6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jamie

"YES!" Sean yells and high-fives Jess. I narrow my eyes at my best friend. I can't help but notice how much more competitive he's gotten. What is my sister doing to him? Sean has always loved playing the game, and Jess was the one who needed to win. Apparently, Sean is in it to win it too.

The adorable, angry woman next to me tenses. She isn't quite as competitive as Jess, but she still hates to lose.

I shake my head and look at the score. We are in the second round, and Jess and Sean are leading by three. Penny and Liam are down by one, and our parents are sitting on the sideline watching the "kids" for this go around.

Evie and I have a big ol' goose egg…again. We are completely out of sync, which doesn't help, especially since Charades is Evie's, and my, worst game. Even on our best nights, we would just squeak by with a win.

I peek a glance at Evie sitting beside me with a scowl on her face, and I smile. She catches me and glares. I press my lips together to keep the smile from getting bigger. She is seriously the cutest when she's angry. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's so out of character that it's hard not to laugh at her.

Although no one is outright saying anything, the glances and smirks they keep giving her speak volumes. Which only annoys Evie more.

"Jamie, Evie." Jess points. "It's your turn."

I hear Evie groan and can all but feel the roll of her eyes. "Do you want to pick?" I gesture to the bowl, only to receive a glare for my effort. This time, I can't hold back the laugh that bubbles up.

"This one." Jess holds her and Sean's bowl up, and I groan. Their topics have been all about their courtship—matchmaking, speed dating, bingo—all lovey-dovey stuff. If I'm honest, I'm a bit afraid of what I'm going to pull out .

Each time we pull something from their bowl, it brings back memories of Evie and me and the feelings that were developing before I left. And how I left.

I pull the piece of paper out, keeping it close to me, and groan when I open it.

Mistletoe.

I roll my eyes, only to have Jessica and Sean high five. I see Evie give them another glare, and the room explodes in laughter. I cough to cover my laugh, but it doesn't escape the woman next to me. She snorts and then stands up to go to the area of the room that's been assigned to the active participants. I get up to follow when Jess's voice interrupts us.

"Move left, Evie." Evie narrows her eyes at Jess but does as she says. When I look at Evie, I can't help but notice that she's almost standing directly under the mistletoe.

I glance at Sean and Jess and notice their eyes dancing. Then I look at my piece of paper and see a tiny little circle on the back. When I look back at them Jessica has a smile stretching across her face, and Sean winks at me.

My stomach drops, and I groan internally. I don't know what these two have up their sleeves but I am not liking it. My eyes move toward Evie, and I see her standing there, arms crossed, waiting.

"Come on, let's not take all night!"

I purposely slow my movements down, exaggerating them like a sloth. Everyone laughs except Evie. A look of frustration flits across her face, but it is quickly replaced by a strained smile.

I straighten up. It used to be easy to make Evie laugh, and I just want to hear the lovely tinkling noise again. I don't know what I need to do, but I messed this up so much more than I thought I did. Six months ago I would've pulled her in for a big hug to comfort her, but I think she's had enough punch that she might actually slap me if I did.

There's time to think about that later, Jamie, I think to myself. It's time to focus on the game at hand. I'm pretty sure that she'd never forgive me if we lost with zero points.

When I finally reach her, I've gotten control of my facial features and glance up at her only to find her glaring at me again. This time, I can't control myself, and a grin splits my face.

"If you're not careful, everyone's going to know why you're mad at me." Her eyes widen slightly at my whisper, and she quickly gains control of her expression.

"I'm not mad at you." She crosses her arms, daggers shooting from her eyes. "I'm just having an off day."

"Evie, you don't have off days." Snickers from everyone in the room surround us. "Unless you're mad."

"Just give me a clue before I really am mad at you," she says, which has the entire room erupting with laughter. She turns to all of them and glares.

I look at the word on the sheet of paper again as if re-reading it will somehow change what it is. This time, when I look toward Sean and Jess, it's my turn to glare. Their laughter rings through the room, and I narrow my eyes at them.

When I meet Evie's gaze, I panic. How am I going to act this out? We are the weakest team in this house tonight, and even if she wasn't looking at me like she might kill me, I'd have a hard time acting out mistletoe.

I take a deep breath and sigh. I close my eyes, lift up my chin, and pucker my lips.

"What are you doing?" Evie asks while everyone roars with laughter.

I look at Evie, who is pointedly glaring at me and my puckered lips. Then I close my eyes, lift up my chin, and pucker my lips again.

"Kiss?" Even to my ears, her voice sounds slightly breathless. I nod my head up and down and point over my head.

"Kiss your head?" This time, I laugh with everyone else. Evie scowls, and I laugh harder.

She throws her hands up and gets ready to turn away. I gently grab her arm. "Evie."

As soon as my hand touches her, I feel every nerve ending come alive and my heart races. When she turns back to me, her eyes are wide, and her lips are slightly open. I don't let go, but I slowly glance up at the ceiling toward the mistletoe.

Her gaze follows mine before lowering her head.

Her glazed expression meets mine, and my heart stutters before jump-starting and pounding against my ribcage. To my surprise, her eyes drop to my mouth, and I swallow hard. The temptation to lean in and kiss her is overwhelming. When her gaze comes back to mine, I see a question in them.

My heart aches, knowing that I messed up, that I hurt her with how I left. My stomach knots and my mind is running in circles. I feel my body lean toward her as if being pulled by a string. My gaze drops to her lips and then back to her eyes. I notice her lashes start to close, and just as my lips are about to touch hers, I chicken out and move to her cheek. I let my lips linger for a second.

I feel her stiffen, and my stomach drops. When I meet her gaze, she quickly averts her eyes and pulls away from me. Everyone in the room cheers.

"Well, that's one way to get her to guess mistletoe!" Sean slaps me on the back.

"Is that cheating?" Jessica looks around the room for an answer. Sean turns adoring eyes over to her, smiles, and cups her cheeks before kissing her.

I'm grateful that the focus of the room is back on Jessica and Sean and off me and Evie. I feel completely transparent and question everything I have just done. I shrug and respond to my sister with a forced chuckle. "I don't think we ruled it out, Jess."

Still in the heat of competition, she pulls her face away from Sean and continues. "I think that's cheating."

"Jessica!" Everyone yells.

"Fine. But from now on, nothing like that is allowed." She pouts, crossing her arms, and everyone laughs.

"Come here, babe," Sean picks Jess up, and she squeals. "I think it's our turn under the mistletoe. In fact, I think everyone should get a turn!"

Penny pulls Liam up, and they head over behind Jessica and Sean. Mom and Dad lean over and give each other a kiss, whispering something to each other, while the O'Connells do the same.

My mouth tugs up at the corners as I watch everyone, and my heart once again lifts at the love in this room. Immediately, I glance over at Evie and see her with the same expression on her face as she watches everyone. I let my eyes roam over her profile, and I can't help but linger on her lips.

She turns her face toward me, and I bring my eyes up to meet her beautiful blue eyes. My breath catches, a whoosh of air passes through my lips, and my pulse races at what I see reflected there. She then shutters her expression and looks back toward the game as Penny and Liam pick from our bowl for their turn.

I'm pretty sure she wanted me to kiss her. Darn it. I should've just kissed her. I rub my hand up and down my face. I keep messing up left and right with this woman.