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“I was scared,” I confess. “But not for me. I was scared for you. I was scared for everyone else in that room.”
Polly nods, taking a small sip of her coffee as she turns to look out the window. “And that’s what makes you nothing like them,” she whispers, and I know who she’s referring to. “I’ve come to realize that you’re not the bad guy. I mean, I’ve met the villains in this story, and I now understand why you are the way you are.”
I don’t know what to say.
“Truce?” she asks, turning to face me and timidly extending her hand.
I stare down at her hand, mouth agape, not knowing if her peace offering is genuine. But going with my gut instinct, I slowly reach forward and slip my hand in hers. We shake limply, both uncomfortable with the sisterly moment, but a part of me wants to pull her in for a hug.
Thankfully, the back door opening has us quickly dropping our hands, and we turn to look at a flustered Tristan as he enters the kitchen.
He pauses when he sees us both standing awkwardly and goes to turn back the way he came. “Oh shit, sorry,” he apologizes as he pushes open the screen door.
“Tristan, don’t be silly,” I quickly say, reaching forward and latching onto his bicep. “We were just having coffee. Want one?”
“Um, yeah, sure,” he replies, giving me a dimpled smile when I nod, gesturing it’s okay to stay.
Letting his arm go, I pour him a cup and try not to flinch when I look at his black eye as I pass him the coffee. He happily accepts, jumping up to sit on the edge of the counter while cradling the warm mug in his hands.
Polly takes a seat at the kitchen table and swiftly fixes her hair by brushing it back off her face and fastening her long bangs with a bobby pin.
“So,” Polly asks with a flirty smile, “who are you?”
The way she looks at Tristan makes me feel weird and uncomfortable. I don’t know why, so I figure it’s just too much caffeine and too little sleep.
“Hey, I’m Tristan,” he replies, giving her a small wave as he sips his coffee. “I’m Quinn’s brother.”
Polly nods with a flirtatious smirk. “I’m Polly, Mia’s sister.”
The fact she admitted she’s related to me without gagging surprises me, but I can’t seem to get over how it bothers me to see Polly outright flirt with Tristan.
As I watch their exchange, I can see that Polly is attracted to him. But I can’t read Tristan’s body language, as he seems to give me subtle side glances when I remain quiet, deep in thought.
“Mia, what do you think?”
I have no idea what she’s just said, as I have been miles away.
“Sorry, what?” I ask, turning to guiltily look at her while Tristan chuckles.
“Should we have a Christmas dinner tonight?”
“Sure, that sounds cool because oh my God, it’s Christmas today. Merry Christmas,” I add, feeling like a total scatterbrain.
“Merry Christmas,” Polly says, quickly jumping up and giving Tristan a hug.
Tristan hugs her back while throwing me a cheeky smile over her shoulder because he knows she’s crushing on him.
As she pulls away, she looks at me, and we stand awkwardly, not knowing if hugging is moving too fast in our recent truce status.
“Merry Christmas, Polly,” I say, giving her arm a light pat.
Polly seems almost as relieved as I am and nods. “Merry Christmas to you, too.”
There’s an uncomfortable silence before Tristan jumps down from the counter, giving me a slight grin.
“Merry Christmas, Mia.”
“Merry Christmas, Tristan,” I repeat nervously because I know Tristan is about to pull me in for a hug.
