"There's my girl," Granny called as we climbed the wooden stairs to join her on the porch.

"Granny!" I rushed the last few steps and released Nate so I could throw my arms around her. Resting my chin on her shoulder, I inhaled the lightly sweet, floral scent of the perfume she'd worn my entire life. Even though I never lived with her, she smelled like home. "I missed you."

Her hold on me tightened. "I missed you too." She patted my back before stepping away. "Now, let's meet this man of yours."

"This is Nate." I stood beside him, and he rested his palm on my hip.

Muffled voices came from the house, but I ignored them. Half the people in there would search for flaws, ready to pick us apart like vultures starving for an imperfection. Not Granny. She'd get to know Nate and then decide what she thought of him.

She tilted her head and studied him like she planned to describe him to a sketch artist later, although I wouldn't blame her if she was just checking him out. Nate dealt with her scrutiny well, smiling and offering his hand.

Instead of shaking it, Granny used it to tug him closer. "Nate, did you know Liv is my favorite grandbaby?"

He grinned. "I didn't, but I can understand why. She's pretty great."

"That she is." Granny nodded with an approving gleam in her eye. I scoffed, and she pressed her finger to her lips, "Shh, don't tell the rest of'em. It'd cause a stink."

Over my giggling, Nate answered seriously. "Your secret is safe with me, Mrs. Carson."

She patted the large hand she now held in both of her tiny ones. "When Liv's coming to visit, and time's getting close, I get so excited that I watch for her at the window. For a long time it's hurt seeing her arrive looking like she's going to the gallows."

My jaw dropped. "No, I'm always excited to visit you, Granny. It's just—"

"I don't take it personally, lamb." She brushed her icy knuckles over my cheek. "I may be old, but not much gets by me. If I were you, I wouldn't be racing to come here either." Granny's gaze locked on Nate's. "But today, with you beside her, my grand girl is happy. So, I'm glad you could join us, and if anyone bothers you, you just tell me. I'll handle it."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Mrs. Carson." Nate's smile stretched from ear to ear.

If Granny had been checking him out, and Nate was straight, she might've had a chance. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the idea.

"Call me Granny. All my favorite people do." She released him and turned to the door, leading us inside.

Nate faced me wide-eyed and mouthed, "I love her."

I nodded in agreement as the sound of Reba singing "Winter Wonderland" poured from the kitchen radio where Granny was sure to have every available person working on her signature spice cookies.

As we entered, Nate laced our fingers together, and stopped to scan the Christmas decor in the living room. Classic red and green with touches of gold covered every available inch, but felt cozy rather than gaudy.

White lights shone from an enormous tree that took up an entire corner and displayed ornaments ranging from delicate crystal to construction paper monstrosities that rained glitter at the slightest provocation. From experience, I knew if an expensive crystal ornament broke, Granny would hardly notice. But if one of the art projects we'd made for her as kids that still reeked of too much Elmer's glue fell apart, she'd cry.

Granny paused by the poinsettia garland-trimmed staircase that led to the second floor. "I have your room ready for you, but come see everyone before you collect your luggage."

"Okay." I forced my lips to curve up for her even as my stomach tightened with nerves. All I wanted was a peaceful visit with my family. What if they caught our lie? What if they were terrible to Nate, and he quit this charade?

"You look like you're about to puke," Nate whispered. "Chill. Granny already loves me; everything's fine."

I nodded and took a calming breath. Nate gave me a squeeze as we hurried to catch up to Granny who had turned the corner to the kitchen.

As we entered, she lowered the music. "Guess who's here!"

My parents sat on one side of the huge island rolling dough into balls and placing them on prepared cookie sheets, while Sawyer stood across from them measuring spices into a mixing bowl. They paused in their tasks, but Dad was the first to jump up and grab a towel to wipe his hands clean.

He crossed the space in a few quick strides and pulled me into a hug. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart. I'm so glad you came."

"Hey, Dad." Tension fled my body as I relaxed into his warm embrace.

It'd be so easy if holidays were only him and Granny. Guilt was an immediate weight on my shoulders as I regretted the ugly thought. Especially since I'd left Joby out. He and I had been so close before he left for college, I wished I knew what I'd done to change things between us.

Releasing me, Dad nodded at Nate, reminding me I should introduce everyone. "Dad, this is Nate, my boyfriend." I hoped no one noticed when my voice went a bit high with the lie.

The mood seemed normal though as Dad and Nate shook hands, and Nate said, "It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Carson."

"Please, call me Jonah." His arm went around my mother, who'd come to stand beside him. "This is my wife, Joanna. Joby's outside at the grill."

Mother acknowledged Nate with a slight tip of her head before patting my forearm. "It's wonderful to see you, Jolivette. Why don't you two grab a spot?" She returned to her place at the kitchen island. "We still have dozens to go."

Granny cut her eyes at Mother's cool tone and waved her words away. "There's plenty of time to finish. Let them say hello to everyone and get settled, then I'm sure they'll help."

Mother's smile was aspartame, nothing but fake sweetness. "Well, don't forget Sawyer."

One peek told me her opinion on the situation hadn't changed. If I'd tried to give Sawyer another chance, I could be married and pregnant by now, as I should be. It was never Sawyer or Briar's fault for cheating; she only seemed angry with me.

After all, Sawyer would've been a perfect match and as the only loan officer at the local bank, he could've bought us a beautiful house on the Isle. I'd be where Mother insisted I was supposed to be, and not single, working in the city.

Sawyer appeared to shrink in his seat when my gaze drifted to him. "Nate, that's Sawyer."

Nate closed the distance between them and offered his hand. Anxiety bubbled in my chest. What was he doing? Cheese and rice. Surely he didn't think I'd want them to be friends.

Sawyer's brow furrowed, but he stood and returned the greeting. "Nice to meet you."

"Same." Then, glancing from Sawyer's loafers to his head—several inches lower than Nate's—Nate smirked. "For some reason, I thought you'd be taller."

A nervous giggle burst from me, but I did my best to disguise it as a cough. Judging by the reproachful expression Mother shot my way, I'd failed.

Nate winked and reached toward me. "Want to go outside and see your brother, babe?"

"Definitely!" I moved toward the backdoor, and as I passed Nate, he dropped his arm around me like it belonged there. As soon as we stepped into the fresh air and the door squeaked shut, I said, "You're amazing."

Nate kissed the top of my hair. With the windows behind us, I knew it was for show, but it was nice having someone there to protect and comfort me, even if it was pretend.

"I didn't love the vibe your mom was sending your way, but I thought it'd be fun to mess with Sawyer a bit."

"That was awesome. He was speechless." I covered my mouth snickering.

"He seemed a little scared."

"Can you blame him?" I bumped my shoulder into his ribs.

"Not of me." Nate grinned and shook his head. "He seemed uncomfortable the second you walked in."

"Really?" Part of me hoped I made him feel something, fear, guilt, anything negative, but most of me just didn't care about him at all.

Pushing thoughts of Sawyer away, I focused on Joby in the distance. He was facing down with his back to us, and didn't seem to notice we were there as he relaxed against the low stone wall bracketing the patio and messed with his phone.

Like a punch to the gut, I was struck by how much I missed him. He looked good. Was he happy? My heart ached because I should know the answer to that.

Enough was enough. This was the trip when we'd finally talk and fix whatever had gone wrong between us. I wanted to know my brother again.

With only a few steps separating us, Joby still hadn't noticed we were there. Whatever he was doing required all his focus. Then high pitched, repetitive music hit my ears, and I realized he was playing a game. Tip toeing the remaining distance, I peeked over his shoulder at the screen where little wooden blocks were fitting together in some version of Tetris.

"Wow, twenty-five hundred points." I said, inches from his cheek.

Joby jumped and glared at me. His game made a different sound as the blocks stacked up and the screen flashed Try Again. "Damn it, Jolivette."

I chuckled at the aggravation in his tone. "You must've been at this for a while."

"Well, I sure as hell wasn't—" He turned, and the words died on his lips as he realized we weren't alone.

He gawked at Nate for a second before sliding his phone into his pocket and smoothing his hair, ensuring every strand was in place. Joby had always been meticulous about appearances. It was something Mother instilled in us, but it was probably a useful trait working with the super wealthy.

Apparently, he'd forgotten I was bringing someone. I told myself I wasn't offended by the shock on his face.

"Sorry." Joby gave me a crooked smile, and I couldn't help but grin as I leaned in for a hug.

"It's okay. This is my boyfriend Nate. Nate, my brother Joby."

"Nice to meet you." They did the fist bump thing. How did guys decide which hands to shake and which to bump?

The burning grill was empty, and a covered dish sat to the side. "Is everything done or have you not started yet?" I asked.

"It's just burgers, and they're ready."

"So, you're hiding out here?"

Joby's eyebrows drew together. "No." He scuffed his boot against the pavers and avoided my gaze. "Yeah. Hanging out with Sawyer and Briar isn't high on my to-do list."

"Mine neither. Briar wasn't downstairs, but Sawyer's helping with the cookies."

"I figured if I stay out here until Ruth Grace and her latest victim arrive, I'm covered until after lunch. Then I'll need to clean the grill." He scanned the treeline that surrounded the yard. "And some of these trees need pruning."

A laugh burst from Nate, and I punched Joby on the arm. "You're not leaving me to deal with them by myself."

"You're not alone. I'm sure your boyfriend will protect you."

"Absolutely." Nate pecked the top of my head again and I was glad our height difference gave him such an easy way to seem affectionate.

The backdoor screeched open and Granny yelled, "Ruth Grace called, they'll be here in twenty. Are those burgers about done?"

Joby grabbed the spatula and poked around on the empty grill. "Almost, Granny."

She wagged her finger at him as though she knew he was lying and then waved at me. "Why don't you two take your things upstairs and get settled before lunch?"

"Sounds good." I flicked Joby's ear and moved before he could smack me away. "Don't overcook my burger."

He stuck his tongue out as Nate and I went toward the house. Inside, everyone was still hard at work on the cookies, but Granny stopped collecting them from a cooling rack and held a treat out for each of us. "Want one?"

Nate took his. "Thanks, Granny. These smell amazing."

She beamed at the compliment as I accepted the cookie she offered.

"I'll run and grab our bags. Be right back," Nate said.

I'd have rather gone with him, but there was really no reason, and Mother would expect him to collect them himself. Even if he was a fake boyfriend, I wouldn't give her an excuse to pick on him; he was too sweet for that. So, I moved out of the way as Sawyer gathered eggs from the fridge for the next batch of dough.

A few seconds later, Briar strolled in from behind me and went to stand beside Sawyer. Rubbing her lower back, she pouted. "My feet are tired." When Sawyer didn't react, she cleared her throat.

He glanced up, and rushed to grab a stool from the other side of the counter. He set it next to him and helped her settle on the seat.

Everyone focused extra hard on making cookies as Briar ran her eyes over me and seemed to find my appearance lacking. "Did you hear? Sawyer and I are having a baby."

My neck heated. "Congratulations."

Where was Nate? Would it be weird if I went upstairs to wait for him? Of course it would, he didn't even know where to go.

"I thought you were bringing someone this year?" Briar looked like the cat that caught the canary. "Did he change his mind and run off already?"

Granny slammed the cabinet she'd been rummaging through and turned to Briar, but before she could speak, muscular arms wrapped around me from behind, pinning me against a hard chest.

"Who ran off?" Nate asked.

Dad and Granny smiled as the rest of them continued pretending to be engrossed in baking. Briar's mouth fell open, and I wished I had a camera to record the emotions flickering across her face. Shock, desire, jealousy, and annoyance showed clearly before she settled on anger.

"No one." I crossed my arms so one hand rested on Nate's biceps and he bent down to kiss my temple.

"Okay, babe. Come, show me where to go so I can carry everything up." His hold slid away, but his fingers slipped automatically between mine as he led me from the room.

What do you think of the family so far?