ll just be me.”

“As per usual,” Nonna mumbles, which makes me laugh. Her lined face softens. “It’ll be good to see you, Nipotino. Christmas wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” I promise. I’ve returned home for the holidays every single year that I’ve lived in Atlanta. I know how much being together for Christmas means to my family, but I alsowantto be with them.

As I end the call, my thoughts return to a certain holiday dinner I will be enjoying later with another family of mine. Despite my lack of domestic experience, I can’t help but feel excited to host my teammates and the girl who lives to hate me.

It’s gonna be a good day.

12

OLIVIA

I have never been less excited for anything.

And yes, I know I’m being dramatic.

But as I put mascara on my lashes and gloss on my lips, the girl who stares back at me in the mirror looks incredulous for good reason. Because she is spending the day behind enemy lines.

AKA at Aaron Marino’s evil lair.

My brother regrettably failed to inform me that our Thanksgiving plans last night had changed. Instead of our quiet, family holiday dinner, we had pizza in front of the TV. Meanwhile, the pie and yams I made have been repurposed for a huge, potluck-style affair with a horde of hockey players. Hosted by my least favorite hockey player of all.

Jake “forgot to tell me.”

Convenient.

Which is how I find myself on Aaron Marino’s doorstep at 2pm on Black Friday, flanked by Jake and Sofia, my arms full of food and my stomach fluttering with trepidation. As much as I want to cancel this plan and run away like a coward, I knowAaron would think that I canceled because of him. And I’m not about to give him that kind of satisfaction.

In fact, I have made a vow to be at my very sweetest this evening. Just to mess with him.

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