Page 137 of Show Me How
“You know, Trevor and Millicent never would have had a chance,” I tease, resting my head on his chest.
His arm automatically curls around me, keeping me pressed against him. “No, princess. But we do.”
EPILOGUE
SHADE
TWO MONTHS LATER
Shelly shovesa mug of hot chocolate into Millie’s hands and then drapes a blanket over her thighs, muttering under her breath about her bare legs looking frozen. I smirk in response, squeezing my girl’s thigh beneath the heavy fabric of the blanket.
It’s the first time I’ve been invited over to celebrate Christmas like this, and I know that all has to do with Millie. She’s become like a second daughter to Shelly, and that means she’s automatically invited to all of the family events. Thanksgiving was the same, and I think I still have frozen turkey in my deep-freeze from how much she sent us home with afterward.
I know Millie loves every minute of these nights, though. With the raw wound left behind from her broken relationship with her parents, the one she has with Shelly has kept her too busy to focus on missing them. They’re not worth missing, if I’m being honest, but whether they deserve it or not, they’ll always be her parents.
Maybe they’ll realize that one day.
“She’s going full mother hen on you today,” I drawl, exhaling across the back of Millie’s ear.
The happiness in her words threatens to choke me. “I don’t mind.”
“She’ll get used to it eventually.”
“Get used to what?”
“How little you take the weather into consideration with your outfit choices.”
She leans her head against my shoulder, snuggling into my side. “If I did that, I’d never wear anything I want to in this town. It’s been freezing for months now.”
“I’m not complaining.”
“Yeah, I know you’re not. You like my clothes too much.”
“I could do without you wearing heels in the snow and having so many close calls, but yeah, you’ve got me there,” I agree easily.
“How much do you want to bet my gift under the tree is my own pair of those clunky boots she tried to make me wear last week?”
I chuckle. “I’m not taking that bet.”
“Are you two talking about me?” Shelly asks, a sassy hand on her hip as she stands in front of the fireplace.
Millie’s such a shitty liar that she doesn’t even try to answer before tucking her face into my shoulder, hiding. I kiss the top of her head and wink at the older woman.
“Never, Shelly. We were talking about how much we like this blanket. Did you knit it yourself?”
Her scoffed laugh is immediate. “Not a chance. It was a gift from Tilly. She sent a box of them over last week.”
“And you already opened them? It’s only Christmas Eve.” I cluck my tongue.
“She chose not to come again this year. So, you’re damn right I opened them early.”
The mood in the room dips slightly as we pick up on the tension in Shelly’s voice. I had a feeling it could get like this today when I bugged Ash about his coming back for Christmas and he said she wasn’t.
Millie’s been here for long enough for no one to censor themselves around her anymore, but there are still things she doesn’t know. The dark hue of Tilly’s past here in Oak Point is one of those secrets. Her recent divorce, however, isn’t.
Ash, who’s been in the kitchen with his dad for the last few minutes, sticks his head into the room and says, “Don’t start, Mom.”
“I’m not starting anything!”
