Page 106 of Holiday Romance
“Just tired.”
He frowns. “If you want to try and get back today, we can borrow Christian’s car.”
“No,” I say quickly. “Don’t be silly. I’ll see her tomorrow.”And I want to stay here with you. I don’t say the words even though they’re on the tip of the tongue, even though that’s clearly what I mean.
I sit on the end of the bed, the covers still rumpled from when we slept, and run my hands up and down my thighs as Andrew starts unpacking his suitcase and hiding presents under the bed.
“You never told me you brought a girlfriend home before.”
Confusion flashes across his face before he glances at the door. “Hannah.”
“I’m learning all your secrets.”
He smirks, not seeming the least bit worried by the question.
“Was it Alison?” I ask, thinking about his last long term-girlfriend before Marissa.
“Nope. Emily.”
“Emily?” Quiet-voiced, teacher-of-children, sweet-as-can-be-until-she-ghosts-him-for-three-weeks-out-of-the-blue Emily? “Seriously?”
“I was young and in love. Or at least I thought I was.”
“Was it a disaster?”
He laughs at the question, but I don’t care if I’m showing my inner bitch right now. I’m determined to make a good impression on his family and knowing that someone else made a bad one will give me a lot more confidence.
“A huge disaster,” he says, and I relax. “I shouldn’t have asked her to come. We’d only been going out for a few months and I liked her a lot, I thought I was falling in love but it was too big a step. The jet lag hit her hard and she couldn’t really eat, which upset Mam, and then we think she was allergic to the dogs, whichreallyupset Mam, and…” He shrugs. “It felt like every little thing that could go wrong did go wrong. It’s a miracle we didn’t break up with each other there and then.”
“And you didn’t bring anyone else home after that?”
“You know I didn’t,” he says. But I don’t. Not really. I didn’t know about Emily, which only makes me think of all the other things I might not know about. That Iwantto know about. Want to and will. Because I have at my disposal an indulgent mother, a smirking brother and a scheming sister. Not to mention the fact I haven’t even met Liam yet.
Andrew’s eyes narrow, guessing where my mind is headed. “If you want to know something about me, just ask me.”
“But you’re biased,” I say pleasantly. “I want to know the shady things too.”
We both pause as my stomach rumbles. “I guess I better feed you,” he says, amused. “You ready to go downstairs?”
“As I’ll ever be,” I say, butterflies fluttering as I follow him into the hallway.
I hear them immediately. Hannah’s defensive tone, Christian’s quiet murmuring before her squeal of protest.
“Mam!”
The word echoes up the stairs as we climb down them and Andrew winces, pausing on the bottom step, just out of sight.
“Are you sure this is okay?” I ask, suddenly nervous. “That I’m here, I mean? You guys take Christmas so seriously.”And I am bad at it.
“It is more than okay, Molly. Trust me.” His voice is firm and I try to believe him, I try even harder when he reaches out and squeezes my hand.
“You ready?” he asks, waiting until I nod. “Then let the day begin.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The kitchen falls silent as soon as we appear and even Andrew seems a little freaked out by it, rocking back on his heels as he takes them all in.
“Don’t be weird,” he tells them, pushing me gently ahead of him. “Everyone, this is Molly. We have her to thank for getting me home this year.”
