Page 26 of My Secret Snowflake
“I’m just trying to protect Iris and me from all your public displays of affection,” Sebastian says gamely.
“But you haven’t moved. Do you want a kiss on the cheek?” Zeke asks.
“Definitely not from you,” Sebastian says.
“I’ll kiss you—on the cheek,” I say.
Sebastian’s glance meets mine, and my pulse picks up, my body fizzing.
“I must have been good this year,” he says, his lips curving up.
“Or very bad,” I say.
He smiles.A mischievous Sebastian would be a lot of fun.
“No, I definitely must have been good,” he says.
He stands very still, his arms at his sides, as I take a step towards him and lean forward. Our glances hold as I get closer. It feels like he’s holding himself in check. I swallow. His eyes focus on my lips, and the warmth of his exhale brushes my cheek. His breath smells of mint. My lips press against his smooth skin, and I’m enveloped in the pine and fresh cold air scent of him. And then I pull back. For a moment, it’s just us, gazing at each other, and for me, questioning, wondering—is there something here?
The sound of a distant siren slices through this…moment. I step back but also pull him with me—away from the mistletoe. All these sparkly lights are going to my head.
“Now we’ve broken in the mistletoe,” I say.
Maddie walks by to go outside, pointing to her phone. She must be working on an article forThe Intelligencer. My dad announces that our dinner is ready.
We swarm the table, and I make sure to sit far away from Sebastian. My father comes out with the stew. I stand to help, but he motions for me to sit back down.
Did Sebastian feel anything?
Maybe.
But…
My stomach churns.
The thought of starting another relationship and being betrayed again… I can’t.
“Are you in charge of the games for your sister’s party tomorrow?” Tessa asks.
“Of course,” I say.
Maddie finally comes in from outside and sits down next to me. People often mistake us for sisters. She also lives on the Lower East Side, so we hang out the most—or we did. It feels like my friendships are slipping away as I give in to the demands of my career and put in the time to be the best I can be.
“Are you organizing one of your amazing scavenger hunts?” Maddie asks.
“One quick neighborhood scavenger hunt just on this block, and then we’ll play Icebreaker Bingo,” I say. “Everyone has to mingle and ask personal questions to find the person who best fits the description in a square. For example, a square could say ‘someone who has a dog’ and you have to find that person to cross that square off.”
The rich smell of chicken tomato stew makes my stomach rumble. Tessa is ladling servings into bowls.
“By the way, my little sibling from the Dream Big Brothers Big Sisters program mentioned that her high school doesn’t have a library and she’d like to build one. They’re supposed to have one under New York City law, but there’s no funding for a librarian,” I say to Lily. “Does your library ever give away books to school libraries?”
“I can ask. Sometimes we sell books that are donated to us,” Lily says. “I think it may be best to partner with another public school. I’ve seen that be successful.”
“I’ll donate my books,” Bella says. Tessa volunteers Miranda, our artist friend, to create a poster and a small painting to raffle off to buy new books.
“That would be great. We can put up a poster here requesting donations of used YA books for that library,” I say. “And I can also put some up at the office. I’m sure our CEO, Xavier, will support it, even if the company can’t donate right now.”
“Since we’re requesting only new books for the holiday gift drive for the neighborhood kids in need and for the women’s shelter near us, I can put your poster up and add a box for used book donations in the library,” Lily says.
