Contessa (46 page)

“
I think so,
”
I agree.

“
Did he give you anything for Christmas?
”

“
Not tonight. We
’
re going to wait until he comes here on Wednesday.
”
I think the tattoo was a good detail to leave out.

“
Wednesday?
”

“
Well, we
’
re leaving Thursday morning for the lake house, so I thought I could see him Wednesday instead.
”

“
I don
’
t see a problem with that. You should invite him out to help us with the cookies that morning. Your dad
’
s got a court date with Brandon, so he won
’
t be around until the afternoon. We could use an extra cookie decorator since we
’
re baking for three different hospitals this year.
”

“
I thought Kelly was helping us.
”

“
She is, she
’
s baking for four other ones. That
’
s all she could handle, with all of her holiday orders.
”

“
Oh. Well, I
’
ll invite him.
”

“
We can just make a day out of it. It
’
ll be fun. He can bring his brothers, too, if he wants.
”

“
Okay, I
’
ll tell him. I think I
’
m going to head down to bed, Mom. Do you need anything?
”

“
Nope, I
’
m set to work for a few more hours. I
’
m glad you had a good time.
”

“
Thanks, Mom. See you in the morning.
”

CHAPTER
9

After half a week of doing holiday-related events and activities with my family, I
’
m more than excited for Wednesday to come along so I can see Jon again. With the weather clear and people off work on holiday, Mom lets me take my car to pick up Jon myself. It doesn
’
t hurt that Dad
’
s away with my cousin, Brandon, right now. I think he
’
s known this day would come, but is likely happy he isn
’
t here to see me take my first drive alone.

“
This is pretty hot, Liv,
”
Jon says as he gets into my car.
“
My girl driving solo in an awesome sports car. You
’
ll have to let me drive it someday.
”

“
Do you have a license?
”
My girl.
I keep hearing it echo in my head, and can
’
t stop smiling.

“
I do. Mom had a car briefly last year. We
’
ll have to take it out of the city to see what it
’
s really made of,
”
he says with a smile.
“
I bet this car can go pretty fast.
”

“
I
’
ve heard it can, but I
’
ve never seen it for myself.
”

“
So. Cookie decorating?
”
he starts as I carefully pull away from the curb. His eyes are attuned to the road, very much like my dad
’
s when we
’
d practice driving together.

“
Yeah. It
’
s a yearly thing. We do it for the children
’
s hospitals, but we always keep a few behind for ourselves. We
’
ll send some home with you, I
’
m sure. Just because your brothers couldn
’
t come doesn
’
t mean they should be deprived of our cookies.

“
It
’
s my Aunt Kelly
’
s recipe. She owns a bakery, so you know they
’
re good. This is a major undertaking, though. We
’
re talking hundreds of cookies.
”

“
Hundreds?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
I
’
m not sure I have the right skill sets for this.
”

“
Oh, yes you do. I
’
ve seen your intricate little sketches. I
’
m worried you
’
ll be stuck spending too much time on yours.
”

“
That
’
s probably a valid concern.
”

I nod to his backpack when we
’
re at a
stoplight
.
“
Did you bring along homework?
”

“
Even I take a break from homework, Liv. There may be presents in here.
”

“
Oooh, plural?
”

“
Well, I had no idea what to get your parents. My uncle is a bartender. He gave me some decent wine. Your mom drinks wine, right?
”

“
She drinks cheap wine,
”
I tell him.
“
And Dad drinks the best scotch money can buy.
”

“
Well, maybe the decent wine will be a happy medium for both of them, then,
”
he says, unfazed.

“
I
’
m sure they
’
ll appreciate it. You didn
’
t need to get them anything.
”

“
I know.
”

“
I got your brother this really cool wooden car set. I saw it when I was shopping with Max. I know your brother likes cars.
”

“
Oh, he
’
ll totally love that. But again–
”

“
I know, I know. I just want to impress them, Olivia.
”

“
They
’
re already impressed.
”

“
I know, but I want to be accepted.
”

“
So you
’
re buying their love.
”
I challenge him playfully.

“
Well, they haven
’
t been as quick to love me as you have.
”

“
Well, they haven
’
t known you since they were eight, like I have.
”

“
Technically, I met them before I met you, you know.
”

“
Technically, yeah. But they don
’
t know you like I do.
”
I release my hand from the wheel and take his into mine. He kisses the back of it, but then promptly returns it to the steering wheel.

“
Ten and two,
”
he says.

“
Ten and two,
”
I repeat, rolling my eyes.

My mom and brother are already at work in the kitchen when we come in.

“
Holy...
”
Jon says as he glances over our tree and all the gifts.

“
Those are my entire family
’
s gifts: aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, you name it. It looks like a lot, but we have a pretty big family.
”

“
Wow, I
’
ve never,
”
He shakes his head, staring in shock. He finally unzips his bag and starts to place his four gifts under the tree: two bottles of wine, one medium-sized box for my brother, and a small one for me. He glances at a few of the other gifts.
“
Liv, I saw your name on ten just in that general vicinity.
”

“
I don
’
t count them.
”

“
That
’
s a lot.
”

“
We really like Christmas around here.
”

“
I can see that.
”
He takes my hand and pulls me into him, giving me a quick unsupervised kiss.
“
I don
’
t know how many more of those we
’
ll get today.
”

“
We can test it out with my mom.
”

“
I don
’
t know,
”
he says, unsure.

I shrug my shoulders and lead him into the kitchen.

“
Merry Christmas, Jon!
”
Mom says, her hands already covered in flour.

“
Merry Christmas, Emi. The decorations are unbelievable. It
’
s like a winter wonderland in here.
”

“
We love Christmas.
”

“
That
’
s what Olivia
’
s told me,
”
he says. I think it
’
s the first time he
’
s called me by my given name in front of either of my parents. My mom
’
s eyebrows raise, but she just smiles at him and nods.

“
We met Livvy on Christmas Eve. One of the best days of our lives.
”

“
Awww,
”
I say mockingly to my mother. She glares at me, her eyes narrowed, but I can tell she
’
s not angry by the dimples she can
’
t hide when she smiles.

“
No brothers today, Jon?
”

“
My brothers turn into puppets with blue fur around cookies, so unless you just needed help eating them, I didn
’
t think they
’
d be of much use today. I left them at the Y.
”

“
Well, we
’
ll need help eating them later. Make sure you take some home for them. They need to leave some out for Santa, anyway,
”
she says. I watch her nervously, afraid she
’
ll let on that she knows about their sparse Christmas last year, but she doesn
’
t.

“
Right, I
’
ll make sure they do.
”

“
The first batch is ready for decorating, Liv. There
’
s already icing and stuff on the table, if you want to take these pans over and get started.
”

“
Yes, ma
’
am,
”
I tell her with a smile.

“
I
’
ll get them,
”
Jon offers, bringing all of the cookies to the table.
“
Are there specific things you like on the cookies? Do you have ground-rules? How long can I spend on one cookie?
”
He teases my mother.

“
No blood and guts,
”
she says.

“
Well, I didn
’
t see that one coming,
”
Jon responds.

“
Oh, we didn
’
t either, but then Livvy brought us some zombie gingerbread men a few years ago.
”

“
You what?
”

“
I was experimenting,
”
I explain, picking up a reindeer and adding some brown icing to it.

“
Yes, we took all of the good cookies to the hospitals, and we were stuck eating the zombies that year. Some were missing limbs... a few had head wounds.
”