Page 73 of UnLucky Christmas
Tears begin to threaten my eyes, and I try to hold them back.
“Maybe I needed you to grow my grinch heart again.”
I blink back the tears. “I’ll take that challenge.”
Grant brings his face to mine and places one gentle kiss on my lips.
“And the answer is yes,” he adds. “I will spend Christmas with you.”
I wrap my arms around his neck. This might be my luckiest Christmas after all.
* * *
Why doI always put off the hard stuff? This phone call is long overdue, and I’m still stalling. Chad and I have been texting, but today I told him I needed to talk to him when he was available.
“Hi. How’s it going?” he answers.
“Good, how have you been?”
We make small talk for a few minutes, and then I cut to the chase.
“So, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Ah, it’s never good when someone says that.”
I let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, you’ll probably hate me after this.”
“Oh, I doubt it, but go ahead.”
I exhale. “You’re an amazing guy.”
“Whitney, you don’t have to say another word,” he interrupts. “I figured out that you weren’t interested in me a while ago.”
“I’m sorry if it seemed like I led you on,” I apologize. “You’re so much fun to hang out with, and I hope we can be friends.”
“Of course,” he exclaims. “I’m sure we’ll see each other at Macy and Austin’s.”
So far so good.
“Okay, but there’s one more thing,” I continue. “Since I’ve been hanging around Macy, I’ve gotten to know her brother—”
“I knew it,” he interrupts. “It was so obvious that Grant is into you. At first, I thought he was just trying to piss me off, but at the skating rink it was clear.”
“I’m sure this is weird, considering how you and he feel about each other.”
“Yeah, I don’t like the guy at all,” he says flatly.
I grit my teeth.
“Anyway, I’m sure you’ll come to your senses eventually,” he says with a laugh. “Grant’s tolerable for brief periods of time at best.”
I suddenly feel very protective of him.
“He isn’t as bad as you think,” I reply.
“No disrespect, but I’ve known him longer than you have.”
I can feel anger surfacing, and I know it’s best to end this conversation.
