My December Darling: A Holiday Novella

I go to sleep with a few thoughts on my mind about Catalina and seven hundred dollars less in my bank account and wake up with a new purpose.

I exit my room to find Aiden dressed in his work scrubs, making pancakes at four p.m. “Thank God your wedding is later in the day.”

His reply is cut off by his yawn. “No way in hell are we getting up before noon. As the groom, I forbid it.”

I take a seat at our kitchen counter and brush a hand through my ruffled hair. Our apartment is outdated but clean, and we even have a few picture frames hanging on the walls thanks to Gaby, although we haven’t bothered replacing the generic stock photos that came with them.

If it weren’t for Gaby strong-arming us into buying a small Christmas tree from the local farm and helping us pick out the most basic ornaments, our only holiday decor would’ve been a snowflake blanket that remains on our couch year-round and a pair of matching stockings Aiden and I bought during a post-holiday clearance sale back when we were in med school. They were the only ones that had our initials on them, most likely because they have the ugliest plaid pattern I’ve ever seen. We like the memory enough to keep them, although Gaby groans every year we hang them up.

Aiden serves me the first pancake from the batch. I think it’s supposed to resemble a snowman based on the batter design, but I don’t bother asking. It might be thin, brown on the edges, and suffering from a bulky center, but I’m too hungry to care as I take a massive bite.

“Thanks,” I say after sipping on some water.

“No problem.”

“You’re the best roommate ever.”

“Speaking of roommates…”

Oh no.

“Have you found a new one yet?” he asks while adding some batter to the pan in a shape that looks more like an obtuse triangle than a Christmas tree.

“Nope.”

“This might be the first time I’ve ever seen you procrastinate with anything.”

“Don’t google what’s wrong with me. According to WebMD, I’m probably dying.”

He chuckles under his breath. “You can’t keep putting this off forever.”

“No, but I can put it off for now.”

Once he gets married, Aiden will be moving in with Gaby, and I will either have to find a roommate to take over Aiden’s part of the lease or accept that I will have to live alone. I’ve avoided the task, both because of work and since I’m not sure what I want to do. Finding a roommate is going to be a pain in the ass, but living alone reminds me too much of my lonely childhood, so I’m struggling with analysis paralysis about the whole thing.

“We knew this would happen,” he says with a sigh at the end.

“Yeah, well, I did hope we would be roommates for life, but then you had to go and fall in love with someone else like a complete cliché.”

“One day, you’ll be in a similar position.” He has the absolute goofiest smile on his face.

“Maybe.” I keep the hope out of my voice.

“You do want to get married, right?”

“Yes, but preferably to someone who wants to elope at the courthouse. Your wedding invoices give me second-hand hives.”

“They’re not that bad.”

“Says the man paying eight grand for a videographer.”

“Gaby says it’ll be worth the cost when we show it to our future kids one day.”

“I’m sure that’s what she tells you to make you feel better.”

He shoots me a half-hearted glare that makes me grin. Luckily, Aiden’s job pays well, and Gaby makes good money as a certified public accountant in Lake Wisteria, or else I’d be concerned with the money they’re spending on their special day.

“So…” He flips the pancake. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Did anything seem off with Catalina yesterday?”

I stiffen before relaxing my muscles. “What do you mean?”

“I was just… I’m probably reading into things too much.”

My heart, which was already stuttering a few seconds before, begins to pound harder in my chest. “Spit it out.”

“I thought I noticed something between the two of you.”

Fuck. My hand squeezes the fork I’m holding, but I loosen my grip before Aiden takes notice.

“Like what?” I ask with a rasp.

“Don’t make fun of me for saying this.”

I stare blankly at him.

“Just like…sparks?” He brushes his stubbled cheek.

I press my lips firmly together to stop myself from commenting, which earns me a glare.

“I’m being serious. She seemed…comfortable. With you, that is.”

The thought sends a wave of warmth through me, feeding my confidence about the whole Catalina situation.

“I think she’s warming up to me,” I say with a light tone.

“Tell me about it. Just the other day you were worried about a chopstick incident, and this week you’re hanging out at the holiday event without any issues?”

“I’ve been told on a few occasions that I’m hard to resist.”

He stares at me with thinly pressed lips.

“What?”

He doesn’t speak up right away, so my nerves get the best of me as I say, “If you want to ask me something, do it before you kill me with suspense.”

On the outside, I’m calm, cool, and charming, but on the inside, my emotions are all over the place.

“I don’t know how to go about this, so I’m just going to give it to you straight and ask.”

“Okay…”

“Are you into her?”

I look at him without blinking, and he does the same before breaking eye contact first.

“Shit. I wasn’t sure if I was overthinking things, so Gaby insisted that I ask you.”

“Gaby put you up to this?”

“Yes! She kept saying things were different between you two.”

“If by different, she means her sister is no longer fantasizing about ways to escape a conversation with me, then I’d say yes. Things are progressing rather nicely between us.”

His head tilts in quiet assessment.

“If you keep looking at me like a cadaver you want to dissect, I’m going to take my pancake and go so I can eat in peace.”

His chest deflates with his sigh. “Sorry.”

I’m the one who should be sorry since I’m the one interested in his ex-girlfriend.

I swallow the lump in my throat. “Now I have something to ask you.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s say, hypothetically speaking of course, I was interested in your ex⁠—”

He slaps the counter before pointing an accusatory finger at me. “I knew it!”

I can’t tell whether he is mad or not. “This is strictly a hypothetical.”

His lips curl at the corners.

Nope. Not mad.

The scent of something burning fills my nose, and Aiden rushes over to the stove. With a curse, he tosses the crispy pancake in the trash before pouring more batter in the pan.

“So, you’re not angry?” I ask with slight uncertainty.

“Why on earth would I be mad about that?” He turns to face me with crossed arms.

“Well, Catalina is your ex.”

“So? I’m in love with her sister. Plus, Catalina and I were hardly together. At least in that sense.”

“You dated each other.”

He casually lifts a shoulder. “And during that time, she was traveling around the country for work. We might have talked every day, but it was more platonic than anything else.”

“Got it,” I say with a finality to my tone.

He chuckles to himself.

I take a few more bites of my food before talking. “You really wouldn’t be upset if I—I don’t know. Talked to her more?”

He laughs to himself. “I swore I’d never say this aloud.”

Now that makes me curious.

I place my elbows on the counter and lean forward. “What?”

“I always thought you two were better suited for each other.”

“Really?” And he kept this to himself for exactly how long?

“Yeah. It’s one of the reasons I broke up with her, but I never told her that of course. Especially since she didn’t seem to like you very much once you met.”

Oh shit. I thought the only reason Aiden called it off with Catalina was because he started being interested in her sister as more than a friend.

Aiden continues, “There were little things you said or did that always reminded me of her. That’s probably why I took to being her friend so easily.”

“How did you even become her friend?” Aiden might have told me once before, but I don’t remember.

“You of all people know she isn’t the kind of girl who lets people get too close, too fast.”

“Tell me about it.”

“It took me some time to wear her down, but she’s a great girl who just needs people to take the time to get to know her.”

“So I’m starting to realize,” I say with a sigh.

“I will say that whoever earns her trust and loyalty better do everything possible to protect it or else they’ll have to deal with me.”

My last bite tastes like ash in my mouth. “Are you going to be an overbearing ex?”

“Worse. A protective brother-in-law.”

“That’s supposed to be worse?”

“Yup, because anyone who hurts Catalina is guaranteed to upset my future wife, which will instantly piss me off.”

Based on the glint in his eye, I hope no one ever crosses Gaby’s path.

“Watching you fall in love like this is fascinating,” I say.

He shoots me a smile. “I look forward to saying the same thing about you one day.”

“I never said I was falling in love with anyone.”

“That’s what we all say before it happens.”

I blink twice, and he leans over the counter to clap me on the shoulder.

“Relax. Take it day by day and see what happens.”

Famous last words.