Page 46 of The Night Before Grumpmas
I instantly regret asking. Why the hell did I expect anything else from my stupid brother?
“Jesus Christ, does your fiancée know the shit you say about her behind her back?” I ask, my annoyance hitting new heights.
He nods, completely unfazed. “Yep. Zoe loves it. I’ll probably text her later, tell her what to do since I’m not there to make her wet. She likes when I text her dirty things.” He smirks proud of himself.
“For fuck’s sake, stop. I don’t need to hear about your sex life.”
“You’re no fun, Jacob,” Max laughs, leaning back with that infuriatingly smug look. “And yet, somehow, you’ve found someone to love who is cheery and totally opposite of you. Interesting.” He raises an eyebrow, clearly enjoying himself. “If you ask me—and Audrey agrees—you fell in love somewhere between ‘stop burning those fucking candles’ and ‘the ghosts on the walls are too much.’ It’s basically a holiday rom-com in the making.”
I roll my eyes, but his words hit harder than I want them to. Love? Is that what this is? Because if it is . . . what the hell am I supposed to do with that? Would Noelle even believe me? Is it too soon to tell her?
Before I can spiral further, my phone rings. Noelle.
“Yes?” I answer, hoping I don’t sound as off-balance as I feel.
“What the fuck did you do, McCallister?” Her voice is sharp, full of anger.
I freeze. “Excuse me?” I’ve never heard her this upset at me. Never. Not even when we’re fighting about her decorations or the noise or . . . “Are you okay, baby?”
“You called the owner of the apartment, told him we’ve made changes to the unit and that I’m subleasing it from my grandmother,” she snaps, clearly pissed.
“No, I didn’t?—”
“Don’t lie to me,” she snaps. “He said, ‘Mr. McCallister made me aware of the issues going on in my apartment. I’m afraid you’ve breached your contract. You either leave now, or we’ll have to evict you, and the legal fees will be on you.’” She pauses, her voice tight with anger. “I can forward you the voice message if you don’t believe me.”
Fuck. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Well, okay, maybe I did before—but that was then. And now . . . I’ve fucked up royally, haven’t I?
Guilt hits me hard, and I grip my phone tighter. “Noelle, I’ll fix this. I swear. It wasn’t?—”
“Go fuck yourself, Jacob McCallister. You just took away my grandma’s home. The place she lived with Grandpa, where he died. It’s not like she even wanted to live here, but it means a lot to her. You’re a soulless asshole,” she spits with so much anger in her words.
And I do remember Mrs. Holiday talking about her late husband with fondness. He sounded like a nice person, just like her, and like their granddaughter.
“Noelle, I can fix—” But the call ends, and the silence on the other end feels like a punch to the gut.
“Everything okay?” Max asks, his knowing smirk already in place.
“Yes, everything’s fine,” I grumble, staring at my phone like it might hold the solution to this disaster.
“Sure,” Max says, not buying it for a second. “But you look like your world’s coming to an end.”
“I’m fine,” I mutter, the words hollow.
Max snorts, cutting through my bullshit. “How did you fuck up?”
Though I should tell him to fuck off, I find myself explaining the whole thing, hoping that maybe talking it out will help me figure out a solution.
When I finish, Max’s grin is even wider. “Nice job, genius. Trying to get your girl evicted? That’s one way to say ‘I love you.’”
“Shut the fuck up,” I snap, rubbing the back of my neck, trying to control the rising panic.
Max just grins at me like I’m the biggest idiot in the world. “I mean, you’re good at a lot of things, but being a smooth boyfriend? Definitely not one of them.”
“This isn’t the time to say stupid things.” I shoot him a look that could kill, but unfortunately, he’s not wrong. He raises his hands, shrugging. “I’m not sure how I’m going to fix it.”
“Didn’t you just say what you were going to do when the landlord contacted you? Buy the apartment. Just convince him to sell it to you, and boom—you’re the fucking hero.”
“And if he doesn’t sell?”
