Page 21 of Blame It On the Secret Santa

“Sean,” I answered quietly, avoiding direct eye contact.

The sound of her fork hitting her plate caught my attention as I looked up and found her with a delighted smile on her face. Great. Just great.

Fourteen

Sean

“Are you sure they’reup here?” I asked, moving boxes around in the attic at my parents’ house. Friday was my first day off in a while, and I’d told my mom I would come over to find the rest of the Christmas decorations she was looking for and help her finish decorating.

“They should be. Your dad said he put everything away last year when we took down the decorations. I mean, I guess it’spossiblethat he put them somewhere else by mistake...”

I could hear the worry in my mom’s voice as she stood below me, holding the ladder in place.

“Then I’m sure they’re here,” I tried to assure her.

“Do you need some help?”

My blood turned to ice as I heard my brother’s voice.

“No. We’re good,” I replied sternly, not bothering to look at him.

“Hi, honey,” my mom said sweetly. “Sean is just looking for the box that has all of the lights for the house, and then we can start decorating. Did you have any trouble getting checked in at the hotel?”

“None at all. Everything went smoothly. Stephanie and the girls are there now. The girls were still sleeping, so I told Stephanie I would catch a cab and come early so she could have the car to head over when they were ready.”

I stopped what I was doing and turned to stare at my twin brother.

He hadn’t changed much over the years, but then again, neither had I. His short hair that barely touched the nape of his neck was a stark contrast to how long he used to keep it. At least now it was out of his face.

“You got married?” I asked gruffly.

He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets as he rubbed his lips together.

“Five years ago. We have twin girls that just turned four last month.”

I looked from him to my mom, wondering why she never said anything. She’d been a grandma for four years, and yet I had no clue.

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