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“He’s your brother. Isn’t he supposed to give you shit?”
“Yeah, but he walks off before anyone can get to him.” She grins. “We need to get him under the mistletoe at New Year with someone.”
I raise a brow. “Isn’t that a Christmas tradition?”
“Mom puts it up everywhere for the New Year’s party. It’s fun.”
“It won’t be funny if you get caught under it with another guy,” I grumble.
“Hmm, yeah. I’m not going to be impressed if you have to spend the night kissing my cousins.” Her eyes widen. “Oh no! Perhaps I better have a word with Mom about the mistletoe.”
Taking her hand, I lead her into the kitchen and ask, “Why?”
She whispers, “Kissing Cousins. I’ll explain later,” and then kisses me on the neck. When I feel her tongue, I gently push her away.
“None of that in your parents’ kitchen.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m sure my parents have gotten up to a lot more than necking in the kitchen.”
“You would be right, honey,” Lily pats Charlotte’s cheek, amusement written across her face.
“Mom,” she groans, “we really didn’t need that confirmed.”
Lily laughs as Michael wraps an arm around his wife. “What confirmed?”
“Never mind, Dad,” Charlotte rushes out, taking my hand. “We’re going to head home.”
85
Charlotte
The snow blizzard is keeping us inside, which I have no complaint about. The one who is restless is Derek, who came over for dinner last night, only to change his mind about traveling back to his hotel when he saw the build up of snow.
He has some cabin fever, and I’m about to take advantage of that as I join him at the kitchen table while Tanner finishes watching a Die Hard movie. According to him, it isn’t Christmas unless he’s watched Bruce Willis save the day.
I slowly sip my cup of coffee and stare at the man who is rather distracted and has no clue that I’m currently sitting with him. His head is down, his shoulders sag, and even though I haven’t known him long, I can see he has a lot on his mind.
Clearing my throat, his head pops up. After a few startled moments, he offers me a wry smile. “I was elsewhere, huh?”
“I’d say so.”
He nods and looks away before turning to meet my gaze. “You want to know what’s wrong with me?” He winces. “I’m not actually sure how to answer that because I can’t put my finger on it myself. I’m not usually so…melancholy.”
“I know I’m going to be your daughter-in-law, but you can talk to me. I hate that you’re sitting here alone and I don’t know how to help you.”
He reaches out and briefly squeezes my hand. “You do help me. You love my son, which takes a lot off my mind.” He offers me a genuine smile. “I’m truly happy for you both, and even though I’m not past fifty yet, I’m looking forward to the grandchildren you’re both going to give me.”
I blush. “I think we’ll settle on one for now.”
He laughs before becoming serious. “I’m okay, Charlotte. You don’t need to worry about me.”
I tilt my head and watch him closely, as I ask, “What happened between you and my cousin, Madison?”
If I hadn’t been watching him closely, I’d have missed the subtle widening of his eyes in surprise before he covers it up.
“I didn’t have chance to talk to Madison.” He glances away and seems to fight with himself before he asks, “What does she do?”
“She’s recently started working at McKenzies on the interior design side of the company. She loves it, and her ideas have been impressing clients. It’s a family run company but we all excel in different areas. It works out just fine.”
