Page 99 of Holly and Nick Hate Christmas
I half-raised my hand in the air. “Chloe mentioned it the other day but said it was no big deal.”
“No big deal?” Mom’s eyes bugged.
I shrugged. “We had bigger fish to fry at the moment.”Probably not a good idea to mention said fish was my love life. I peeked at Nick, who kept a stoic, unreadable expression.
“Bigger fish to fry than nonrefundable tuition?” Dad choked. “Chloe, you’re midterm.”
Kat winced. “About that…”
“Wait.” Mom waved both hands in the air. “Chloe, we weren’t talking about you when we said it was time to tell the truth.”
Chloe’s face paled under her fake tan. “You weren’t?”
“No. But we obviously do need to talk about school.” Mom elbowed Dad in the side. “Just…later.”
“Fine.” Dad cleared his throat, visibly reining himself in. “Yes. You’re right. Later.” He narrowed his eyes at Axel, who squirmed on the sofa.
“So whowereyou talking about?” Chloe leaned back against the cushions, crossing her arms over her chest. Axel started to put his arm around her, then quickly removed it as Ryan growled.
“Me.” Kat closed her eyes briefly.
“Oh, come on.” Ryan scoffed. “You only pretend to be mysterious and annoyed. You don’t have any real secrets.”
Kat sighed, then cranked the handle of the leg rest and lurched to an upright position. She turned sideways, lifted the hem of her baggy sweatshirt, and patted one hand against her lower stomach—her definitively rounded lower stomach. “Happy?”
I gasped.
Axel’s eyes widened. “Whoa.”
Mom squealed. “You’repregnant?”
Olivia leapt to her feet, using Janie’s head to push off with. “You stinker!” She grabbed Kat into a hug seconds before Chloe and Mom did the same. I jumped up to join them, then held back as Lydia crowded in next.
Ryan shoved his hair off his forehead and grinned. “I take it back, sis. Congrats.”
“Great news.” Dad stood and caught Kat’s hand, palming it between both of his. “I hear I make a pretty good Papa.”
“The best.” Kat wiped at her eyes with her free hand and chuckled. “Now you know why I’ve been so grouchy.”
“Like you need a reason,” Chloe and Ryan said at the same time, to which they received simultaneous reprimands from Axel and Lydia.
I finally weaseled in next to my sister. “That’s awesome.” I pulled her into a brief hug, knowing she’d probably already met her touch quota for one day. “That’s why you bailed on ice skating and horseback riding isn’t it? And the decaf coffee!” I groaned. “I should have known.”
“Exactly.” Kat grinned, then stuck her tongue out at Ryan. “I’m plenty mysterious.”
“Wait. There’s a real baby in there?” Janie stared at Kat’s stomach.
“There sure is.” Kat shot a quick look at Olivia, as if silently asking how much Janie knew about the process. Olivia gave a quick shake of her head. “And the stork will bring him or her in about five months,” Kat finished.
Janie’s eyes gleamed. “Is that baby gonna throw up too?”
“Oh, for the love.” Olivia face-palmed.
“So why didn’t you tell us?” Mom asked as everyone settled back into their seats.
Kat reclaimed the recliner with a groan. “I haven’t told Devin yet. I wanted to surprise him Christmas morning, as his gift.” She gestured toward Mason and Janie. “But these two with their whole truth thing earlier convicted me. I felt bad keeping such a big secret from you guys at the holidays—especially since you didn’t know why I was skipping stuff.”
“Wait. Us?” Mason thumbed his chest. “What do you mean?”
