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He leans in to whisper in my ear. “Terrible. A very bad boy,” he rumbles, and I burst out laughing as I shove his chest.
“Get out of here, you weirdo,” I say, shaking my head and biting on my grin.
Very bad boy,he mouths and bites on his finger.
He’s trying to be an ass. There’s nothing remotely attractive about what he’s doing, and he knows it. But in his goofy, ridiculous stance and the way he laughs and catches the towel I whip at him, I decide that the less sexy he looks, the sexier he truly is.
“You two seem to be getting along,” Tabby asks, handing me a wooden spoon.
“Yup,” I deadpan, shutting the entire conversation down with a glance.
Tabby delegates jobs and I’m in awe of how she’s an entirely different person when she’s cooking. She has this uncanny ability to know how to stagger cooking to ensure things are done when they need to be.
The loud click of high-heel shoes rings through the room, and Del appears in front of me, leaning down to look at my belly. “Merry Christmas, Peanut!”
She springs up, and I can smell alcohol already. This should be interesting.
“And hi to you too,” she says, throwing her arms around my neck.
I hug her back with one arm, continuing to stir the cranberries with the other. At this moment, I truly miss my family, but not because this reminds me of them—quite the opposite. My family Christmas looks nothing like this.
Each year, Mom picks a colour scheme, and the whole house is decorated in a minimalist but festive manner by a designer. Then, we order takeout and watch Christmas movies.
“Nova?” Del snaps her fingers in front of my face, and I startle. “You good?”
“Oh, sorry,” I say, diverting my gaze. “I didn’t mean to zone out. Just thinking about my family.”
“You miss them?” she asks as Pris walks in with Cadence.
“I hear you,” Cade says. “Miss Pops right now, too.”
Cade hasn’t told me much about how she ended up here with Jet, but I have heard of Pops, her spirited grandfather whose protectiveness rivals Jet’s.
“We used to always open presents on Christmas Eve.” Cade sits at the table, crossing her long legs and holding her wine glass with three fingers. She looks strikingly out of place in the Stryker kitchen. Big city classy.
“We did Christmas movies. Takeout and movies. My family isn’t much for tradition.” I smile, and they all look at me. Briggs, Cade, and Zeke know who I am. The rest don’t, but they deserve to.
I run my hand over my belly, opening my mouth to tell them when Mary enters the room. Her expression turns sour when she sees me, and suddenly, I’m reminded that she knew who I was, too. Curiosity bubbles through me, and when Mary walks straight through without a word, I decide to follow her.
Zeke sits on the edge of the couch with a beer in hand. When he sees me going after his mom, he follows.
“Mary,” I say, moving up the steps as fast as my waddle will let me. “Mary, Zeke knows now. And I’ll stand outside your goddamn bedroom door until you speak to me.”
Mary whips around and points a finger at me. “You watch your mouth, child.”
Zeke catches up, and I give him a stern look to silence his need to defend me. I will protect myself by doing what I do best: contorting myself to fit what is expected of me.
“You don’t speak of His name like that in this house.” She spins back toward her room.
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil,” I quote, and Zeke looks at me like I’ve lost it. Mary freezes and slowly turns to face me.
“I grew up in Alabama, ma’am,” I continue. “I know my way ‘round a Bible. I need to know what happened and how you knew who I was. God has decided to make me a part of this family through your son. Someone is after me, and we’re trying to figure it out. I have made mistakes and have not carried truth and loyalty in my heart. I cannot overcome this without your help.”
Zeke eyes me with slight awe and amusement. I ignore his taunting gaze and focus on Mary, who I know is responsive to this kind of talk. It’s not entirely disingenuous. I grew up in a church, studied the Bible, and am not against it. I’m just not nearly as into it as Mary is.
She turns on her heel and disappears into her room. Zeke groans and pinches his nose, and my heart deflates slightly before Mary makes an impatient noise.
“Well, are you coming or not?” she says, and I spring toward her doorway.
