Page 84 of The Pucker and the Princess
Nodding, I move to the next sibling. “Now, I’ve barely met your brother, so I can’t speak from personal observations, but from what you’ve said, the great hope of his son was shattered when your brother refused to move back home and work at the shop, right?”
“Right. But that was Lance’s choice to disappoint Dad. It wasn’t something inherent about him.”
Pursing my lips, I shrug. “I suppose you could make that argument. But don’t you think Lance felt boxed in and like he didn’t have many choices? And one could also argue that it’s his inherent personality to follow his own passions rather than submit to your father’s mandates for the rest of his life.”
Chuckling, she shakes her head. “Fine. I see your point.”
“I don’t have as good of a read on your sister,” I concede. “But from my brief interactions with your family and things you’ve said, I’m guessing they’d hoped for a more, ah, traditional lifestyle for her. And while I feel like she probably didn’t get as many expectations heaped on her as you and your brother did, being that you’re the oldest, your brother’s the boy, and Gabby seems almost like an afterthought—” She snorts, and I glance her way. “What?”
“Sorry.” She shakes her head. “No, it’s just … I think you’re right. I’m not sure if Gabby was planned or not, to be honest. Or if they had her just because Mom wanted another baby to spoil. Gabby was indulged far more than Lance or I were, allowed to pick her own interests, which was music, and since that was acceptable for a girl, it was never an issue. I feel like if Lance tried to jointhe orchestra, Dad would’ve had a conniption. Even so, she had a tough time when Jonathan’s career was taking him to California and she wanted to be with him.” She stares out the windshield, gaze abstract. “Mom and I had to run a lot of interference with Dad, and Lance helped where he could, though he didn’t have a whole lot of pull right then since that was fairly soon after he decided to stay in Spokane instead of moving back home.”
“Yeah. That tracks. But you said your dad put Jonathan through the wringer when she brought him home, so obviously another musician didn’t live up to his exacting standards either. Did they give your brother’s wife any grief?”
She presses her lips together, squinting her eyes as she considers the question. “You know? Not so much. She’s a sweetheart, though, so they’d’ve been hard pressed to find things to give her grief about without looking like complete assholes. And then Lance would’ve told Dad off, taken Abby home, and refused to visit again. Mom wouldn’t let that happen. Not when grandbabies are possible.”
“Maybe they’ll decide to take a similar tack with me,” I suggest. “Maybe they’ll decide it’s not worth it to pick on me.”
She levels a doubtful look my way. “The person dating the great disappointment?” She scoffs. “Don’t count on it.”
When we park outside of her parents’ house, I lean over and pull her in for a kiss. “We’ll have fun. We’ll open presents. We’ll have some food. I’ll help out as much as I’m allowed. If they pick on me, I promise it can’t be worse than years of surviving locker rooms and clandestine hazing rituals. In a couple days, we’ll be back home, and everything will be perfect.”
She smiles and kisses me again. “I can’t wait.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Marissa
I bracemyself for the worst when we get inside, but Mom greets us warmly at the door, giving Dozer a hug and a kiss on the cheek like he’s been my boyfriend for ages and not just a couple weeks and she only learned about it last night.
“I’m so glad y’all could make it. I’ve had a hard time controlling this rowdy bunch, making them wait for you to get here for our Christmas morning traditions. We have a kiddo here now!”
Lance, standing behind her with Nathaniel in his arms, shakes his head, and mouths, “No, she hasn’t.” Stepping forward, he gives me a one-armed hug. “Merry Christmas, sis.”
“Merry Christmas, little bro.” I poke him in the side, and he flinches, laughing as he pats me on the head. He might always be my younger brother, but he’s been taller than me since he was sixteen.
“Good morning, Nate,” I say holding out a hand to my nephew. He reaches for me, and I take him from my brother, bouncinghim on my hip while Dozer says hello to my dad who’s doing his usual attempt at crushing his hand. Dozer just grins and I’m guessing is giving as good as he gets.
Dad’s eyebrows jump up his forehead. When he finally releases Dozer’s hand, I turn away to hide my smile. Maybe Dozer’s right. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all. At the very least, it’s clear that Dozer can hold his own. Whether that has any affect on Dad’s opinion of him or not remains to be seen, but what Dad thinks doesn’t really matter to me. He thought Peter was great, after all, and look how that turned out. He gave Jonathan endless shit for a long time, and Gabby’s living her best life.
MaybeIhaven’t had shit taste in men. Maybemy dadhas had shit taste in men, and I adopted his checklist instead of following my own, and that’s what led me down a path of heartache and disappointed expectations.
But now that I’m finally listening to my own wants and needs, I’ve found Dozer. And he couldn’t be more perfect if I’d designed him on a build-a-boyfriend website and had him shipped to me.
Dozer grins at me, then gets swept up in greeting everyone else, and we all head into the living room where he sets down the bag of gifts he brought—since I brought mine with me from Spokane, I put them under the tree the night I got here.
Mom gets coffee and hot chocolate for everyone, and I head to the kitchen to help her prepare and distribute everything. “I’m glad you came home for Christmas,” she says quietly as I hand her the mugs. “Even if it’s notactuallyChristmas yet.” She rolls her eyes, and I grin.
“I’m sure Gabby and Jonathan appreciate you being willing to accommodate their schedule,” I say diplomatically, even thoughaccommodatemight be a bit of a stretch considering how she’s acted about their schedule.
“I do try,” she says, and I have to roll my lips between my teeth to fight back my smile, and I manage to not laugh outright, keeping my back turned as I pull down a few more mugs.
Composing myself, I turn and hand her the next one to fill. “It is nice to be together like this.”
She smiles. “And it was so sweet of your boyfriend to join us. I wish you would’ve said something, though. I feel terrible that he’s staying at a hotel.” She says the word hotel like it’s something filthy and awful, and I once again have to contain my laughter.
“Honestly, Mom, I had no idea he’d be here until he showed up last night.”
She gives me a narrow-eyed look. “That seems a little odd, don’t you think?”
