Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
I chuckled. “I’m going to set it on my restaurant’s mantel when I get home.”
HOLLY
After the game, we headed home to decompress. Kai joined my dad in the living room to watch football. Dad seemed overjoyed to have someone who actually knew what he was talking about when it came to sports. Kai seemed overjoyed just to experience a Jackson’s Christmas—even with his nice black eye.
As I was walking toward my bedroom to grab my laptop, I was surprised to be approached by MJ.
“Holly, hey. How’s Kai’s eye?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes. “As if you care.” I started to walk past him, but he gripped his hand around my forearm. I eyed the unwelcomed embrace and yanked my arm away. “What are you doing?”
He glanced down the hallways before whispering, “We need to talk.”
“Are you breaking up with my brother?”
“No.”
“Are you going to hell?”
“What? No.”
I shrugged. “Then there is nothing to talk about.”
As I resumed my steps, MJ halted me once more. “No, really, we need to talk. It’s about Kai.”
“What about him?”
MJ grimaced and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “He’s not the right guy for you.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Excuse me?”
“Kai. He’s not the person you should be with. He’s…odd. I’ve noticed a few small tendencies he has that are alarming. It appears that he might be quick to anger, yet he’s good at hiding it. Plus, he seems like a player.”
What in the world was happening? Was MJ—the biggest red flag—trying to inform me that Kai was indeed a player? He couldn’t have been serious.
“Have you been drinking too much of the spiked eggnog?” I questioned.
“I’m serious, Holly. I’m worried about you.”
“Worried, or jealous?”
“Jealous?” He snickered and scratched at the back of his neck. “I’m not jealous. I’m being a concerned brother-in-law.”
“You’re not my brother-in-law, and don’t think for a second I’m going to stop letting Alec know what a living troll you are. Now, if you’d excuse me.” I began walking, and MJ stopped me for the third time, right in the archway leading to the dining room.
He looked up at the mistletoe over our heads, then back down toward me. He raised an eyebrow as a wicked grin formed on his lips.
“Oh, gross!” I shouted, shoving him away. “Leave me alone, MJ, and keep Kai’s name out of your mouth. No one asked for your input, and no one cares about your fake concern. Also, I’m telling Alec about that little mistletoe moment, too, you creep.”
“It was a joke!” he shouted as I marched away.
The only joke in that situation was him.
As I walked into the kitchen, completely disturbed by MJ, I found my mother on the verge of a breakdown as she hurried through the refrigerator like a mad woman.
“I can’t believe I didn’t get enough butter,” Mom remarked as she stood in the kitchen after searching the refrigerator for the past ten minutes. “I can’t make the pound cake without the butter. It’s impossible.”
“I can run to the store and get some. Not a big deal,” I offered.
“Oh, sweetheart, would you do that? That would mean the world to me!” Mom exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “It’s your father’s favorite cake, and I only make it for Christmas. He’d be devastated if we didn’t have it.”
“I’d be devastated, too,” I joked. “While I’m gone, make sure Dad isn’t too hard on Kai with the wood chopping.”
Dad asked all the guys to help him chop wood for the fireplaces. I figured it was his bonding time to interrogate both MJ and Kai. I was a tad bit nervous about leaving Kai alone with my father. Dad was a very protective papa bear. Yet, I knew Kai could handle it. I was hoping that Dad would catch MJ in one of his lies. Maybe Alec would take the advice of leaving MJ better from Dad than me.
As if he knew we were talking about him, Kai entered the room holding his jacket to head out the backdoor toward Dad’s shed for some guy time.
“Hey, I’m about to run to the grocery store,” I mentioned to Kai.
“Going to the grocery store two days before Christmas? You’re a brave woman,” he joked.
“Or insane. Are you sure you’ll be good chopping wood with my dad?” I asked.
He flexed his arms, showing his giant biceps. “I think I can handle woodchopping.”
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. “Easy there, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Nobody’s asking you to bring out the big guns.”
He linked his hands together behind his back to flex some more. “Can’t help it. The big guns just kind of show up on their own.”
I wanted to roll my eyes again, but they were too focused on his physique. It was almost ridiculous how great Kai looked at all moments of every single day. His attractiveness only grew, too, when he was being lighthearted. I had to have a good scolding about how my mind often thought about the afternoon in his apartment when we were supposed to only kiss. We hadn’t spoken about that situation since it happened, and I was somewhat thankful for that fact. I was also somewhat disappointed that it hadn’t happened again. Maybe it was a one-time thing for Kai, though. That disappointed me a little bit. I was still waiting for the moment he’d mutter “good girl” to me.