Page 96 of The Forever After Bet

I walk Hannah over to my sister. “Libby, this is Hannah.”

My sister holds out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Hannah,” Libby says, giving her a wimpy handshake. “Are you the girl from the summer?”

“Yep, that’s me.” Hannah nods.

“This is my fiancé, Silas.” Libby wraps her arm around him. Silas seems like a good guy. I know he makes good money, but the guy never talks when he’s around us. It’s hard to get a read on him.

“Fiancé?” I question. “When did that happen?”

“Two days ago.” Libby holds out her hand, showing off her massive pear-shaped diamond ring.

“Wow. That’s big.” I glance at Silas, who smirks at me.

“I know. It’s perfect.” Libby wiggles her hand in my face.

“Congratulations,” Hannah says.

“Thanks, Goldie Locks.” Libby scoffs, giving Hannah a mean smile.

“Libby, don’t call her that.” I scold.

Libby rolls her eyes. “Whatever.”

“When are you planning on tying the knot?” I ask Libby.

“We booked the Emerson Hotel in downtown Spokane for the second weekend in September,” Silas says.

I glance at my dad, who shakes his head.

“That’s great. I’m sorry I won’t be able to make it,” I say.

“What, why?” Libby scrunches her forehead, looking angry.

“That’s the middle of football season. I’d have to look for sure, but I believe that’s the weekend we play USC.”

Libby rolls her eyes. “You can miss one game. You’re a freshman. You won’t even be playing.”

Arguing with Libby is pointless. “Sure.” I nod. I take Hannah’s hand, and we sit on the sofa next to the Christmas tree.

After we dinner, we exchange gifts. My grandma sewed a blanket out of a bunch of old sports shirts. It’s an incredible keepsake. She also tucked a two-hundred-dollar gift card into my Christmas card.

My mom has a present for Hannah. It’s a beautiful light pink cashmere cardigan. “You look so pretty in pink,” my mom says. “I saw this and thought of you.”

“Thank you so much.” Hannah gushes. “I love it.”

“Here, Mom, this is from me. Hannah helped me pick it out.” I hand my mom a small red gift box. It’s a 12-karat gold necklace with my and Libby’s birthstones.

“Ford, it’s beautiful. Thank you. I love it.” My mom puts a hand over her heart and wipes away a tear. She always gets sentimental over gift-giving.

After the gifts, my aunt says goodnight. She’s staying up in the garage apartment. My parents, my sister, and her fiancé leave soon after that. Libby and Silas are staying at the house until Monday. We try to get my grandparents to let us help clean up, but they say they’ve got it.

I sit with Hannah next to the fireplace. I pull out a small gift box. “Merry Christmas, Hannah.”

Her face lights up. She opens the gift. It’s earrings to match her promise ring.

“Ford,” she whispers. “They’re beautiful. Thank you so much.” Hannah stands up. “Wait here.” She walks over to the Christmas tree and brings back a ten-by-twelve envelope. “I dropped this off earlier today, so I didn’t have to carry it with me,” she says, handing me the envelope.

I open it, and it’s a star map. It doesn’t have anything on it except a location and a date. “Hannah.” I scrub a hand through my hair. It was the night my life changed forever.

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