Page 21 of The Mistletoe Switch

When I open the front door, my mother, all six feet and muscle of her, is waiting with a stern look. "You need to leave your sister's boyfriend alone."

"You've told me." Via text and voice mail six times over the past two days.

"How do I know you've listened if you don't answer or text me back?"

She looks over my shoulder, and her expression shifts, a smile widening her face. "Liam and Murphy made it. I love a full house for dinner."

I grunt and slide past her into the house. Maybe if I scowl and stay in the shadows, everyone will leave me alone tonight.

"We brought you two bottles of wine because we couldn't agree on which one to get," Liam says to my mother at the door.

"Liam has terrible taste." Murphy's tone is cheerful, like she's talking about her winning season as girls' soccer coach at the local high school. "But he's too stubborn to admit it and just listen to me."

I roll my eyes.

"You don't have to bring anything." Mom's voice is muffled, like she's hugging one or both of them. "I'm just so glad to have you here. Xavier's already inside, but he's on my shit list."

Liam laughs loudly. "I heard about him calling out James for having an ex-fiancé. Can't believe the woman actually showed up here to win him back."

Their voices drift closer and I sit on a couch in the den, hoping they head straight to the kitchen where everyone hangs out during these things.

Murphy appears first, looking the same as she has since she was a kid, only stretched out. She's almost as tall as Mom, with close-cropped brown hair, olive skin, and an easy smile. She teaches science at the high school and coaches girls' soccer.

She plops onto the couch next to me. "Is it true, Xavier? Some wacky woman convinced you James is a cheating liar and you beat him up on Main Street in front of God and everyone?"

"I didn't beat up anyone and Cherry's not wacky." I mean, I wouldn't call her ordinary or even well-adjusted, but she's not wacky.

Murphy narrows her brown eyes and opens her mouth, so I grab her and give her a noogie before she can say another word. She's no amateur and punches for my balls. I shift my hips just in time and she gets me hard enough in the thigh that I loosen my grip and she wriggles free.

She hops off the couch in a fighting stance, fists raised. "Come on, Xavier. Show me how you kicked his ass."

If there's one person in the world who can make me smile even on my worst day, it's Murphy. She just gets me, always has. And I get her right back.

I grin and crouch as I rise off the couch, shoulder aimed for her gut so I can lift her into a firefighter's carry. Murph anticipates my move, as she always does, shifts to the side and knees me in the ribs.

"Yeah, baby." Liam grins with pride and rocks back on his heels. "I taught her that move."

I get to my feet, ribs aching, and back away. "You know it's not cool to physically fight your girlfriend, right, man?"

Liam's gaze is on Murphy. "It sure is fun after the fighting's done."

Murphy smiles and blows him a kiss, followed by her middle finger. Liam's expression heats like she just suggested a quickie in the hall bathroom.

"Cool it, weirdos." I cover my eyes. "I've seen more than enough of you two getting it on."

Murph laughs. "You should have knocked. I told you, if Liam and I are both home, we're probably naked."

"I didn't realize you were at his place, Murph, because your truck wasn't in the driveway."

"I've missed this." Mom smiles fondly, like we're being sweet. "You two need to make it to more family dinners."

"Sorry, Mrs. Shaw." Liam sounds genuinely contrite, even as he smiles warmly back at Mom. His mother died when he was just a baby and Mom's always been like a second mother to him. "I've been working evenings at the shop. But Tuesday nights work better for me."

"I'm so glad. I changed it to suit Xavier's schedule. The rest of us have to be up early tomorrow morning, but Xavier's missed a lot fewer meals since I moved them mid-week."

"Wow." Murphy narrows her eyes at Liam. "That's so thoughtful and considerate to change your schedule and accept a bit of sacrifice in order to make things easier for the people you love."

Liam scowls. "You're the one who keeps taking on more after school crap. You said you'd have evenings free until soccer season starts back up, but you're hardly ever home anymore."

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