Page 79 of Strong Side
“Aww, come on, Brookie. Let’s tell them.” Silas walks over to her and wraps an arm around her shoulders.
“As if, Silas!” Brooke pushes his arm off, but laughs.
A few minutes later, Arbor and Lily come in. Lily’s boyfriend was supposed to come tonight for us to finally meet him, but it looks like he bailed on her again. They’re in matching pajamas with Arbor’s sayingNiceand Lily’s sayingNaughty.
“Charlie, where do you want us to put the gifts for the exchange?” Arbor asks.
“You can go ahead and put them under the tree,” she tells her.
“I brought some candy canes. Can I put those on the tree, or will that mess up your aesthetic?” Arbor asks her seriously.
“What color are they?” Charlie asks, also seriously.
“Pink, of course.” Arbor puts a hand on her hip.
Charlie nods once. “Then, yes, you may proceed.” Then she laughs.
“I love a pink candy cane. I’ll go help,” Brooke says. She picks up her gift box and follows them over to the tree.
“What up, bitches?!” A deep voice with a Texas twang rings out.
The front door slams open, hitting the wall behind it.
“You almost put a hole in the wall!” another voice whispers.
“I heard that!” my sister yells. “Which one of you did it?”
Ace and Aston Griffith, two of Archie’s younger brothers, stroll into the kitchen.
“Nothing to see here.” Aston snickers.
“What’s up, Chuck? Smells awesome in here,” Ace says as he looks over my sister’s shoulder.
“Your brother is the only one who is allowed to call me Chuck.” She nudges him back with her shoulder. “And both of you, go wash your hands. They’re probably filthy.”
They look at each other, both holding in a laugh. They have matching pants in green and red, but their shirts are different. Ace’s red shirt saysHungwith only a stocking on it. Aston’s green shirt saysCome sit on my lapwith a picture of a Santa hat above it.
“Okay, Charlie, the appetizers are ready. Do you need help with anything else?” Bo turns and asks her.
“Nope, we’re good. The ham is in the oven, along with the potatoes, mac ’n’ cheese, and green beans and carrots.” She opens the oven door, peeking inside. “We can eat as soon as Noelle and Chelsea get here.”
“Am I done too then?” Silas asks.
“Yep, we’re all set.” Charlie wipes her hands on a towel.
“Let’s go pick out a Christmas movie.” Bo tilts his head to Silas toward the family room.
“Don’t put onChristmas Vacationthough. We have to watch that later when I call Beck,” Charlie calls after them.
“You’re gonna FaceTime him to watch the movie, aren’t you?” I ask her, walking over to her and putting my arm around her.
“Uh, yeah. It’s tradition to watch it together.” She looks up at me and smiles. “Are you okay? You know she’ll say yes, right?”
I swallow. “I mean, I think she will. We’ve talked about it enough that I would be destroyed if she said no.” I huff a laugh.
“Case, she is crazy about you. I can’t believe we’re both getting married!” she squeals and wraps her arm around my waist. “We’re growing up so fast.” There’s a huge smile on her face.
“That we are.” I laugh with her and pull her into a hug. “Thanks for helping me with this.”
