A Cross-Country Christmas(63)

“I always wanted to see those upside-down Cadillacs sticking out of the ground—did you see those?” Nadia asked.

So many moments from their road trip crashed into Lauren’s mind at that question.

“He said you like. . .uh. . .white chocolate mocha?” Will, holding out her favorite drink.

“C’mon, I’m a catch.” Will, showing a mouthful of French toast.

“The first time I kiss this woman is going to be because I want to—not because some tradition told me I had to.” Will, under Melinda’s mistletoe.

“That’s awesome! Really, really exciting! Are you excited?” Will, smiling about her artwork.

“Jackson. You know we have to talk about a few things, right?” Will, sitting on the edge of the armchair, leaning toward his player.

“This spot has your name written all over it.” Will, on an inner tube, ready to sled down the side of the mountain.

And then, another memory, plucked straight from the day she met Will for the first time.

“You can have mine.” She held out her Coke in front of the fridge in the kitchen.

It may as well have been her heart she was holding out to him.

She realized she’d paused slightly longer than she should’ve. “It’s hard to choose just one.”

“Okay, then tell us all of your favorites.” Kayla smiled at her.

And just like that, Lauren was one of them. She told them about the trip, surprised at how much she remembered. She told them about the furry spider in her room, about Will talking with his mouth full of food, his off-key singing, Big Mama’s butt hanging out of the wigwam, the Christmas Ball that almost was (she even put the part in there about Gin, to which both sisters rolled their eyes)—she gushed about everything.

When Paul called out “Dinner’s ready!” Lauren was almost sad to see their conversation come to an end. She’d never had sisters, and while she loved Spencer, she hadn’t known what she was missing.

She liked the way it felt to be included.

Someone had set an extra place for her at the table, and though she should probably check her phone to find out where her brother was, she found herself wanting to stay right there, in the middle of this family.

As if somehow, that made her a part of something special too.





Chapter 31





They’d just finished eating when Kathy hopped up from her seat with a cheerful, “It’s time for dessert.”

“Oh, Mom, no—” Will held up a hand, but his mother waved him off.

“You sit down, young man,” she said. “We took care of everything.” She winked at him, and Lauren felt—not saw—his shoulders slump in an emotion she couldn’t name.

As far as she knew, Will didn’t have anything against dessert.

His dad clapped his hands together and nodded at his son-in-law. “Mark, would you hit the lights?”

Mark flicked the switch on the wall, and only the white twinkle lights of the Christmas tree in the corner remained. Lauren assumed this was some sort of Sinclair family tradition, but when Kathy returned to the dining room, she carried a cake, candles flickering on top of it.

The entire room erupted in a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday.” Nobody had mentioned a birthday—who were they singing to? She visually circled the table, and she realized they were all looking at her.

Kathy grinned as she set the cake down in front of her, the chorus of “Happy Birthday, dear Lauren,” filling the room. Lauren shook her head. It wasn’t her birthday—why were they—and then she looked down at the cake.

The head of a beautiful frosted pony stared back at her.

The song ended, and Will’s family erupted in cheers. The pony went blurry as Lauren’s eyes filled with tears. He got her a birthday cake?

A pony cake.

With twelve flickering candles.

“Make a wish and blow out the candles, Lauren,” Kathy said once the commotion died down.

Lauren looked up at her and a tear slid down her cheek.

“Oh, no.” Will’s mom brought a hand to her heart.

Lauren held up a hand. “I’m sorry. It’s,” she didn’t know if she could finish, “it’s just been a really long time since I had a birthday cake.” The last part came out as a whisper.

“We know it’s not really your birthday.” Will’s mom looked around at the others in the room. “But Will told about your wish to Santa, and he really wanted to make it come true.”

She felt Will shift.

He leaned toward her. “I’m sorry—”

“No, it’s. . .” She didn’t have the words. “It’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.” She wiped her cheeks.

“Wait. It was Will’s idea?” Nadia asked, surprised. “You didn’t mention that when you were stealthily cluing us all in on your plan on the way to the dinner table.”

“Our brother, the romantic.” Kayla exchanged a look with her sister that said “aww”.

“I asked for brothers, mom. Brothers.” Will said, obviously embarrassed.

“Blow out the candles, Lauren,” Kayla said from across the table, bouncing her son on her lap. “Captain Louie here is dying to try that cake.”