Page 72 of His Off-Limits Christmas Gift

“No, I won’t. But it’s not fair for him to expect you to take the brunt of all the drama.”

I shrugged, not really caring anymore. I had Nate, and that was that.

As soon as he parked at Rockton’s café, I sighed, dejected at the sight of my family’s car parked there.

“Time to face the music,” I said as we walked toward the little building bustling with townsfolk.

My mom and dad sat at a long table in the corner. Brandon was seated there as well. And Mr. and Mrs. Jones were there too.

Two empty seats were available, presumably for me and Kyle.

“Well.” Mrs. Jones glanced at my mom, sniffing. “It looks like you weren’t lying about her shacking up with someone else, moving on after Kyle so rashly.”

I pursed my lips, looking up at Nate and silently begging him to leave.

“Merry Christmas!” he cheered loudly instead, ignoring my former neighbor’s dig.

“Have a seat,” Brandon said, eyeing me and Nate closely.

I sensed the tension from him, and I wondered if the idyllic, cozy Christmas Nate and I had shared so far would turn to disaster now.

“That seat is for my son,” Mrs. Jones told Nate as he reached for it.

“Stop,” I said, tugging Nate to sit with me.

This is the last time. The last damn Christmas whatever with them.

“But Kyle should be sitting there,” Mrs. Jones said, “with…”

She ceased speaking. Her mouth hung open as she got stuck staring at something past Nate’s shoulder.

Someone had entered, and as I craned around him to see who it was, I smiled with utter relief.

“Finally.”

I grinned at my ex’s entrance. Kyle walked in, hand-in-hand with one of his gym rat friends.

Nate turned as well, chuckling lightly. “Aha.”

“Kyle?” Mr. Jones asked. “What is this?”

I met my mom’s gaze across the table, loving how silent she was. She was speechless, but recognition settled on her face. She pulled her lips in, realizing, at last, that it was never my fault that Kyle had dumped me.

I was finally off the hook. The cat was out of the bag. No one would ever have any reason to pester me about why I had been dumped.

“Okay, that answers a lot of questions,” Brandon said, leaving the Jones family to talk at their side of the table, welcoming this new boyfriend to lunch. Another pair of chairs were being pulled up.

“But I’ve still got one foryou,” my brother said to Nate, his brow furrowing with irritation. “What the hell, man? I thought my sister was off-limits to you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, that’s so dumb.”

“My best friend, hooking up with my little sister?” Brandon asked. “Isn’t that against the bro code?”

Nate eased out of his chair, getting down on one knee as he faced me but spoke to Brandon. “Would there be an exception if I’m your brother-in-law?”

I gasped, covering my mouth. “Nate!”

He faced me, smiling with that slow, soft grin that was just for me. “What do you say, sweet girl? It’s been fast, but maybe that’s just us getting a head start on the rest of our lives.”

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