Page 19 of The Merriest Christmas

Seaver tilted his head in challenge."If I'm wrong, then prove it by making this shot.But if I'm right and you miss, then we are talking about this."

Turning back around, I pulled my arm back and threw it, harder than I had any of the others, and the mint sailed smack dab into the middle of Toby's mouth.

It was a fantastic throw.

One my baseball-loving family would've been proud of.

But I must've put a little too much heat on it because Toby gagged.The mint must've gotten stuck in the back of his throat because he started choking immediately.

"Oh my gosh," I said as everyone else rushed over to help.

One of his buddies started doing the Heimlich.

"We'll call that one a draw," Seaver said.

When I looked at him in disbelief, he shrugged.

"Always knew you had a better arm than your brothers."

Toby finally dislodged the mint, and it went flying across the room, hitting one of our family pictures and bouncing on the floor.

"Sorry," I said to him weakly."I didn't mean to do that."

"No problem," he rasped.

"Are you okay?"

"Um hm."

Rose turned to me with raised brows."Are there any other games?Because that was semi-hilarious yet dangerous, and I should get going here in a bit."

"Just one more," I said quickly.

Finn's face had fallen when she talked about leaving, and I remembered my other goal.

Mission Get Rose and Finn Together—at least for Christmas—was a go.

Now, I just needed to make everyone else leave.

And to get them to meet under the mistletoe.

Easy.

CHAPTER 4

Emmy

"What do you mean you're stranded?" I whisper-hissed into the phone.

"Exactly what I said, Em."Dex sounded tired."Our flights got in around the same time.Mine was first then Archer's from Atlanta, and we were only about 10 minutes off the twins' from New York.That was good.But no one's willing to drive us into town."

"Okay, then go to plan B and use the rental I reserved for you."

"Did you or did you not get the breaker about this being North Carolina's worst storm in a decade?"

I had.

"I know you wanted everyone there for Christmas—"

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