Page 60 of Twins for the Silver Foxes

“No thank you.” Liddy’s small voice barely reached my ears but I knew Chad heard it when his scowl reappeared. “I like these.” Liddy stayed plastered to my side, her toes clipping my shoe with every step. I finally picked her up when I almost tripped over her and set her on my hip. Her head dropped onto my shoulder.

“Look at that one.” I pointed at the candy shop window where red and white striped candy cane lights surrounded a candy train with peppermint wheels and a Christmas tree made of green gummy bears. Liddy raised her head and stared with her mouth dropped open.

“So it’s no to ice skating but yes to lights and candy.” Chad winked at me. “Sounds like my girl.”

I covered my scowl with a bright and incredibly fake smile. Liddy ignored Chad’s attempts to connect. Maybe she sensed his bullshit. Maybe she felt my reluctance to being there. It didn’t seem like Chad had matured much. Even pushing thirty, his boyish good looks and charming smile aged him backward. And when he continued with the asinine remarks that had no relevance, I struggled to remember why I’d ever fallen for him.

Liddy wiggled. “I want to walk.”

Chad waited while I set Liddy down and took her hand. If the slow pace bothered him, he kept it to himself. I gave him points for that bit of patience. Liddy’s lack of connection with him befuddled me. She’d connected so easily with Scott, Arthur, and Ryland. They didn’t even have to try. Maybe that was it—his trying came across as weird and strained.

The fog of my breath and the glare from the lights obscured my vision for a minute, and when it cleared, I caught Chad glancing my way. His lips curled up into a snarky grin. “How have you been?”

Really? Three years and he wanted to have the most generic conversation in the world now? Fine. I knew how to play along. “Great. You?”

He waffled his hand side to side. “Hanging in there. You know. Finally finished my degree. Started working in the tech business.”

“That’s nice.” I bent down to Liddy’s level. “Do you see that sign? It says that Santa’s reindeer are around the corner. Do you want to go see them?”

“Yeah!” Liddy danced in place. “Will they take my picture?”

“Let’s go ask.” Ryland had already promised to work something out so we’d have Christmas pictures, but I needed another distraction and this one hit at the perfect moment.

“You know those–”

I snapped my fingers and pointed at Chad. “Hush.”

His eyes flew wide open, a spark of that old attraction turning the hazel a golden amber. “You got bossy too. Good to know.”

“Not bossy.” I angled my head toward Liddy. “Let her be a kid. Don’t ruin this for her.” The magic of Christmas could never be ruined, but I enjoyed these years where Liddy believed in Santa and elves and flying reindeer. Chad had opened a channel of communication with me, which I appreciated, but not if it came with the downside of ruining Liddy’s Christmas cheer. “Let’s go find those reindeer.” I shot Chad a look that said he’d better keep his mouth shut, and he had the gall to wink at me again while pretending to zip his lips and throw away the key. It was such a childish action that I rolled my eyes.

He laughed and bumped my elbow with his. “I missed this. You were always fun, Hannah.”

“Yeah, sure. Just call me holly jolly Hannah.” We rounded the building. Three reindeer stood in a circular enclosure. One stood outside, a harness covered in bells wrapped around itstorso. It shook its head and the bells pealed out with a sharp ring.

Liddy jumped and clapped. “Let’s go!” She pulled me to the end of the line and stopped behind a mom shepherding a boy and girl ahead of her.

“I’ll grab us some hot chocolate.” Chad pointed out the hot chocolate stand several feet away before stepping out of line and whispering, “Reindeer smell.”

“Shut up, Chad.” I hissed through pursed lips when the mother in front of me raised an eyebrow.

“Look, Liddy. They have a sleigh.” I picked her up so she could see the bright red sleigh. A man led the reindeer over and hooked the harness to the sleigh. Off to the side, a man in a bright red Santa suit walked out of a gingerbread house trailer and waved. “Ho, ho, ho. Who’s ready for Santa?”

Screams and cheers clashed in a wild ensemble. Liddy clapped and waved both hands. “Me! Me!”

Chad looked over his shoulder, shook his head, and picked up three cups of hot chocolate. I tried to stop the comparisons running through my mind. Scott and the others built Liddy and I an entire winter wonderland. Chad managed to walk us around town for an hour, but nothing about the encounter felt genuine. He tried to talk to Liddy but gave up after a few minutes of her quiet dismissal.

The contrast made our time together feel forced when I’d hoped for acceptance. Still, he smiled as he carried the cups over and handed me one. Liddy scrambled to get hers.

“Thank you.” I tried one last time to feel something, forcing a smile. But before I knew it, he leaned in, his lips crashing into mine.

32

ARTHUR

Scott and Ryland tried their best to make me feel better. That was one of the many reasons they were my best friends and the two people I trusted most in the world. Even when I lacked trust in myself, they stood by me.

I held myself together while they talked and joked, their voices and the stories they told helping me to focus on the good times. They knew better than to allow me to fall into the deep abyss of my own thoughts where I would surely spiral into darkness.

---