Page 62 of Home for the Holidays

“Ma, no. It’s fine.” His voice held that same note of disappointment she used to hear from him when he was a kid and she told him hecouldn’tdo something, but here she was telling him to go, have fun, and he was still upset. She truly couldn’t win.

“Zac,” Iris said softly. She was giving him a look that screamedTell her now, but Zac shook his head. “Why not?” Her question made him stand abruptly.

“Mrs. Nowak, I just wanted to thank you.” Evan’s voice broke through the tension as he appeared in the living room. Heidi felt Zac’s back muscles freeze up under her hand. “I’m going to head back to my parents’ house for the remainder of the evening.”

“Evan, dear, why don’t you stay and have pizza with us? We’ll be starting our annual Home Alone marathon shortly.” Heidi smiled up at him, the man her son shouldn’t have been afraid to bring home.

Evan bounced on his toes a couple times before he finally said, “Are you sure it wouldn’t be an imposition?”

“If you need to go home, you can, and Zac can go with you. Or you can both stay. It’s completely up to you.” She glanced at Iris’s wide smile. “Iris, what do you want to do?”

“Stay. But you can go if you want, Zac. I promise I won’t be upset.”

“Evan? What do you want to do?” Zac’s sweet voice was completely different from the voice he used with Iris. Yet another clue, if she were searching for them.

“I want to stay,” Evan enthused. “I loveHome Alone. And your mom’s pizza is freaking delicious. I haven’t had it since high school.”

Zac laughed. “Oh my god, you haven’t changed a bit, have you?”

Evan’s deep dimples made Heidi want to shout at them both even more.Just come out already, you assholes!Of course, she’d have to say that to herself as well, so maybe she’d better keep her mouth shut.

“Can we make pizzas now?” Oscar shouted from the kitchen. “We’re all starving.”

Heidi laughed as she held her hand out to Evan. “Help me up, please, so I can go feed my family. They have no idea how to do anything for themselves.”

Evan pulled her up as if she weighed nothing, then he pulled Zac up. Their hands continued to touch for far longer than normal before they walked away into the kitchen. She felt herself smiling, knowing that with each passing minute, Zac was getting more and more comfortable. She held both hands out for Iris, who hesitated at first, but once she grabbed them, everything snapped into a place Heidi had only dreamed might exist. She could do this for the rest of her life, hold her hand out for Iris to take. And the best part was that Iris would take it.

It all seemed so simple, but it was complicating the hell out of her life. She had spent the last forty-eight hours freaking out about how stupid it was to feel the way she felt about Iris instead of focusing on the very real fact that she may have found the perfect person to spend the rest of her life with.

“Thank you.” Iris squeezed Heidi’s hand after she stood. “Did we dodge a bullet? Or did we jump in front of one?”

Heidi chuckled. “A little of both, I fear.” She was still holding Iris’s hand. “As long as we get to sit by each other during the movie.”

“You think that’s a good idea?”

She glanced back over her shoulder at the hustle and bustle of her family in the kitchen. Evan had his hand on the small of Zac’s back as they stood in the doorway. Zac was looking at him, pure euphoria on his face.

She looked back at Iris. “Best idea I’ve had in quite some time.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR

It was the most delicious homemade pizza she had ever had. Whatever Heidi did to the sauce was the stuff dreams are made of. Even the big salad she threw together was phenomenal. Iris was in awe of her, which struck her as funny. As much as she enjoyed the company of older women, she never had actual relationships with them. Most of the older women she was attracted to were of theunobtainablevariety. There were a few throughout her history whom she had obtained access to—like Zac’s old boss and his old roommate, which he so kindly reminded her of—because she was charming and endearing and that was a powerful combo when it came to persuasion. Most of those women were straight to begin with, too, which was an entire conversation in and of itself.

After stuffing herself as if she’d never be given another scrap of food, Iris along with the Nowak clan all changed into the matching Christmas pajama sets Heidi presented to them. They were covered with dinosaurs, of course. Iris’s set was a little large since Heidi admitted she had purchased it for whatever guy friend Zac was bringing home, but she didn’t care. She was falling in love with the idea of being a part of this family. Or else she was falling in love with Heidi.

Either one was a problem, one she was spending an awful lot of time talking herself down from pursuing.

Once they’d changed, she headed downstairs with Zac and Evan to the movie room. Which, she had no idea, was an entire basement dedicated to movies. There was surround sound, two rows of reclining love seats, a huge screen complete with a high-definition projector, and a bar stocked with whatever drink you’d like. Iris had died and gone to heaven. She plopped down in one of the love seat recliners and sighed. “This is amazing.”

Zac giggled. “Wait until you see this. Alexa, turn lights to cinema mode.”

All the lights dimmed to a perfect movie-watching level. “Ooh, very nice,” Iris said as she looked over at him. Evan was sitting next to him on one of the other love seats, staring at Zac with a very contented smile on his face. Iris was thrilled by how this was playing out for the two of them, especially for Zac. He deserved so much happiness. She hoped he found it.

Also, the fact that she and Zac had sort of just broke up without going through the actual act of breaking up made herveryhappy. She didn’t want or need the drama. There would be enough drama when her fake ex and her current love interest finally found the courage to be honest with the rest of the family.

“Iris, Iris, Iris!” Nora’s sweet voice sounded behind her, and then she was being leaped on. Zac’s niece situated herself on Iris’s lap. “I want to sit here, okay?” Iris knew it wasn’t negotiable, but thought it was cute that Nora made it seem like she had an option. She was probably too young for the movie still, but Karen assured Iris that she’d be asleep in minutes. Maddie followed behind Nora, up and onto the love seat, curling up next to Iris.

“Looks like you get the best seat in the house,” Zac said with a wink. “Nora, I thought I was your favorite. I’m so sad.”

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