Page 105 of The Grump I Loathe

I nodded. “Finn bought them when he ordered holiday sweaters for Lord Meowington.”

She opened and closed her mouth, as if she was trying out words for the first time, then snapped it shut before finally speaking. “I need to meet this cat.”

“I’m pretty sure he’d try to eat Mr. Cheesers.”

“Well, we can’t have that.”

“Definitely not,” I agreed.

32

EDDIE

The kitchen was a blur of movement and chaos.

Cathleen raced around wearing an apron that saidgobble, gobblewhile her fiancé, X, chased after her with a turkey baster and an old recipe card. Connor’s brother Finn had bet Grace she couldn’t gobble louder than he could. His fiancée, Sierra, was patiently rating said gobbles to determine the winner. And Liam had offered to set the table while Mia bounced on a medicine ball in the living room. She was four days past her due date and was well and truly ready for this baby to beout.

I’d never experienced a family gathering like it. And I was loving every second.

“You can wear my turkey hat if you want,” Grace offered, taking a break from her gobbling. She passed off the ridiculous mound of feathers to me.

I plopped it right on my head. “Thanks! I love it. Also, your hair looks really cool.”

Grace beamed, touching the ends of her lavender highlights. “I think purple is my favorite. And it matches the new laces in my Converse!”

“It’s a pretty epic color,” I agreed.

“Where are the soup bowls?” Liam called.

“I got ’em!” Grace said, grabbing the stack of bowls from the counter and wobbling toward the dining room.

“Be gentle with it, sweetheart. That’s the good china,” Cathleen called out.

Connor and I darted after her, saving the day just as Grace hit the slippery hardwood.

“Hey!” Grace complained as Connor took the stack of bowls.

“Crisis number twenty-five of the day averted,” he said, passing me half the stack as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

We divided and conquered, helping Liam finish the table while he told me about the Thanksgiving in college when Connor drank so much he slipped beneath the table halfway through the meal.

“It was one time!” Connor complained. “Let’s not forget about the time we had to completely strip the wallpaper in your room because you decided you were a professional mixologist at sixteen.”

A fond look crossed his face. “Ah, the good old days.”

“Days you’ll soon have to look forward to with your own kid,” I said.

“Not before Connor,” Liam pointed out.

Connor winced, looking down at Grace, plucking feathers out of her turkey butt. “No,” he whispered. “My baby’s not allowed to be a bratty teenager. She’s so perfect and innocent.”

Liam threw his arm over Connor’s shoulder. “Teendom is coming. Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

“Yeah, well, the newborn phase is coming for you,” Connor shot back.

“It’s probably bad that I’m excited, right?”

I grinned at the look the brothers exchanged. The entire family had stood just inside the door when we’d entered, waiting there with bated breath for Connor to announce that we were back together. The resulting cheer had almost deafened me.