Page 46 of Set Me On Fire

“Different year, same chaos,” Brock said, coming to stand by my side.

“It’s beginning to look a lot like a McDonald Christmas,” I replied.

Chapter 25

Millie

We were doing so well.

All the food was cooked and there was way too much of it. The boys complimented us on our efforts and we did the same. Paper Christmas bonbons were tugged and their cracks filled the air as we pulled out those stupid tissue paper hats and donned them. Dumb jokes were read out, and Hunter lined up all the plastic toys that were inside. Food was passed around, and I mostly moved it right along. It all looked delicious, but that cluster of cells I was growing and I needed to have a talk because Mumma needed some food at some point.

Something Dad noted.

“Not hungry, love?”

Uh oh, dad mode had been activated. He was slower on the uptake than Mum, but much more persistent. He’d wait outside my door or pester me until I fessed up about what was going wrong at school when I was a kid.

“Just a bit seedy.”

I shot him a rakish smile, then focussed real hard on sipping some orange juice Mum had poured into a flute. Citrussy, sweetand sour, so far so good. I drank that down greedily, feeling like my stomach was beginning to settle again.

“Another?” Dad asked, then turned to the twins. “Get your sister another mimosa.”

“Her legs aren’t broken,” Hunter said, focussing on slicing into his lamb chop until he felt Dad’s steely gaze burning into the side of his face. “Fine.” He jerked himself away from the table. “I’ll get it, even though I spent hours sweating over a hot barbeque.”

“I made the potato salad,” I countered quickly and the rest of the table groaned.

“I cooked those bloody prawns you were supposed to devein and didn’t,” he shot back.

“I bought all the ingredients Mum forgot to order from the shops, battling last minute Christmas shoppers for the last bunch of parsley.”

“I came around yesterday, cleaned the pool, mowed the lawns, and did the leaf blowing.”

His cocky smile seemed to indicate he thought he’d won, but that wasn’t how it worked.

“I let you have kinky sex orgies with my best friend every night.”

Balled up paper napkins and destroyed bonbons were tossed my way as everyone groaned.

“OK, that’s worth me getting you a drink.” Hunter’s admission tasted like sweet, sweet victory to me.

“That’s all I’m worth?” Jamie spluttered. “A glass of OJ?”

“More.” Oh my god, gag. He swept in and started murmuring sweet nothings in my best friend’s ear. “So much more. I’d pluck the most perfect orange from a Sevillian orchard and have it squeezed between the thighs of virgins to create a perfect glass of OJ for my sister to drink, and that still wouldn’t be enough to thank her for the gift of you.”

Hunter was being a cheesy dick, but as I sat back in my chair, I felt a little pang. I tried very hard not to imagine my stupid brothers and Jamie together most days, but right now I wondered. What would it be like to have my own guy or guys saying corny shit just to make me laugh?

How the hell did I end up feeling lonely in the midst of my family?

There was so much love here, that was clear. I saw it in the way my dad made sure Mum had all the things she liked on her plate, then thanked her for all her efforts. Then there were the boys hovering over Jamie until she told them to quit. Drinks were refilled on automatic because the men in my family, they looked after the ones they loved.

Even Hunter.

My glass was set down in front of me with a flourish by my brother, but right when I went to thank him, he plonked the bottle of OJ down beside it.

“Get your own next time,” he grumbled.

“Thanks, dickhead,” I shot back.

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