Page 3 of Snow Place Like Home
Me: Ace is going as the Grinch and he wanted me to go as Cindy Lou Who, but I’d already committed to my Rudolph costume.
Mom: This is a mess. You’re walking down the aisle together and you don’t match.
Me: That’s a bit dramatic, even for you, Virgin Mary. It’s a rehearsal dinner, not the actual wedding. We don’t need to coordinate.
Mom: There will be photos tonight. Dad and I match. Holly and Jack match. Holly’s parents match. And you and Ace will look like the odd men out.
Me: Because we aren’t a couple, we don’t need to match. I’ll see you soon, Mom.
“Let me guess. Suz still wants you to hop in the manger?” Poppy said as she pulled her hair over one shoulder and shellacked it in hair spray.
“Yes. But that’s the least of my worries. I’m going to be grilled by all the out-of-towners about my breakup,” I groaned at the reminder of what tonight would bring.
I’d dated Joshua for six years, so he’d attended more family events than I could count. But shortly after I’d graduated from veterinary school a few months back, I’d come home early to find him in bed with his coworker, Tabitha. It had literally turned my world upside down, andI’d been forced to pivot. I’d moved back home and decided to open my veterinary practice here in the small town where I’d grown up. But everyone who was coming from out of town to the wedding would want to know what had happened with Joshua.
“I think you should throw that twatwaffle’s ass under the bus.” She shrugged as we both walked out to the front room and slipped into our coats.
Poppy never minced words.
“And say what? ‘I came home early and found him in bed with his hot coworker?’In our bed, for that matter. It’s slightly humiliating.” I zipped my coat all the way up.
“It’s humiliating for him. You just say, ‘I found that loser balls deep in a woman who happens to be married—and I’m finally free.’ I mean, for God’s sake, the man asked you to shave his balls. It’s a relief that you’re done with that cheating, hairy-balled bastard. I never liked him.” She slipped her mittens on. “Come on, Rudolph. Let’s get this party started.”
I blew out a breath and nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Two
Ace
Buddy, you wear that Grinch suit well,” Jack said as we drove toward the restaurant. He and Holly and I were sitting in the back seat of a limousine. I’d arrived in town an hour ago, and I’d hired a driver and come straight to Jack and Holly’s house to pick them up so we could head to the rehearsal dinner.
The dude was like a brother to me, and he was quite possibly the only guy on the planet that I would dress in a dumbass, ridiculous, furry, green Christmas-themed costume for.
He’d sent me the link and insisted I wear the costume. All the outfits for the wedding party had to be approved ahead of time, because Jack and Holly had something special planned after dinner that included a wedding singer who was a “lyrical genius,” according to the two peppiest people on earth.
“Only for you. And you two are rocking those elf costumes.” I chuckled, because who the fuck throws a wedding on Christmas Day and demands their wedding party dress as holiday characters for the rehearsal dinner on Christmas Eve?
Jack fucking Jacobs and his fiancée, that’s who.
Jack and I had been inseparable since we’d met in kindergarten, all the way up until we’d both gone off to college. I’d left White Cap in my rearview mirror, aside from my once-a-year trip back to see the Jacobses.
I’d practically grown up at the Jacobses’ house. They were the family that everyone wished they were born into.
Suzie and Joe Jacobs were the quintessential parents that childhood dreams were made of. Something you’d see on a sitcom, reminding most of us how fucked up our own childhoods were.
My family life was more like a badDatelineepisode, and the Jacobses had saved me more times than I could count.
I remember being surprised the first time I’d gone over to their house for dinner. Suzie and Joe were madly in love, and they supported their children in every way, shape, and form. And Jack was ridiculously protective of his younger sister, so I’d always kept myself in check where she was involved.
Goldie Sunshine Jacobs.
She was that girl. Her name fit her well. Beautiful, funny, thoughtful, smart, and kind. I’d never once crossed the line with her, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it.
A couple hundred times.
Fine. Maybe thousands.
Goldie was Jack’s little sister, after all—not mine. I was only fucking human.
