Page 96 of Nerdy or Nice
I hadn't seen it. None of us had, thank goodness, because for once, the guy was wearing plenty of outer-clothing, too. But wehadoverheard him talking about it just before announcing to Mom that he was ready to get jingling as soon as he finished his Christmas pudding.
And boy, hadthatcleared the room.
For once, I hadn't minded, and neither had my sisters. Turns out, both of them had plans, anyway – Justine with the family of her best friend and Regina with a new guy who sounded really nice.
All this to say, I didn't need to feel guilty for the fact thatIhad plans, too – with Drake and Grandpa Clint.
Clint had promised to make his Christmas dinner specialty – meat loaf with extra meat, while Drake had promised to provide side dishes galore.And me? I was bringing homemade apple pie.
But it wasn't the promise of edibles that had me whistling a happy tune.
It was the promise of family fun with two guys who'd claimed my heart in two totally different ways.
Growing up, I hadn't really known my own grandparents. And now, Clint was stepping into that role so perfectly that theoldme might've been terrified at the thought of future disappointment if things with Drake didn't work out.
But that was then, and this was now.
Now, I was doing a better job of living in the moment, knowing that sure, life will always have its ups and downs. But sometimes, the risk is totally worth it.
Plus, I had a great feeling about me and Drake. Already, I knew deep in my heart that if things turned out the way I hoped, the highs would make a mockery of the lows.
I was just boxing up my Christmas presents for both of them when I heard Lexie and Harper bickering in the kitchen.
Lexie was saying, "Ididn't leave it open.Youmust've left it open."
"It wasn'tme," Harper said. "It must've been Gwen."
I called out, "It was the cats!"
A moment later, both of my cousins emerged from the kitchen wearing nearly identical looks. With obvious skepticism, Harper asked, "Did you just seriously blame the cats?"
I almost laughed. Judging from her expression, she thought the idea was positively ludicrous. Funny, I'd had that same thought a week ago when Drake had suggested a similar thing.
But now, I knew better.With a smile, I said, "You're talking about the pantry door, right?"
"Yeah," Harper said. "How'd you know?"
"Because," I said, "Ginger has figured out how to open it."
"Oh, please," Harper said. "Cat's can't work doorknobs." She lifted both hands and gave her thumbs a little waggle. "No thumbs, remember?"
"Sure, they can't workregulardoorknobs," I said. "But all ofthesedoorknobs are the handle kind. They're more hooks than knobs."
"So?" Harper said.
"So technically, a cat could just push the handle downward with a paw."
Harper smirked. "Sure, if they were five feet tall."
"They don'tneedto be tall," I said. "They just need something to stand on, like a table or countertop."Or my bedroom dresser.
Harper rolled her eyes. "Nice story."
"It's no story," I said. "I saw Ginger do it just two days ago."
Lexie spoke up. "Where?"
"The pantry." I pointed toward the kitchen. "Lemme guess. The container of cat snacks was lying on the pantry floor?"
