Lighten Up by Angela Ruth Strong

Author:Angela Ruth Strong
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9780985674656
Publisher: Endurance Press
Published: 2012-11-04T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

As good as the ham was on Christmas Eve, breakfast is even better. The coffeecake is practically a cheesecake so I balance out the fat-gram-to-calories ratio with Sharon’s amazing fruit salad—as if dieting worked that way.

“So,” Trent teases from across the table the next morning. (Emma got us all up early to check out stockings.) “Brooke brought her personal trainer with her to keep her accountable for all the food she eats on Christmas.”

Brooke laughs. “Oh my gosh. Bethany is a slave driver. I could eat everything on this table and still not consume more calories than I’ve burned this month.”

“What about the rest of us?” Trent asks around a mouthful of food. “I feel guilty eating like a pig in front of her.”

Eric takes a sip of sparkling cider. “I don’t. I’ve seen her inhale a bowl of M & Ms in one sitting.”

Brooke’s jaw drops down toward this gorgeous cross necklace she’s wearing. “You eat chocolate? And you look like that?”

“Hey.” I nudge Eric with my elbow. “What happened to counselor/client privilege?”

Eric snorts. “I should charge you extra for eating all my candy.”

“Candy?” Emma licks the cream cheese off her fork. She’s wearing a princess tiara that she found in her stocking.

“No candy.” Eric’s dad can be a little gruff.

“How about presents?” Sharon smoothes out his rough edges.

“Yippee!” Emma runs across the wood floor then slides in her socks, colliding with the piles of presents under the Christmas tree.

I think of the gifts I bought for my family and wonder if they like them. I wish I could have given Jennica the bike in person.

“Let’s get dressed first Emma,” Sharon calls to her granddaughter then stops behind my chair. “Dear, you didn’t see your stocking.”

I look up to see if she’s talking to me. She is—which totally confuses me. “I don’t have a stocking.”

“Why?” Eric glances over. “Were you on Santa’s naughty list?”

I make a face. “Of course not. I just figured he would leave my gifts at my house. I wouldn’t want him to get mixed up with me traveling for the holidays.”

Sharon places a hand on my left shoulder. “Well Santa found you. And he must have known about your M & M cravings.” She hands me a felt stocking with an M & M candy cane sticking out the top.

It’s not much, but it’s more than I expected. I feel the grin pull my skin tight as I accept the gift. “You?” I ask Eric.

“Nope.”

“I didn’t want you to be left out,” his mom says to me. “Though I didn’t realize we share the same taste in candy.”

I place the stocking next to my plate. “Well, I didn’t used to eat any candy at all before I started seeing Eric.”

“For counseling,” Eric adds, making me realize what I just said.

I can’t think of a good retort, and I’m too uncomfortable to meet anyone’s eyes. Of course I meant for counseling. I focus my attention on Brooke who has moved over to the fireplace with Gabe.

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