Page 68 of Holiday Hopefuls
A certain beautiful hot cocoa connoisseur graces the forefront of my mind. Not that she’s ever very far from it anymore, anyway.
“Is Callie coming?”
Silently cursing the yoga mat bag for not holding my sister’s attention longer, I do my best to ignore the rising temperature in the room. “No.” Maybe I should take off my coat.No, wait, it already is. I wonder if management would be opposed to my sweater being removed if I keep on the undershirt.
Blythe frowns up at me, challenging me about as well as a chihuahua. “And why not?”
“Because I’m sure she’s busy,” I shrug. We head toward the men’s department in search of new work gloves for Dad.
“How do you know? Have you asked her?”
“No, but she’s been a little preoccupied. What with the school program last night and the last day of school for the year today, I didn’t want to bother her.”
My sister rolls unamused eyes, motioning toward my pocket as best she can. “You’re an idiot. Text her and invite her.”
“Are you inviting Ian?” I lift a brow, tossing a knowing look her way.
Blushing, she presses her lips together. “He and I are just friends. And neighbors. Friendly neighbors. Unlike you and Callie, who like to make out in her classroom.”
Recoiling, wide eyes find my sister. “Who told you about that?”
Grinning, she shrugs. “Connie texted me.”
“Since when are you friends with Connie?” My face scrunches in confusion as I nearly run into a family with three little kids.
“Callie brought her to pilates earlier this week. Besides, we’ve all been hanging out at Ian’s place.”
Smirking, I slide my gaze back to her. “Speaking of … ”
“Who? Ian?” Those baby blues that have gotten her out of so much trouble over the years widen, innocence radiating from them.
“You bought him a gift.” I nod toward her purchases.
“You got John a gift,” she shoots back.
“Sure,” I nod again, “but I’m just friends with John.”
My petite sister sighs. “Yep, just like Ian and I.” Blythe cranes her neck around the immediate area pretending to look for something. Anything to get her out of this conversation.
“Whenever you want to be honest about that, let me know.”
“Text your girlfriend,” she finally says.
Deciding picking out a Christmas tree with my family should absolutely include Callie, I mind my sister and pull out my phone. Our text thread isn’t difficult to find—I starred it last night when I got home. Once my invite is out in the ether, I only have to wait all of thirty seconds before receiving an enthusiastic acceptance, complete with heart eye emojis and everything.
“Let me guess, she said yes?” Blythe asks dryly, nodding to my phone.
“What makes you think that?”
“Because you’re grinning like a fool in love.”
Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I try to remember what we’re even doing in this store.
“Speaking of Callie, have you gotten her gift yet?”
My feet stop in the middle of the aisle. I’m celebrating a gift-giving holiday with Callie—of course I need to get her a gift. But what if she doesn’t get me anything? I don’t want to make it awkward and have her feel pressured. Maybe I shouldn’t get her anything. Unless we do some kind of gift exchange in front of the entire family. If I’m the only one empty-handed, it would make us both look bad.
Blythe laughs. “I’ll take that as a no. Here,” she grabs my arm, pulling me into the closest department.
