Page 62 of The Bright Side of Christmas
“Uh, yeah,” I say, a blush burning on my cheeks with everyone’s gaze locked on me. “I can do that.”
Silence fills the room before Mom breaks it, leaning in on my other side. “Oh, I like him, Wren. Keep this one around,” she says in an ill-disguised stage whisper.
Madden continues to stare at me pensively while Jesse looks on, clearly entertained. Emma takes the opportunity of everyone being distracted to reach for another sugary cinnamon roll, but I don’t stop her.
Madden looks at Dad, then Adam, with a tight jaw, clearly annoyed that someone is stepping in and countering him. He opens his mouth, and my stomach turns, knowing my brother, who is barely two years older than me and always the one to clash with me the most, is about to poke a bear. That is, until Dad speaks up.
“Adam, if you ever have some free time, we’d be grateful if you could offer some time,” he says in thatmy word is finalway, and stares at Madden meaningfully.
“I’ve got a truck. Would that work? I don’t want to take Wren’s car because it looks like it’s on its last leg as it is.”
That’s all that is needed to break the discomfort hanging in the air. I turn to Adam, aghast.
“Excuse me, Bessie and I have a long, healthy relationship.”
“That you should end,” Adam retorts quickly with a slight tilt of his lips.
“Excuse me!” I stare with wide eyes at him, and his smirk turns into a grin.
“That thing is a death trap,” he says.
“I’ve been saying that for years,” Madden says begrudgingly. When I look at him, his irritated glare has turned into begrudging approval. “Maybe you can convince her to upgrade.”
I see calculation in Adam’s eyes, and considering I’m pretty sure he’s loaded, I don’t thinkbuying Wren a new caris entirely out of the question.
We need a distraction.
“Okay, on that note,” I say, standing up, eager to get out of here. “Adam and I have a tree to pick out. Thanks for brunch, Mom, it was great, even if it was an ambush.”
Mom smiles without a hint of remorse on her face before she looks at Adam, who has also stood and is holding his plate awkwardly, clearly unsure of what to do with it.
“Leave it, honey, the boys will clean up,” Mom says with a wave of her hand.
“Mom—” Madden begins to whine.
“You’ve been nothing but rude to our guest, so it’s the least you can do.”
Madden glares at Mom, and I’m pretty sure Dad kicks him under the table, giving him thebe good for your motherlook, and despite him being almost thirty, he sighs and shuts his mouth. I give him a faux sweet smirk before sticking my tongue out at him. He scratches the side of his nose with his middle finger before Jesse speaks, probably trying to keepallof us out of trouble, as is his way.
“Yeah, don’t worry about it, we’ve got it. Nice meeting you, Adam,” Jesse says.
Then, before anyone can say anything else, I grab Adam’s hand and drag him out the front door.
TWENTY-TWO
“Ready to go pick out a tree?” Adam asks, putting a hand to my lower back as we step out into the cold. There’s still a layer of snow on the ground, though pathways are shoveled or covered with a thick layer of hay throughout the property, making it easy to navigate. I start to move us away from my parents’ house and toward the barn, which is off in the distance.
“Okay, so the truth of the matter is, I already know what tree you’re getting,” I say, pulling my fluffy hood up. Adam looks at me as he reaches for my hand, sliding his fingers between mine.
“So what are we doing out here then?” he asks, narrowing his eyes.
“Escaping my family. I’m sorry they’re so…” He cuts me off with a loud laugh, shaking his head and then turning to pull me into his arms. I melt when I wrap mine around his neck, the remaining nerves fading away.
“No need, Wren. I’ve been dealing with you for weeks now, and I figured that stubbornness was a family trait. That meeting with the family was not nearly as much of an interrogation as you led me to believe it would be.”
I stare at him, brows furrowed. “My brothersliterallyasked you what your intentions were.”
He shrugs. “That doesn’t matter, and it’s nothing I wasn’t prepared for. Your brothers are protective because they’re your older brothers. They’re going to keep being protective, especially if I’m encouraging you to set boundaries and say ‘no’ more, something that might not benefit them as much as before. But eventually, they’ll get over it and accept me when they realize I’m here for the long run.” My heart starts pounding with his words. “Your mom likes me, I think, and your dad seemed to be…fine with me. Other than Hallie and Nat, I assume, those are the people whose opinion you’ll really care about most of all, so that’s all I’ll care about.”
