Page 105 of Going Viral for Christmas
“Fisher!” I scold. “Wrong side.”
“What?” he shrugs. “He’s fun. You’re all stiff and twitchy.”
G-Ma throws her cards down. “Stop talking and let this manplay.I haven’t seen hands that good since 1972, and let me tell you, the man who owned them back then could shuffle more than a deck.”
I groan. Soren laughs. My mom giggles. She’s three glasses in and feeling it.
Emily crosses her arms, one brow arched. “Okay, real talk, Soren.What exactlyareyour intentions with our Ava Bell? And know… if you lie, G-Ma’s probably got a meat tenderizer with your name on it.”
Soren’s mouth quirks. His eyes stay serious, staring straight at her. “Honestly? I know I want to make her laugh when she forgets how. I want to be the one she calls when everything goes sideways. And if I ever get lucky enough—reallylucky enough—I want to be the reason she loves again.”
The room goes quiet.
Traitorous heat pricks the corners of my eyes. Absolutely not. No tears. Not for him. I force a laugh, too high-pitched to sound real. “You should bottle that line, Pembry. Sell it on ShelfSpace. The fangirls would eat it up.”
His jaw tics, the humor draining from his expression. “That’s the part you don’t get, Bells. I don’t care about them. Not when it comes to this, or to you.”
Emily stares, then nods approvingly. “Okay. Damn. No meat tenderizer for you.”
G-Ma sighs, “Too bad. I had good aim in my prime.”
I stuff a praline in my mouth to keep from screaming. Because here’s the truth: they’re all eating him up as though he’s a sugar-dusted pie. And Soren’s playing his part perfectly–as a damn walking, talking book boyfriend dream sequence.
And me? I’m faking it harder than ever because every time he meets my eyes, I feelsoooomany things.
I’m not ready for this. I refuse to be.
“Okay,” my mom says, clasping her hands. “Let’s keep this grill going. Soren, what’s your favorite thing about Ava?”
The table falls silent. G-Ma puts down her fork. Even Fisher stops chewing.
“Mom—”
“No interrupting,” she sing-songs. “Let the man speak.”
Soren’s gaze slides to mine. His smirk fades into a softer version of his smile. “Her fire.”
The air is too thick. I can’t breathe.
“She comes in swinging,” he says, voice deliberate. “She doesn’t let people coast on charm or bullshit. She makes you earn every laugh. Allher looks. Each inch of trust. You think you’re ready for her, and then she proves you aren’t—unless you’reallin. That kind of fire doesn’t burn you. It brands you. You know? Makes you understand what matters in life.”
Another beat of silence. My heart is a bass drum against my ribs.
My mom breathes. “I knew it. He’s the one.”
G-Ma sniffs, dabbing her eyes with a napkin. “Lord have mercy, I’m gonna need a shot of bourbon and a handheld fan. Stat, Fisher.”
Fisher jumps from the table. All eyes turn to me. Crap.
“What about you, Ava?” my mom asks. “What’s your favorite thing about Soren?”
My palms are slick. I rub them on my jeans. “Uh...”
Don’t saythe dick, and definitely don’t say he has a smile that could collapse a solar system.
“He’s… unexpected,” I manage. “He surprises me.”
Soren clutches his chest. “Bells, is thatanothercompliment?”
