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“He did. Congrats. Glad you dumped him, though.”
“Me too,” Alden said darkly. Nick glanced at him with a raised brow, and I knew I needed to get us back on track.
“Can I see the stuff you got?” I asked.
“Yeah. Follow me.”
The guest room was filled with boxes, all of which had my name on them. “Oh my God, you got so much.”
“He was ready to cut ties.”
“I was too. No more bad boyfriends for me.”
“Right.” His hand tapped on the wall. “Speaking of boyfriends?—”
“Actually, Nick,” I said all too loudly. “I need to find something in all of these boxes. Mind if I have a minute?”
He blew out a breath. “Fine, but we’ll talk later.”
“Sure. Of course.”
I busied myself with taking stock of everything he had retrieved, trying not to think of all the ways this party could go wrong. Alden and I were not playing it cool at all.
After a few minutes, I finally returned to the living room.
“Hey, kiddo.” Dad found me with a smile. “How did Amma’s house hold up?”
Dad was usually smothered by the loudness of Amma and Mom. He preferred the quiet, and I hadn’t realized how much I valued it like he did until now.
“It did well, even if it sounded haunted with the wind.”
“I’m glad Alden came back for you. He’s always been a good kid.”
“I know.Hejust needs to figure it out.”
“He will eventually,” Dad said. “Now, get to the kitchen.”
“Why?”
“Because I heard you only ate muffins and canned food, and there are fresh vegetables in the kitchen.”
My mouth watered. “Oh, hell yes. I’ll talk to you later.”
I nearly ran to the snacks, desperately needing something other than the prepackaged food I’d had for the last few days. There was a large selection of different fresh things, like grapes, celery, and apples, but I went for the nearest option.
Alden found me shoving carrots into my mouth. “Happy?”
“God, so happy. I was serious when I said I’m never eating a muffin or soup again.”
“You’re still making my favorite, right?”
“And what do I get out of it?”
His eyes flashed, and I knew the answer.
“Fine,” I said. “If you’re really good, I’ll make chicken and dumplings. I use crescent dough.”
“Jesus Christ,” he said. “If this weren’t a Christmas party, I’d be dragging you off now.”