Page 52 of Merry Me
Natalie groaned under her breath, dragging a hand down her face like she couldn’t believe her life had sunk this low. “Oh, you havegotto be kidding me.”
Brian.Of courseit was Brian.
He’d spent all of high school trailing behind Natalie like a sad golden retriever, acting like if he just flexed hard enough in gym class, she’d magically realize he was her soulmate. I’d blocked his number from her phonetwicejunior year. Once because he “accidentally” sent her a shirtless pic. The second time because he made a playlist called “Songs That Remind Me of Natalie’s Smile”.
And now here he was. Playing Hot Santa. Jingle balls and all.
I watched as his gaze went straight to Natalie’s, a slow, eager smirk spreading across his stupid face.
Natalie’s eye twitched.
Mine did, too.
Fuck.
I wasn’t sure what was worse—the obnoxiously cheerful Christmas music playing in the background or the fact that Brian Sanders was practically drooling over Natalie right in front of me.
Scratch that. It was Brian.
Definitely Brian.
I was hungover. I was pissed off. And I was exactly five seconds away from stabbing him with the decorative peppermint stir stick in my coffee.
It wasn’t enough that Natalie was avoiding me like I was a particularly clingy Christmas ghost. That she was dodging every compliment I tossed her way like she had a deflector shield and responded to most of my comments with grunts, glares, or outright threats involving hot coffee.
The universe wasn’t done humiliating me.
It had to throw Brian into the mix.
I hadn’t seen him since school, but the sight of himsauntering into brunch dressed as Santa was enough to make my entire mood nose-dive.
Brian, who had spent every second of junior year trying to wedge himself between Natalie and me.
Brian, who I knew deep in my soul had been lying in wait for the moment I was out of the picture.
Brian, who was now grinning at her like he’d just been given a personal Christmas miracle.
I clenched my jaw as he plopped into the seat beside her, draping his arm over the back of her chair like he belonged there.
Natalie stiffened, but she didn’t push him off.
Blood pounded in my ears as I stared at them, my fork clenched so tightly in my hand that I was ninety percent sure I could bend steel now. My pancakes sat untouched, getting colder by the second as I watched them.
He leaned in toward her, whispering something stupid in her ear with that same grin that used to make girls in high school swoon and guys in locker rooms roll their eyes.
Natalie wasn’t laughing. Thank fuck. She was giving him that same unimpressed stare that used to make teachers, coaches, and rogue homecoming DJs shrivel in fear.
It was the you’re-on-thin-fucking-ice look.
The one she’d given me once when I’d called her dog ugly.
But Brian? He was too stupid to be scared.
“Damn, Nat,” he said, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe his own luck. “You look better than ever. Seriously, if I’d known Santa was delivering gifts this early, I would’ve left out some milk and cookies last night.”
My jaw clenched. “Milk and cookies”? This dumbass.
I was going to commit a crime. A very festive, red-and-green-tinted crime. There would be carolers singing in the background as I ended him with a plastic reindeer antler.
