“Although our dinner date wasn’t all that romantic,” Nic continued. “I couldn’t afford a fancy restaurant, so I took her to a little neighborhood dive that serves up barbeque—we had ribs and brisket—on paper plates.”

“Oh, that was so good,” she chimed in. “We should go again. I loved it.”

They looked into each other’s eyes. Nic’s were swimming in amusement as she was sure hers were. She couldn’t seem to get the grin off her face. Who knew?

“I don’t recall you liking barbeque, Abigail.”

Nic turned to Holly. “Oh, that’s right. You two used to date, didn’t you? Abby has a fondness for ribs. My uncle has this huge smoker and he’ll put on several racks of ribs and slow cook them all day. Abby fights me for them.”

“Well, if that’s a favorite meal, there’s a barbeque place in town we could go to for one of our outings,” her mother offered. “We’ve been several times. It’s quite good.”

“Sure. If everyone else wants to.” Abby dared to look at Holly. “I can’t see you eating ribs with your hands, though.”

“I’m sure you remember that I’m not fond of barbeque. It seems so uncivilized. How about that nice steak restaurant we went to last year?” Holly turned her gaze to Nic. “It was very nice and quite expensive. I’m sure a filet mignon would be a treat for Nicole.”

Abby was floored by the callousness of her statement. Even her mother seemed taken aback. But Nic’s smile never faltered. In fact, her eyes widened enthusiastically.

“A filet mignon? Oh wow. I’ve never had one. That would be a treat.”

“Then we must go,” her mother said. “And speaking of eating, I need to check on dinner. I hope everyone likes chicken parmesan. I’d planned to eat early. I know the four of you must be exhausted after driving all day.”

They all murmured something in the affirmative, then silence ensued. It was broken by her father.

“It just occurred to me. We have two guests with holiday names. Nic and Holly. That’s pretty neat.”

Holly gave a fake smile as she looked at Nic. “Yes. Old Saint Nick. That’s flattering.”

“Yeah. About as flattering as being named for a poisonous shrub,” Nic fired back.

Again, a chorus of nervous laughter ensued, and her mother took that opportunity to dart from the room. Her father moved to the bar to freshen his drink. Aaron opened the mini fridge and pulled out another beer. Holly openly stared at them. Nic smiled charmingly as she sipped from her bottle. Abby downed the rest of her wine in one gulp.

Chapter Nineteen

“That was endless,” Abby said as she locked their bedroom door. “Torture.”

“Was it?”

Abby laughed quietly. “You were so good. Perfect, in fact.”

“You’re right. Holly is evil.”