Page 103 of Kiss the Girl
“Better open them,” my mom said.
“Those aren’t the rules,” Tabitha objected, laughing.
“It’s different for grandkids,” my dad said firmly, and it felt like a knife twisting in my gut, and I failed utterly to resist a look at Noah.
He was watching me with an expression I couldn’t read. It was nervous, maybe, like he wasn’t sure of his welcome. I mustered a smile for him. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he said back. “Merry Christmas.”
“How about this one first,” my dad said, handing Evie a package the size of a shoebox.
She plopped on the floor and ripped the paper off to reveal a toolbox.
“Look inside,” my dad said.
She opened the lid and pulled out a hammer, her face lighting up. “Purple! It’s all purple tools! That’s my favorite color!” She held up one after the other, exclaiming over each of them. “We can build something so super, Papa Dub.”
Papa Dub?I glanced at my mom, not understanding.
“It’s short for Papa W. That’s what she calls him because she says ‘W’ takes too long to say.”
When had this “adoption” taken place? How had I missed it?
“We take turns opening gifts,” my mom said to the Redmonds. “I’ve got mine.” She held up her puppy, which drew Evie’s notice and caused her to immediately abandon her toolbox to investigate. “Someone else’s turn. Tabitha, do you want to handle distribution?”
Tabitha walked over to the tree. “Here’s one for you from me, Dad.”
He opened a jar of spices. “That’s the secret steak rub that Chef Antonio uses on his steaks at La Carne, the highest rated steakhouse in Manhattan. He doesn’t sell it, only gifts it to friends at Christmas, and he gave me this for you.”
“I can’t wait to grill with this,” he said. “I love it, honey.”
I tried to pay attention, but it was hard when I kept feeling the weight of stares from Tabitha, my parents, even Paige.
And Noah. Every time I looked at him, he was watching me with that same look, and I still couldn’t decode it.
But as my dad opened his bottle of spices to smell them, I traded a thankful smile with Tabitha over how different this part of Christmas was compared to last year. Over how good it felt to have our dad back.
“Here’s one to Paige from my mom and dad.” Tabitha handed her a present, which Paige opened to reveal a pretty green wool coat.
“I confess Lisa picked it out,” my dad said, his eyes twinkling.
“I love it,” Paige said, getting up to drop a kiss on each of their cheeks.
Not that I wasn’t happy to see them get along so well, but again, when hadthathappened?
“Oh, and here’s one from Noah to Grace.”
My eyes flew to his. “You didn’t have to do that,” I told him. His eyes sparked with a different kind of energy now. Nerves, still. But what else was I seeing in there? Focus, like I was the only other person in the room.
“I wanted to,” he said, his voice quiet. “Open it. Please?”
I hesitated, but his eyes were pleading. I removed the wrapping paper, neatly and methodically, the way I had ever since I was a kid. It had the added bonus of letting me stall as I tried to plan a reaction to whatever it was. It was the size of a sweater box. Sweaters were good. I liked sweaters. With any luck, Paige had helped him pick it out.
But when I lifted the lid, it was just some papers. I glanced up in confusion.
“Read it,” he said softly.
I picked up the first one. “It’s a print out of a hotel reservation.”
