I stare blankly at Brian, trying to decide what to do. The real Justin is back at his condo, working. I was just there ten minutes ago, and judging by the stack of orders piled in front of him, there’s no way he’s planning on taking a break and meeting up with Summer and her family tonight. So it’s probably safe and harmless to let Brian believe I’m Justin.
“You getting some cocoa for Summer?” Brian cups his hands near his mouth, breathing hot air onto his fingers.
“Summer’s here?” I spin, keeping my head on a swivel.
“That’s funny.” Brian taps my chest, laughing away my question. “The light parade is about to start. I don’t want to wait in line and miss the twins’ reactions. Will you grab a cocoa for Hailey too?” Before I can protest, he’s shoving dollar bills into my hand. “We’re set up in front of the bookstore. Come find us when you have the goods.”
“Wait.”
Brian takes a few steps backward. “And you better hurry. Like I said, the parade is about to start.”
I grind my teeth together, looking down at the wad of cash in my hand. The way I see it, I have three options. I can steal Brian’s money and go home, avoiding the entire Stanworth family. I can buy hot cocoa, deliver it to them, and explain that I’mnotSummer’s boyfriend. Or I can buy hot cocoa, deliver it to them, and pretend to be Justin like everyone wants.
I’ve never seen a light parade before and don’t even know what it is. It would be a shame to miss it. I’ll always wonder about it. Plus, going back to Justin’s condo with all the people there seems lame.
“Next in line.” The girl at the hot chocolate stand smiles back at me. “What can I get you?”
My eyes dart down to where the bookstore is.
What could it hurt? It’s just one night.
“Sir? What can get you?”
“Uh.” I glance back at her. “I guess I’ll take two hot cocoas.”
SUMMER
* * *
He’s goingto try and make it—that’s my answer every time someone in my family asks about Justin.
“He’s going to try and make it.” If you add a confident smile, it cuts down on the follow-up questions by 40%. Actually, I just made up that statistic to sound cool. A confident smile does nothing to help, especially with my mom.
“Hey, I just bumped into your boyfriend,” Brian says as he walks past me to his camp chair at the end of our row.
My head kicks back. “My boyfriend?”
He points behind me down the street. “Yeah, he’s in line getting hot chocolate.” He kisses Hailey on the cheek. “Don’t worry. I told him to get one for you.”
“Wait. You’re talking about Justin, right?” I can’t get past my confusion.
“Of course I’m talking about Justin.”
“Why are you acting so shocked? You said he was going to try and make it,” Juliet says while bouncing Bailey in her arms. If I didn’t know better, I would think she was holding a pile of blankets, not a baby.
“I know.” I lean back in my chair, trying to look down the sidewalk for more information. That’s when I see Caleb walking toward us, holding two Styrofoam cups. A gray beanie is pulled over his head with the perfect amount of hair wisping out the front and back. He looks like a model straight out of a holiday magazine. All he’s missing is the dog and the log of wood on his shoulder.
The pieces click together. Justin must’ve forced him to come even after he said he didn’t want to do the swap. I feel stupid. Caleb is literally being held against his will all because I’m sick of dealing with my family on this one topic.
I hop up, jogging to greet him.
“Did Justin make you come again?”
“What? No.” He shakes his head, glancing over my shoulder to where my family sits. “I didn’t even know you guys were here. I just randomly ran into Brian.”
“Why wouldn’t we be here? It’s the holiday light parade. Bob Irvine decorated the fire truck that Santa is standing on, and Donna O’Day is singing“All I Want for Christmas is You”on one of the floats.”
“I don’t know who those people are or what a light parade is.”
