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“Are you sure about that? It looks a little—ow! That hurt, Selena.”
“Good.” The woman smiled evilly at my best friend. She then moved her gaze to meet mine, and her smile widened. “Well, if it isn’t the little ‘Ice King.’ You still got a stick up your ass?”
Amelia nudged her friend with a warning look and a hushed scold.
“Selena,” I drawled. “Always a pleasure to be in your presence.”
What had Xander done? There was no way I would get through tonight without the aid of some suppressant.
This was going to be a long night.
After the bickering had stopped and the food for dinner arrived, we all gathered around the table, waiting. We were only staying because Xander had to take pictures to send to his family group chat and prove that he made the food—a lie.
“You know they will never believe you made all of this,” Selena said and leaned into her chair. “Do you even know how to boil water?”
Xander gave her a deadpanned look and took the last of his pictures before settling into his seat beside me. Amelia sat across from me, and Selena across from him.
Amelia had not looked my way once.
“Okay, time to be grateful.” Xander clapped his hands together. “Hold hands, everyone.”
He had to be kidding.
“I said hold hands.” He stared at all three of us, his hands stretched out, waiting for us to do as he wanted us to. “Humor me, people.”
Reluctantly, we all did as we were told and joined hands. My system was shocked when my hand met with Amelia’s. When I looked at her to see if she was affected by my touch as I was with hers, I saw nothing. Her face was completely passive and unreadable, apart from the slight parting of those soft lips.
“Okay, now I think it would be nice if we all went around the table and said what we were grateful for this year.”
There was no way in hell that I was doing that. This wasn’t a Hallmark movie.
“I will start,” Selena cleared her throat, turning to her best friend. “I am most thankful that my best friend finally found her voice and started living for herself. I know the circumstances that brought you to Chicago were not ideal, but they gave me you again, and I couldn’t be happier.”
They shared a moment, Amelia’s eyes brimming with unshed tears, that wall of hers crumbling to the ground.
“Me next,” Xander spoke up. “Although I would love to be sappy and cute to Nate and say I’m thankful for him, I’m not going to. So, instead, I will say I’m thankful for this moment right here. To old friends and new. Nate?”
I didn’t even know what to say. There wasn’t much in my life to be thankful for. I lived the same old life and did the same things every day. There was no notable standout—apart from Amelia. She was the only thing that was different in my life. She wasn’t even mine, yet she consumed me like she was.
There had been odd days when I had found myself missing her face or yearning to talk to her. I couldn't tell you how many times since that day I had almost gone up to her door or finished what had started between us.
But I could say none of those things out loud unless I wanted to risk losing my brother and crossing the extensive red line I had drawn.
“Pass.”
“Oh, come on,” Selena booed me from her seat. “Are you telling me that there is not one thing you’re grateful for? Not one thing that made your year this year?”
My gaze cut to Amelia for a split second connecting with her eyes before shifting my focus away.
“Nope.”
“Wow, how sad.”
“Selena,” Amelia hissed at her friend. “That’s not nice.”
“What? I’m only stating facts.”
“Can we move on, please?” I didn’t have time for this, and the food was getting cold. “Amelia, go.”
