That night, Clara and Lexi sleep in my room with me. It
’
s like having the devil and angel on either of my shoulders. Just as I
’
m starting to doze off, Lexi whispers to us, checking to see if either of us is still awake.
“
I
’
m awake,
”
Clara answers quickly.
“
I
’
m up,
”
I respond with a yawn.
“
Clara?
”
Lexi asks.
“
Can I ask you a question without you getting mad at me?
”
“
Of course,
”
my younger cousin answers.
“
You
’
ve had sex, like, a lot, right?
”
Clara laughs out loud.
“
Um, yeah,
”
she says.
“
Why?
”
“
I just have some kind of personal questions, and–
”
“
Out with them,
”
Clara encourages her, sitting up in bed.
“
My life is an open book.
”
Lexi hops out of her bed and pulls the comforter off of it, moving over to Clara
’
s mattress.
“
We
’
re not going to keep you awake, are we?
”
Lexi asks me.
“
Well, yeah, you are. I
’
ve gotta hear this.
”
I lean against my headboard and listen intently to the questions I wasn
’
t brave enough to ask, and to some answers I simply wasn
’
t prepared for. The last time I check my phone before we finally settle in for the night, it
’
s three o
’
clock in the morning.
CHAPTER 1
1
The next morning, our parents make their final trip into town before Christmas, picking up last minute items. They do this every year on Christmas
Eve
, leaving the kids alone to wrap their presents or finish making their gifts, which somehow became a tradition in our family many years ago. The older kids help the younger ones, but with my artistic background, I always seem to be the consultant to everyone.
Enjoying the sunshine, we set up shop in the cabana outside and the large open space around it. Before he left, my uncle Chris had made us a campfire, and we
’
ve all been stuffing ourselves with s
’
mores in between projects. This is another tradition, when the weather
’
s nice.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I
’
d been waiting to hear from Jon all morning. I had been texting him during our girl-talk last night, hinting at things we were discussing. He finally stopped responding to me when he realized I was just teasing him, and unwilling to provide answers to the slightly inappropriate questions he was throwing my way.
“
Where are you?
”
“
At the lake house...
”
I respond quickly, although he knows where I am.
“
Is there more than one? I
’
m out front, but no one
’
s answering the door.
”
I hit the button to call him, tossing away the blanket I
’
d had wrapped around my shoulders. I stand up quickly, confused.
“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Lexi asks.
“
It
’
s Jon,
”
I answer, holding the phone to my ear. He answers on the
third
ring.
“
You
’
re at
my
lake house?
”
“
I sure hope so, or else your dad
’
s had me taken to the middle of nowhere.
”
I take off running across the backyard, past the large house and around the front drive until I see Jon on the porch.
He turns around at the crunching sound of dead leaves under my heavy steps.
“
What are you doing here? Dad
’
s gonna kill you!
”
“
I thought that at first when no one answered the door. But now that I see you, I think his intentions were good.
”
“
He invited you here?
”
“
Yeah, just for the day. Are they not here?
”
“
Not right now, no. All the parents are gone. We
’
re out back–
”
I barely get my answer out, and he
’
s pulling me into his arms and kissing me.
“
My god, Liv, you
’
re freezing. Your nose is so cold. I mean, your lips are, like, blue.
”
“
We
’
ve been out back all morning, working on projects and messing around.
”
“
It
’
s below freezing!
”
“
But it
’
s sunny! There
’
s a heater in the cabana, and a campfire.
”
“
Well,
I
’
m
freezing. Can we go inside for a bit and warm up?
”
“
Sure,
”
I tell him. I hold the door for him and follow him inside, shutting it quietly behind us.
“
I can
’
t believe you
’
re here.
”
“
I can
’
t believe I was even invited.
”
“
Do you want some cocoa?
”
I ask him.
“
I could use some.
”
“
Sure.
”
I lead him into the kitchen and pull out a stool at the bar for him to sit on. After putting a kettle of water on the stove, I have a seat next to him. He takes my hand in his, inspecting the ring and kissing me again.
“
You
’
re still wearing it.
”
“
Of course I am.
”
“
I was worried he
’
d forbid it entirely.
”
“
He hasn
’
t said anything more about it.
”
“
I wonder why he
’
s had a change in heart? He was pretty adamantly opposed the other day.
”
I think back to the conversation I
’
d overheard two nights ago.
“
They
’
re not threatened by you anymore.
”
“
Well, that
’
s good to hear.
”
He smiles and pushes the fur-lined hood off of my head.
“
They think we
’
re a joke.
”
“
Huh?
”
“
They don
’
t think we
’
ll last. Mom suggested Dad just let it play out. She says it
’
s puppy love. Dad calmed down after that.
”
“
So it
’
s not that they
’
re not threatened by me, they actually don
’
t take me seriously at all.
”
“
Pretty much.
”
He looks sad as he processes my answer.
“
Well, I
’
m here to prove them wrong. Are you?
”
“
Please don
’
t start anything with him today–
”
“
I wouldn
’
t dream of it. I
’
m already overwhelmed by his generous invitation to bring me here today, and his promise to have me home in plenty of time to play Santa for my brothers tonight. I just mean in general. Let
’
s prove them both wrong.
”
“
I
’
m game.
”
“
I
’
m serious,
”
he tells me softly, moving in slowly and pressing his lips against mine once more.
“
So am I,
”
I whisper back, taking a momentary break from the kiss.
“
Everything okay, Liv?
”
Lexi asks as she barges into the back door.
“
Oh, sorry.
”
She blushes as she sees Jon and me together.
“
No, it
’
s okay. Lexi, this is Jon. Jon, this is Steven
’
s daughter. She
’
s the one getting married in England this summer.
”
“
I
’
ve heard a lot about you,
”
she says as he approaches her to shake her hand.
“
It
’
s very nice to meet you.
”
She looks at me curiously.
“
Um, what
’
s your dad going to say?
”
“
Jack invited me,
”
Jon says.
“
He sent a car and everything.
”
“
Wow.
”
“
Yeah.
”
“
What else did he say?
”
I ask him.
Maddie and Jackie push Lexi into the house, following her in.
“
What
’
s going on?
”
“
Sorry, Jon,
”
I say before he answers, getting up and preparing our hot chocolate in two separate mugs.
“
Why don
’
t I introduce you to everyone first? Or else we could have about twenty-three more interruptions. This is Maddie and Jackie. They
’
re Kelly and Thomas
’
s–Brandon
’
s sisters.
”
“
We heard you were there for the big fight.
”
“
I was,
”
he says.
“
I don
’
t want to be on Jack
’
s bad side.
”
“
Rarely does he have one,
”
Maddie says.
“
I heard it was epic.
”
“
Nah,
”
Jon says politely.
“
Let
’
s go out back,
”
I encourage him, handing him his drink, and then his gloves that he just took off. He nods and follows all of us outside. My cousins look up to inspect the stranger.
“
Jon!
”
Trey yells from across the yard. He
’
s got an assembled wooden car in his hand.
“
Look what I did!
”
He waves it wildly over his head.
“
That
’
s great,
”
Jon says with a smile.
“
All by yourself?
”
“
Dad helped, but almost all by myself.
”
“
Is it fast?
”
my boyfriend asks.