Page 86 of Not in My Book

“I didn’t spend Christmas Eve alone,” he said. “I spent it with you.”

I held his gaze and lowered my voice to a whisper. “It’s not over.”

“You’ve been waiting all year to see your family,” he murmured back. “I don’t want to ruin it.”

“You’d only make it better.” I reached for his hand, squeezing his hand three quick times, and said, “Please.”

He held my gaze for a minute, before squeezing back and whispering, “Okay. I’ll stay.”

“Perfect!” My mom clapped. “Rosie, you have nothing in your fridge. What’re we going to eat?”

I rolled my eyes. “Okay drama queen, let’s go look. Aiden and I just made cookies, so clearly I havesomestuff.”

“That’s what these are?” Maria called from across the room. “I thought it was coal to put in stockings or something.”

My dad burst into laughter. “You two made these? Yeah, I think your mom and I will take care of the cooking tonight.”

“You guys don’t need to cook anything,” I insisted. “Aiden and I went out to eat earlier. I have some snacks—”

“She has none—” Aiden started.

“I do!” I said defensively. “We have some Oreos left in the package, and I’m pretty sure I have some chips in the cabinet.”

My mom tsked. “Amor, can you run to the store and get some actual stuff to eat? It’s Christmas Eve for God’s sake! We can’t sit around all pitiful, we need to have a feast.”

“Nowhere is gonna be open, honey. It’s nearly midnight on Christmas Eve.”

“I can go,” Aiden offered. “I think there’s a bodega around the corner from here.”

“No,” I protested. “Mami, we don’t have to have a feast.” I turned to Aiden. “You don’t have to go. I have plenty of food here, we’ll survive for the night.”

“I want to make a good impression. It’s not a big deal.”

“Thank you!” my mom piped up, her eyes shining at Aiden.

My dad stood from the couch and said, “Maria and I will go. I’ve been on a plane and in a car for the past few hours. I want to stretch my legs. Besides, I know we interrupted you two. Your mom will be busy in the kitchen trying to pull together some sort of meal, and you two can have some alone time.” I nearly puked when my dad winked at us. What did he expect? For us to run in my room and have sex while Mom was rummaging through my drawers? I didn’t dare look at Aiden.

My father and Maria slipped past us out the door, Maria wiggling her eyebrows at me. I wanted to die from mortification.

We tried to convince my mom to let us help her in the kitchen as she tried to whip something up, but she refused. So, Aiden and I sat awkwardly on the couch, waiting for everyone to return. Not even a half hour ago, we’d sat here together, about to kiss.

I looked to the ceiling, praying to any god to somehow dig us out of this hole and make all of this less awkward.

“Hey,” I whispered to Aiden eventually, angling my body toward him. “I’m sorry I didn’t correct my mom about us being a couple. She’d have bombarded me with a million questions if I had, and it would’ve made the situation much worse. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay.” His voice was low and soft. “Family’s complicated. You know I get it. You’ve got a great family, Rosie Posie.”

I ducked my head. “They’re a lot, but they’re really amazing. I can’t believe they came all this way …” I bit my lip, smiling. I obviously wanted to see my family for Christmas, but I had let go of that dream a long time ago. “They also don’t know how to act in front of strangers, so I apologize in advance.”

Aiden laughed softly. “It’s obvious how much they love you,” he said. “Trust me, I’d trade overbearing for what I got any day.”

I wished I had the right words to tell him that being with him wasn’t as hard as his dad made it seem. That it was one of the easiest and best things in my life. I opened my mouth to try to say as much, but he shook his head, his hand landing heavy on my knee.

“I’m really happy I’m here with you.”

A little while later, Maria and my father knocked on the door and I rushed to answer to escape the thick silence between Aiden and me. They had a million bags in tow, snowflakes resting on their eyelashes.

“Did you know there’s a brick holding the front door of your building open?” My dad asked, his brow furrowed.

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