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“Aww.” Amo Eli brings a hand to his heart and tilts his head. “And I love having you spicy gals here. Even though one of you leaves hair clippings everywhere she goes and the other one’s room looks like a tsunami rolled through, having you both here has forced me to stop being such a lone wolf and embrace the chaos. If I hadn’t, I never would have agreed to go on that first date with Eric. I needed an excuse to leave this estrogen-filled home.”

“Ooooooh, Eric,” Mom and I say in unison.

“Oh, shut up or I’ll start making you pay rent!”

“Okay, okay.” Mom laughs. “I do have a serious question, though. For Jamie. How would you feel about inviting Dad over here for Christmas dinner?”

Amo Eli and I lock eyes in surprise.

“Go for it,” I say. “May as well invite the Camerons while you’re at it. Eric, too, of course.”

“The Camerons?” Mom asks.

“I thought Benjamin was canceled,” Amo Eli says.

“He was. Now he isn’t. We’re going to try to do the friend thing.”

“Look at the two of you ladies,” Eli says. “Continuing to evolve. I didn’t think it was possible, seeing how hard-headed you both are.”

“Hey, Mom,” I say, raising a brow. “It’s been a while since Amo had his hair cut. Why don’t you grab your scissors while I hold him down?”

“Who needs hairdressing scissors. I’ll just use the kitchen shears.”

Amo Eli pushes back his chair and jolts up, stretching his arms out in defense. “Don’t you dare. You know I only trust Alejandro.”

“Okay, now you’re definitely in for it,” I say.

“You’ve been seeing Alejandro behind my back?” Mom asks, pretending to be offended.

Amo Eli runs out of the room and Mom chases after him. Just as I’m about to follow and see which geriatric millennial wins the battle, my phone lights up.

I pick it up to see a response from both Finn and Diesel.We’re in.

I bite down on my lip, heart racing, blood rushing—but in a good way. Guess there’s no turning back now.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Six days until the winter formal and I’ve set a goal so high, it rivals the CN Tower. But Axel needs me to show how much I love him. Words are not enough. So that’s why I’m here, waiting outside my dad’s work for Finn and Diesel to arrive.

A TTC bus pulls up to the stop in front of Kit’s Karaoke Dive and I wait with bated breath for Axel’s two best friends to come out. It was bold of me to reach out to them after having met them only the one time, but I needed to go big, and I needed them on my team. They step off the bus and nod when they see me waiting out front.

“Hey,” I say, smothering a nervous grin. The last time we were here together it ended terribly. Who knows what Axel has said to them about me or what they think themselves based on the horrible first impression I made.

“What up?” Diesel asks, hands tucked into their pockets.

“It’s cold,” I say. “Let’s go in.”

Finn tosses me a polite but strained smile before nodding.

We step inside the club. It’s empty, except for my dad, who’s sitting at a table balancing the books. Kit’s doesn’t open until after five on Sundays.

“Hey, Dad. We’re all here now.”

He looks up from the table and nods a hello to Finn and Diesel. “Feel free to use the stage or whatever else you need.”

I clear my throat and approach my father at the table as Finn and Diesel check out the stereo system. “Is there, like, an office in the back where you can work?”

He laughs. “Why?”