Page 95 of Confessions of a Canine Drama Queen

And by “some” tequila, she meant two whole bottles.

The house appeared quiet as she approached, and when she knocked on the door, no sounds came from inside. Frowning, she waited a moment and knocked again. Maybe Leah had taken a nap. She tried not to worry as she fished her key out and unlocked the door, stepping inside and closing it behind her.

It was perfectly still and quiet. Not even the familiar click of canine toenails over floorboards.

Out of the corner of her eye, August caught lights flashing in the living room. Turning, she almost dropped her bag of groceries from the shock of seeing a fully decorated Christmas tree right in the corner of the room, near the fireplace.

“What the heck...?” She put the bag of groceries down on the floor and toed off her shoes. Then she headed toward the twinkling lights.

Was this some weird Christmas in June event? Was that even a thing? Wasn’t it supposed to be Christmas inJuly?

“Hi, August.” Keaton’s voice startled her so much that she immediately brought her hands up in a faux martial arts stance.

What the heck did you think was going to happen? That you would karate chop an intruder who broke in to decorate a Christmas tree?

“I’m so confused right now.” She lowered her arms.

Keaton stood in the archway that separated the living room from a small dining area. He leaned against the wall, looking every bit his usual delectable self, in dark denim jeans and a black V-neck T-shirt.

“I, uh...” He came forward. “I wanted to talk to you and when I went to Leah for advice, she told me to go big or go home.”

August’s mouth twitched. “That sounds like something she’d say.”

“It all made sense in my head, but now that we’re in the moment...” He glanced at the Christmas tree. “I’m going to say what I planned to say, okay? It’s probably going to sound ridiculous but we’re here now and I’m already making a fool of myself, anyway, so why not go all the way?”

August’s tummy fluttered. It felt like something big was coming—something important. And she didn’t trust herself to speak, so she simply nodded.

“I don’t know if I ever told you how much it meant that you wrote me while I was in juvie,” he started. “Those were some of the darkest days of my whole life and I believed I didn’t deserve for a single person to remember who I was. I expected everyone to abandon me, because it felt like that’s what I was owed. But you didn’t. You kept me in touch with the world and life back here. I know you came around a lot to keep Leah company because my mom was struggling with her mental health and with her marriage falling apart, and then with Leah’s diagnosis.”

August nodded. “You guys are my second family.”

“Some days I’m pretty sure your letters were the only thing that kept me going. That kept me believing I could get out of there and make a change for myself. That I could be the man Mom and Leah needed me to be.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Then when I went off to college, I missed your letters.”

“I thought you’d be too busy to worry about writing back to a silly high school girl,” she replied, looking down at her feet.

“There’s nothing silly about you, August—not then and not now. I thought about you all the time, looking forward to summer break because I knew you’d be hanging around the house and I could see you.”

“You never made a move,” she said, shaking her head.

“Two years felt like a huge gap even though you were more mature than anyone my age. I didn’t want to be one of those creepy college guys leering after young high school girls. So I waited...” He let out a breath. “I waited until after I’d graduated and you’d gotten a little older, and when I came home for Christmas, it felt right.”

The words struck her in the chest. He’d been biding his time, waiting for the right moment to be with her, and she’d blown it.

“Keaton wants to talk to you,” Leah said, pointing to the front door. “Outside.”

“Why?” August tried to play it cool, but inside her body was a riot of color and excitement, like the rainbow flickering lights she’d strung on her tree the week earlier.

Leah shrugged and winked. “I don’t know. Maybe he wants to kiss you.”

Most sisters would hate the idea of their brother making out with their best friend, but not Leah. She’d thought they should get married ever since she was thirteen, because she wanted August to officially be part of their family and that seemed easier than trying to get her mom to file for adoption.

“He doesn’t want to kiss me,” August scoffed.

“Just go.” Leah shoved her toward the door and August was so nervous she thought she might puke. That wouldnotmake a good impression.

“Fine,” she huffed, pretending to be annoyed rather than excited.

Inside, the house was noisy and warm and fun, with Leah and Keaton’s extended family gathering around and some of their mother’s friends dropping by, too. But outside, the world felt still and quiet. Snow drifted down in fat, fluffy flakes and caught in her hair and on the outer layer of her velvet dress.

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