Page 67 of The Naughty List

“Good, that guy was an asshat,” my older brother, Troy, says as he walks around the corner. “Sorry sis, but you know he was.” He pulls me in for a hug. I smile and roll my eyes at his fiancée, Grace, who is standing beside him. She grins at me.

“Total asshat,” Jason agrees.

“Language!” Mom snaps.

“Troy said it first,” Jason argues, pointing toward his laughing older brother.

“Troy is a grown man. He’s twenty-eight. You’re seventeen and still living under my roof.”

This is so embarrassing, and exactly what I was afraid of. Alex must sense my tension because he leans closer and gently bumps his shoulder against mine, getting my attention.

“Relax,” he whispers.

“Okay, okay, we’ve embarrassed the girl enough. Let’s get settled and allow these two to relax after their drive. The boys and I were just about to set up the eggnog luge anyway. You like eggnog, son?”

“Dad, no. Alex is—”

“I do like eggnog,” Alex answers, smiling at me. “I’m happy to help if you need it, sir.”

“An extra pair of hands is always welcome.” Dad grabs Alex’s shoulder and leads him behind my brothers through the house to the garage.

I groan once he disappears from sight. “Oh god.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Let’s have some coffee. Grace, come on.”

We follow my mom into the kitchen, where she pours each of us a cup of coffee and sets us up to peel potatoes. The turkey and ham are already in the oven.

“You want to talk about what happened with Tim?”

I shrug. “Not really. The relationship wasn’t right for me, and it ran its course. We ended things weeks ago.”

“And Alex?” Mom asks, not looking up from the potato in her hand.

“What about him? He’s just a friend.”

She stops peeling and gives me the mom look. “That’s not how a friend looks at someone, Sadie. Am I right, Grace?” Grace just laughs and shrugs, shaking her head to indicate she doesn’t want to get in the middle of this conversation.

“What are you talking about? We just got here, and you literally just met him.”

“I know that look, there’s something there.”

I shake my head, not wanting to indulge in that kind of wishful thinking at the moment. Suddenly, several yelling voices erupt from the garage, making me drop the potato I was peeling. I walk to the door that leads from the kitchen to the garage, flinging it open just in time to see Alex standing up, his arms raised overhead, with eggnog running down his chin.

“It’s not even nine a.m., Dad,” I scold, but he waves away my concern.

“It’s the virgin nog right now. We’re just doing a test run for later.”

My brothers start to chant Alex’s name and he winks at me. I laugh and close the door, heading back to finish helping my mom with the potatoes. We chat for the next hour, talking about my job and her recent promotion at the hospital where she’s been a nurse for almost twenty years. She fills me in on my dad’s health, telling me he had a fall a while back, which was a minor scare, but he’s back at work now.

“How’s Skyler doing at college? I try to keep in touch with him but he’s always so busy.”

“Busy with girls.” Mom shakes her head, laughing. “He’s loving it, though. Jason is going to visit him next semester, I’m sure he’ll end up there with him next fall.” It’s hard to believe my parents will officially be empty nesters in less than a year.

Grace tells us how she and Troy booked their venue and can’t wait to get married so they can start a family right away. A flash of envy runs through me. Not because I don’t want that for her and my brother, but because I thought I’d have a family of my own by now.

We spend the afternoon as a family, talking, snacking, and playing games. Alex joins the conversations and jokes, the competition, and even the charades, which he knocks out of the park.

Dinner is delicious, the wine is tasty, and I’m pleasantly surprised at how easily Alex blends in with my family. My brothers make sure to take every opportunity to crack a joke about our friendship, but Alex rolls with the punches and I just roll my eyes.

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