The Christmas Pact(10)

I asked the inevitable question. “Whatever happened to her?”

He hesitated. “We eventually broke up.”

Footsteps crept around the corner toward us, preventing me from getting more dirt on Kennedy’s lost love. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close right before my mother entered the room.

“Why are you two lovebirds still over here? Brunch is getting cold.”

Kennedy kissed me on the cheek. “Great. I’m starving.”

Every time he touched me, I tingled inside. It seemed my body needed a reminder that this was all a sham.

The table was decked out for Christmas Eve, my mother’s signature fruitcake serving as the centerpiece. A life-sized Santa and Mrs. Claus were swaying from side to side at the window. Honestly, you’d think my mother had robbed the window display at Macy’s.

As we moved away from where Mom and her friend were standing in the dining room, I immediately saw Kennedy’s eyes land on a collage of photos on the wall. The fact that there were several of me and the same guy must have intrigued him. He strolled over to get a closer look and I followed.

“Who’s the guy with you in all these photos?” he asked.

Ugh.

I took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. “He was my boyfriend.”

“I figured that. But why does your mother have pictures of him hanging all over the house? That’s kind of creepy.”

“Especially when he’s dead, right?”

Kennedy’s expression darkened. “Shit, Riley. What happened?”

“Frankie was a passenger in a car driven by another guy. His friend lost control, and the car veered off the road. It was the summer before Frankie’s senior year of college. Three guys died, including Frankie. We’d been together since high school. I found out after he passed that he was going to ask me to marry him right after he graduated.”

He closed his eyes briefly. “I’m so sorry.”

“My mother loved him. He was like a son to her. She never really got over it. Between Frankie dying and then my dad...she went a little loony. Started throwing herself into things like Christmas. Anything to deflect from the perpetual sadness.”

Kennedy looked into my eyes and I couldn’t look away. It was like he was seeing me for the first time, like he’d finally found the missing piece of my puzzle and things suddenly made sense.

“What?” I finally asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just...sorry that happened to you.”

We somehow managed to survive the annual Kennedy family Christmas Eve brunch. The conversation was lively, there was lots of laughter, and through it all Kennedy continued to bullshit his way through NASA talk whenever my mom or one of my sisters would ask him about it.

When we were done eating, Kennedy insisted that I sit and catch up with my sisters while he helped my mom clean up. Afterwards, he snuck up behind me while I was looking out a window at the backyard. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his warm body tight against my back.

“Your mother told me to call her Evelyn instead of Mrs. Kennedy, but I’m pretty sure she’ll have me calling her Mom by the end of the night,” he chuckled. “I like your mom. I suppose eventually she won’t think quite so highly of me, though.”

“Does that bother you?”

The silence that ensued was very telling. Mr. Noseybody had a conscience. Who knew?

“I just want you to be able to work out your stuff with your family. It’s not good to let things fester.”

I got the feeling he was speaking from experience. But I didn’t push. Instead, I smiled. “Well, you certainly have won her over. You’ve been laying on the charm pretty thick there, Neil Armstrong.”

He chuckled softly. “See? You were worried about nothing. This was a piece of cake.”

I turned to face him. Kennedy made no attempt to back up. “A piece of cake, huh? I wouldn’t be so cocky just yet. You haven’t met Mom’s squad.”

Kennedy’s brows drew together. “Her squad?”

“Mom plays Mahjong. Tonight at the open house, you’ll meet the three ladies she plays with. And they’re going to eat you alive.”

He laughed because he had no idea. Of course, I’d failed to mention that my dad had been a career military man and that Mom’s squad were all veterans who had served with him.

“Pretty sure I can handle three card-playing ladies at a Christmas party,”

I nodded and grinned. “We’ll see.”





Riley



I almost felt bad for him.

But I’d had two cups of Mom’s famous spiked eggnog, and watching Kennedy squirm was the most fun I’d had at one of these Christmas open house parties in years.

“Thanks for the heads up,” Kennedy whispered in my ear as I passed him a glass of eggnog. “Your father was a freaking colonel, and your mom’s Mahjong friends are a retired major and two captains in the Army.”

I smiled sweetly. “Well…I could have warned you, yes. But what fun would that have been?”

Miriam Saunders, the highest ranking of the three, pointed at Kennedy. “If you’re in training, how did the two of you meet? You must be stationed at the Johnson Space Center. Houston’s a long way from New York City.”