Page 160 of Lucky Mother Pucker

I hug her tighter. She sniffles and lets out a heavy breath. Then she leans back and looks at me. “I know you don’t like how much grace I give your father, and that’s okay. I don’t blame you for that. But I don’t want to be bitter. I don’t want to hold a grudge. I want to be kind and welcoming always. I hope you understand that.”

I nod. Because I do understand. That’s how I try to be too.

I just don’t have that grace for my dad. I don’t think I ever will.

One of the caterers walks up to Mom and asks her a question about her stuffing recipe.

“I should get back to the kitchen,” she says.

“Do you need help?” I ask.

“No, I’m good. Go visit with family. And make sure Lucy has a nice time.”

She walks off. I head over to Lucy, who’s drinking sangria with my sister and cousin. When she sees me, she beams.

“Hey. Wanna try the sangria we made?” She holds up her glass.

I take a sip, holding her gaze as I taste and swallow.

“Damn. That’s good. You should make this every Thanksgiving.”

Her brow lifts as she smiles at me. “Wait, you want me to come to your family’s Thanksgiving next year too?”

I look at her, just now realizing what I’ve said. Friends who are just fooling around and having fun shouldn’t be planning their holidays together.

But that’s exactly what I want.

I take in the shocked look on her face and try to play it cool.

“Yeah, I mean, if you’re not doing anything. You should come again. If you want,” I say.

Her smile widens, and damn, it’s beautiful. “Okay. Maybe I will.”

Her soft words send a burst of hope through me. I hope that this isn’t the last Thanksgiving I get to spend with her.

Chapter 57

Lucy

Ipour the last of the sangria into a glass and hand it to one of Leo’s cousins. Matteo, I think his name is.

He takes a sip and closes his eyes. “Best sangria ever.”

He raises his glass to me, and I chuckle. “Thanks, but I don’t deserve the credit. Zoey does. It’s her recipe. I just chopped up the fruit.”

Matteo turns to Zoey and raises his glass to her instead. “Like I said. Best sangria ever.”

She laughs while he takes a long sip.

“Where’d Leo go?” Matteo asks.

“He went to the bathroom a minute ago,” I say.

“He probably got stopped by one of our uncles wanting to talk about how he played at his last game,” Zoey says.

“I’ll go find him and rescue him,” Matteo says. “Leo loves our uncles, but they can get pretty long-winded when they talk to us.” He turns to me. “If our Uncle Sal starts talking to you about his garage remodel, run in the other direction.”

I burst out laughing. “Will do.”