Page 77 of A Very Addicted Christmas

“Right,” I say. “And anyway, she needs a good haircut. Maybe I take her to the groomer this week?”

“I’ll come,” Xander says, but I see anxiety creep in him just from that one offer.

“We’ll figure it out,” I say into a casual shrug. “I can do it myself too. I’m this one’s grandma after all.” I bend down and give Erebor a good scratch. “Aren’t I, you big fluffy mountain?” I unclip her collar, and Xander gives me an appreciative nod.

I give him a smile back.

I couldn’t be prouder of him these past couple of weeks, and a fight at a high school party seems so mild in comparison to the strides he’s been making. This month, he’s begun attending Dalton Academy. No longer homeschooled, he had to face the social viper pit that is prep school. If my mom gave me the chance to be homeschooled, I probably would have taken it. Never looked back. Avoided the private school setting every single year until I left for college.

The fact that he even wanted totrywas a big, enormous deal.

At seventeen, I wouldn’t have tried.

But I know that being at Dalton means seeing his cousin Ben more. And I wonder if there’s more to this than disagreeing about opening a door.

“Do you and Ben talk at school?” I ask, scooping some cookies onto a plate.

Xander sighs heavily. “This has nothing to do with school, Mom.”

“Okay,” I say into a nod.

Kinney sits on a barstool. “They avoid each other in the halls. Audrey says it’s like watching two north magnetic poles sharing the same space.”

I frown. That is…sad. But I’m notunawareof the friction between Xander and Ben. I just hoped it’d smooth over now that the two of them might have a chance to talk at school. Hope—a dangerous but wonderful thing.

Xander steals a cookie before I’ve plated them all. He tells me, “Just because we’re cousins doesn’t mean we have to be friends.”

“You used to be friends,” I remind him.

“I mean, were notnotfriends,” Xander says, avoiding my eyes. I can tell he looks a little guilty about proclaiming his anti-friend status with Ben. “We’re just different. I don’t think we’dever choose to hang out together if we weren’t cousins is all.” He shrugs like that’s just the way it’s become.

And maybe that’s okay. The friends he clings to when he’s little don’t have to be the same when he gets older. I just don’t want a Charlie/Moffy situation where there are literal fistfights.

My brows scrunch. There was wrestling tonight. A broken table.

Oh no.

Kinney waves a hand at my face. “She’s doing the thing.”

Xander smiles. “Earth to Mom.”

“Luna’s sparkly green aliens aren’ttakingyou,” Kinney says like she will fight anyone off who tries to beam me into their spaceship. “They’re gonna have to get through me first.”

“And me,” Lo says, walking through the kitchen door. His voice sparks a grin so wide it hurts my cheeks. He strides over and wraps his arms around my waist. “The ugly little aliens can go kick a rock on Mars. They’re not getting you, love.”

I smile harder and sway in his arms. “I’m sure they’d take one look at me and fly away on their spaceship anyway.”

He scoffs. “Never. They’d take one look at you and want you for eternity.” He bends down like he’s going to kiss me but then our kids make loud coughing noises.

Xander and Kinney usually don’t care when we kiss. Actually, none of my kids make a big deal about it. They’re usually used to it. Is it because they’re both in high school and can’t stand the sight of their parents having PDA?

It makes me wonder,is it because I’m old now?

Do I look old?

I don’t feel old.

But kissing Lo is suddenly uncool? My face heats at the thought.

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