I padded down the stairs, trying to look relaxed even though I felt like a mess inside. What was I going to do when I saw Jacob again? Did I shake his hand? Give him a hug?

I shook my head, forcing that last option from my mind. I didn’t need to be putting ridiculous ideas in my head. What if I accidentally acted on them? I cringed.

Stupid. Stupid thoughts.

As soon as I got to the bottom step, I took a deep breath. I could do this. I was the only one privy to my absurd crush. No one else knew. And if I was smart, no one would ever find out.

I’d survive this Christmas getaway and then move on with my life. I just needed to keep my head down and not totally embarrass myself.

Both families were in the kitchen when I walked in. I tucked my blonde hair behind my ears as I glanced around. Thankfully, no one really noticed that I was there.

I scanned the room, but didn’t find Jacob. Where had he gone?

Andrew and Tracy were leaning against the island, consumed with something on their phones. Max, Aiden, and Alex were sitting at the table, eating pizza. And Mr. Stephenson and Dad were arm wrestling at the counter. I glanced over at Mom, who was cheering Dad on. Both men were red-faced and squinting with effort.

After picking up a piece of cheese pizza, I slipped over to the corner behind the cupboards. Just as I stepped into hiding, I heard a low chuckle, and a hand pressed against my lower back.

“Whoa,” Jacob’s low, smooth voice said.

Heat instantly flushed my body. So this was where Jacob had disappeared to. I slowly turned around, trying to still my pounding heart when I met his dark brown eyes, crinkled from his half-smile.

What was I supposed to say? Hi, how’s it going? I’ve been in love with you for three years? I pinched my lips, refusing to let any of those words out. Was I having a brain aneurism? Because it felt as if nothing inside of my head made sense.

He raised his eyebrows as he studied me.

Say something, you idiot!

“Hey,” I breathed. Great. That’s the best thing I could come up with?

Jacob’s half-smile was back. “It’s good to see you, Ava.”

I stared at him. Did he really mean that? And then common sense caught up with me. It was a totally normal greeting, not a declaration of love.

“You, too.”

There was a cheer from around the corner. I glanced over to see Mr. Stephenson pump his fists into the air, grab a piece of supreme pizza, and triumphantly take a bite.

I glanced back at Jacob. He didn’t look too interested in what was happening. Instead, he picked off a few peppers from his slice and stacked them on his plate.

“What was that about?” I asked, taking a bite of my pizza.

Jacob glanced up and shrugged. “They’re dumb. Something about wanting the last piece of supreme pizza.”

I snorted. Yep, that sounded about right. “It’s so weird, huh?” I asked, leaning against the cupboard.

Jacob shook his head. “They’re an embarrassment.” He shoved the last bite of crust into his mouth and crumpled up his paper plate. He stepped past me and made his way over to the garbage.

I tried not to stare at him, I really did. But I couldn’t help it. Sure, he’d gotten in trouble, and he played like he didn’t care about anything, but I knew that was all an act. I took a bite of my pizza as Andrew glanced over at me, his eyebrows furrowed.

I knew he was wondering about my conversation with Jacob. I shrugged as I motioned toward the alcove that was rapidly becoming my favorite place in the house.

Andrew nodded and straightened as he walked over to me. “What did you talk to Jacob about?” he asked, slipping his phone into his pocket and folding his arms.

“Not much. Just how annoying our parents are.” I took another bite and reveled in the memory of talking to Jacob. Why did I have to like him as much as I did?

“That’s it?”

I glanced over at Andrew. “Yeah. That’s it. Why? Did you want us to talk about something else?”

Andrew’s lips drew into a tight line before he sighed. “No. Not really.”

I eyed my brother. Why was he acting so strange? He was over six feet tall. He was quarter back on the football team with a full-ride scholarship to UC. Nothing ever rattled him like this.

“Is there a certain topic you want us to discuss next time I talk to him?” A shiver raced across my skin. There was going to be a next time? And then I felt stupid. Of course, there would be. We were staying in the same house. There was bound to be a reason to talk to each other again.

Andrew shoved his hands through his hair as he shook his head. “I just wish he hadn’t come,” he said, his voice low.

I reached out and patted his arm. “I know. But you guys were friends once. I’m sure you can find it in your heart to be friends again.” I brushed off my mouth and crumpled my plate—sadly without the same finesse as Jacob. I grinned at Andrew. “Besides, it’s Christmas—the most magical time of the year.”

He scoffed and shook his head. “I doubt that will have any impact on our friendship.”

I shrugged and started walking over toward the garbage, where I disposed of my plate. “Don’t write it off.” I winked at my brother and headed out of the kitchen.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I could do this. I could survive this trip.

When I walked into the living room, I found a giant whiteboard had been set up against the wall. My parents and the Stephensons were busy writing on it and talking.

I glanced at what they were listing.

Christmas Tree Decorating

Cookie Decorating

Ice Fishing

Mom was in the process of writing Gift Wrapping when I cleared my throat.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Mom glanced over at me. “We’re making a list. We are going to show the world how much Christmas spirit we have.”

I stared at her. “You can’t be serious, Mom. It’s all to win the vacation? Isn’t it time to let some of this ridiculous competition stuff go?”

Mom laughed and was joined by Mrs. Stephenson a moment later.

“Come on, Ava. It’s all in good fun,” Mrs. Stephenson said. Her bright red lips smiled at me. “Plus, we could really use a vacation.” It seemed like she was trying to be relaxed, but I could see the stress permeating off of her.

Not sure what to do with that, I just glanced between her and my mom and then shook my head. “You two are crazy,” I said.

“Crazy enough to win,” Mom said as she turned and finished writing.

I sat down on the recliner and pulled my feet underneath me. There was no way I was going to participate in this, but there was also no way I was going to miss the show.

My parents were weird in an I can’t stop staring even though it burns my eyes kind of way. While they finished figuring out the scoring for the items on the board, I grabbed a nearby book and flipped through it.

My ears perked up when they began to discuss the fact that the teams were uneven. I wanted to see how fast my parents would “graciously” offer to give me over to the Stephensons. And if I were honest, I was really hoping the Stephensons said yes.

“Well, you guys just weren’t as busy as we were. We shouldn’t be punished for that,” Dad said, wrapping his arm around Mom and nuzzling her neck.

Bleh. I did not want to hear that. There was nothing worse than hearing your parents talk about the birds and the bees. I closed my eyes, forcing that disturbing image far, far, into the depths of my mind.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that now,” Mrs. Stephenson said. I could hear the bite to her tone. There was a reason Max was adopted, and I had a feeling Dad hit a nerve with his comment.

“Of course,” Mom’s apologetic voice piped up. “You can have…”

I paused, holding my breath.

“Ava.”

I pinched my lips together as I stared really hard at a page in the book that had a picture of a lighthouse on it.

“Ava?” Mrs. Stephenson asked. From the corner of my eye, I saw her turn to study me. She sighed. “I guess.”

I tried to ignore the fact that she sounded less than thrilled. I’m sure she wanted Andrew, but I was at least better than my hooligan younger brothers, even if I had no skills to write home about.

“Perfect. It’s settled then.”

I bit my lip, trying to sort through my emotions. I was going to spend the entire time here hanging out with Jacob. Even though it felt perfect, I was worried. How was I going to keep my feelings at bay when I literally needed to spend every moment with him?

Ten minutes later, we were all called to meet in the living room.

Andrew and Jacob sat on opposite ends of the couch. One would have never guessed those two had been best friends for most their lives. They had their arms folded and were looking anywhere but at each other.

Tracy smiled as she sat down in the armchair next to me, her camera hanging from her neck. She pushed up her glasses. “What’s this about?” she asked.

I glanced over at her and then waved toward the whiteboard. “Our crazy parents. Won’t even take a break for the holidays.”

She moved to study the board and then shook her head. “Every year,” she muttered under her breath.

The three rowdy boys began wrestling on the floor in front of the fireplace, getting close enough to the tree to almost knock it down. Mom and Mrs. Stephenson yelled at them to sit still.

After everything settled down, Dad clapped his hands like he was a school teacher.

“This year we’ve decided to enter into the Little Foot Christmas competition,” he said, grinning from ear to ear as if this was the coolest thing any parent had ever done ever.

“So we’ve planned a bunch of Christmas activities. We need to take pictures of the finished products as well as the process. According to them, it’s not only the end product that counts, but the journey we take to get to the finish line.” He rolled his eyes.

“So, it’s not only important for you to do well,” he continued, “but to make sure you look happy while you’re doing it.”

There was a collective groan.

Dad waved his hand. “None of that. If you want Christmas presents, you will participate.”

No one groaned at that.

Dad smiled. Great. My parents had resorted to threats. Suddenly, this whole thing felt less Christmasy and more like a mafia movie.

Mr. Stephenson joined Dad as they described the different competitions. They waved away Tracy’s question about why we were doing two more Christmas trees. It was all part of their master plan to get us into the spirit, they said. How they saw pitting people against each other to win a prize as getting into the Christmas spirit was beyond me. But they wouldn’t let up. We were doing this. No matter what.

After the rules were explained, and Tracy was assigned to take pictures, we spilt up into our respective groups. My legs had fallen asleep, so I tried not to wince as I hobbled over to the Stephensons, who’d agreed to meet in the kitchen.

The only open spot at the table was right next to Jacob. Let me repeat myself. Right. Next. To. Jacob.

I swallowed as I made my way over, hoping I didn’t look like a jumble of nerves.

I pulled out my chair, and Jacob glanced over at me. His smile caused my cheeks to burn. This was not good. Oh, this was not good.

“Glad you can join us,” Mrs. Stephenson said once I was situated.

“Happy to be here,” I said, smiling over at her.

Her expression grew serious as she leaned toward me. “I want you to swear, right now, that you are not going to tell our secrets to your family.” She leaned in closer. “Swear?”

“Geez, Mom,” Jacob said and then glanced over at me. “Don’t listen to her. She doesn’t mean it.”

I nodded at him and then over to Mrs. Stephenson. “I swear. You’re my team now. We’re going to beat them.” I gave her my best game face, and that seemed to appease her.

She straightened and nodded. “That’s right. We are. Now, let’s talk tree decorating.” She rubbed her temples. “We have until tomorrow morning to produce our best Christmas tree ever.” She glanced over at Mr. Stephenson. “I say, you, Max, Tracy, and I head to the store for decorations. Ava and Jacob?”

We both turned our attention to her.

“Can you two manage the tree?” She paused. “I mean, Ava, you pick out the tree. Jacob, you carry it.” Then she leaned forward. “If you ruin this for us…” She let her voice trail off as she studied him.

Jacob met her gaze with equal intensity. But then he sighed and slumped in his chair. “It’s just a dumb tree. There’s no way even I can ruin it.”

She stared at him for a moment longer before she nodded. “Great.” Then she glanced over at Mr. Stephenson. “Ready?”

Mr. Stephenson directed those going to the store to get their shoes on and meet at the car in ten minutes.

When the kitchen was emptied of everyone be me and Jacob, I peeked over at him. His arms were folded and his jaw set. I didn’t blame him. His mom had been unnecessarily harsh to him. I’d be mad as well.

“Are you okay with this?” I asked, waving toward myself. Then I winced. What if he said no? How would that make me feel? I braced myself for his answer.

Jacob scoffed and then shoved his hands into his front pockets. “If you mean this ridiculous competition, then no. If you mean hanging you with you? Then…maybe.” He shot me a smile as he headed toward the stairs. “Meet you down here in five.”

I stared as his retreating frame, trying to dissect what he had just said. What did “maybe” mean?