Page 140 of In Plain Sight

I waited to see if she’d say more.

“There’s actually something I wanted to tell you and your sister.” She offered me a small smile, her eyes a bit misty. “I invited Jenna and Max and their families to Christmas dinner.”

“Yeah?” I tried to look surprised, but not overly so.

“Eddie and I have something we want to tell you, all of you, and we thought Christmas would be a good time to get everyone together.”

“That sounds great. I can’t wait to hear the news.”

She smiled, looking far more relaxed than she had a few minutes ago. “Can you stay for a bit, or do you need to get to work?”

“I should head out,” I said as we stood. “Zander’s waiting in the car.”

She snapped her gaze to mine. “He’s waiting outside?”

“Yeah. He came along for moral support.”

She put her hands on her hips and pinned me with a Mom look. “And you didn’t invite him in? What’s he going to thinkof me? Go get him so I can meet him properly before you go to work.”

I paused, not quite sure how to explain this to her. “Um, there’s something else you should know about him. Zander’s shy, and he’s really introverted. Meeting new people is hard for him, especially if he’s not expecting it or hasn’t had a chance to prepare himself.”

Mom’s smile softened. “Well, in that case, how about you see if he’d like to come in for a moment before you go to work? If not, we can find a different time. And if Christmas dinner is going to be too much with so many new people, maybe he could come with you on Christmas Eve, kind of ease into the chaos?”

I smiled at her thoughtfulness. One of our family traditions was that we got together on Christmas Eve and had a little holiday party where we wore the gaudiest Christmas outfits we could find and had a few drinks while we enjoyed snacks and silly games. It was a low-key and chill night compared to how crazy things could get the next day.

“Yeah. That might be a better option. I’ll talk to him and let you know.”

She walked me to the door and gave me a big hug, holding on until I was ready to let go.

“Have a good day at work.”

“Thanks. Hope your day is over soon.”

With a final wave, I left Mom’s house and hurried to my car.

“Are you okay?” Zander asked as soon as I closed the door behind me, his features tight with concern.

“Yeah.” I let out another random laugh, even though nothing was funny. “She already knew. Or at least she suspected, so she wasn’t surprised at all.”

His eyes rounded comically.

“Yup, pretty much my reaction.” I shook my head, my mind still reeling from everything that had just happened.

Zander reached across the center console and took my hand in his.

“And she said my dad knew I might be bi, and he was okay with it.” I blew out a breath as Zander squeezed my hand. “I guess I wasn’t as good at hiding things at seventeen as I thought I was.”

“Most of us aren’t.” He grazed his thumb over my knuckles. “Are you okay, though? For real?”

“Yeah.” I offered him a wobbly smile. “Still processing, but I’m okay. My family knows, my best friend knows… And everyone is fine with it.” I scrubbed my free hand over my face. “I feel like an idiot for not telling them sooner.”

“Don’t.” Zander tipped my chin up so I was looking at him. “Don’t do that to yourself. I know it’s hard not to wonder or go over all the what-ifs that are rolling around in that brain of yours but try not to let those thoughts take over. You told them when you were ready, and now all the important people in your life know the truth, and they love you just the same as they did before.”

“Thanks,” I whispered. “I’ll try to remember that.”

He pressed a soft kiss against my lips. “Just remember that you have me to help you through it if you start struggling again. I’ll remind you as many times as you need me to.”

I leaned in and gave him another soft kiss.

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