Page 89 of The Holiday Ex-Files

Did Annika have a headache? Not in the mood for caulking? Maybe she tripped and fell while taking pictures. Okay, that was petty on my part. Annika was a good person.

Mom pranced her way toward him. “We’re so glad you’re here. I’m sure you have more room for turkey.”

Noah rubbed his washboard abs. “Your turkey sounds great.”

What? Had Annika’s not been good?

“Perfect. You can sit next to Cami.” My mother’s eyes gleamed with deviousness.

Oh no, no, no. I would not be the ho. Not ever. No matter how much I liked Noah or wanted to catch up with him, tell him how sorry I was. “Uh, I’m sitting at the kids table.” A.k.a. the island.

My mother wasn’t to be deterred. “You like kids, don’t you, Noah?”

All the adults chuckled. This was getting ridiculous.

Noah returned my mother’s conspiratorial grin with one of his own. “Love them, Mrs. J.”

Mom clapped her hands together. “That’s settled, then. Let Thanksgiving begin.”

I think she meant, “Let the games begin.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Dear Ex-Filers, if anyone wants to know what holiday dinners are like with my family, it’s a beautiful time where we all gather and talk over each other at the tops of our lungs. It really brings a tear to the eye. Also, if it makes you feel any better, just remember most pies count as a serving of fruit, so don’t be shy, eat that pie. And if you need to escape any setup attempts from your mother, remember that talking and plotting to yourself is always a fan favorite. Good luck.

Lots of love,

Cami

I had escaped to the bathroom for a few minutes. Dinner had been awkward so far, to say the least. Like hella awkward, as Mara would say. Noah still hadn’t talked to me. Sure, he had looked my way, smirked, observed, even laughed when I forced turkey headbands on Corey and Ryland, but he’d said not a word to me as he’d sat across the island from me, chowing down like he hadn’t eaten in weeks while wearing an extra turkey headband. It was adorable, but I hadn’t mentioned it. Mom had definitely outdone herself this year. The turkey was melt-in-your-mouth amazing, and the green bean casserole was yummy. But hadn’t he just come from dinner with his girlfriend? I wasn’t going to ask him.

I slipped back onto my stool between my nieces Michaela and Toby. They were Ashton’s kiddos. Thankfully they were cuter and more well behaved than my brute of a brother, who was already talking smack and wanting to get out on the court for a game of three-on-three.

Saylor, my youngest niece, toddled my way and put her arms out, wanting me to hold her. I felt Noah’s eyes on me as I picked her up and cuddled her.

Say something to him, please. Miss Sparkly begged. She’d been quiet as of late—I mean, why would she need to talk when I was doing most everything her way?

Not quite everything, dear. But we’re getting there, she threw in for good measure.

Don’t expect everything to go back to the way it used to be. I don’t even know if that’s possible. Also, I don’t know what to say to Noah. I already texted him congratulations about his nieces, and all I got was a simple “Thank you” back, I defended myself.

That didn’t stop my head from turning to meet his gaze. When we locked eyes, a rush of heat trailed down my entire body. His lips parted like he might say something, but my dad stood and cleared his throat loudly.

“I have an announcement to make.”

My head whipped in my dad’s direction. My mom was now standing next to him. Dad smiled at the love of his life and wrapped an arm around her. How could they be so cute and still so in love? I knew it should give me hope but considering my track record and the fact that the man I liked was already taken, I wasn’t feeling all that hopeful about love. Yet, my parents made me smile even if they had made my holiday hella awkward.

It took my family a hot minute to quiet down. By that I mean my siblings and their spouses yelling at their children to hush for a good three minutes, then some crying ensued, followed by bribery. Good times.

I held on to sweet Saylor, wondering what kind of announcement my dad had to make. Last time he’d done this, he’d announced he was taking us all on a Disney cruise. I could live with that. But from the way my mom was beaming up at him with her hand resting on his chest, I had a feeling I wouldn’t be packing my bags anytime soon. At least not for a family vacay. I was still hitting the Virgin Islands with Mara in twenty-six days. Not like I was counting.

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