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I’ll never get over it, Chad.

“That’s all?” Luz yelled as she returned to the kitchen.

“Isn’t that enough?” Veronica yelled.

“No. Yer punishin’ a man fer sayin’ he loves ye. Tis completely mad. What’re ye thinkin’?”

“She’s not thinking.” Luz said. “She’s reacting. This is what she does.”

“When does she pull her head out o’ her…”

“Jeez, Meirhe.” Veronica cut her off.

Luz laughed so hard she doubled over. “She might actually get there but she has to think it’s her idea.”

“Oh, fer cryin’ out loud.” Meirhe crossed her arms over her chest. “Stop bein’ thick.” She grunted as a fountain of golden sparks heralded her disappearance from the kitchen.

“Wow, I see what you mean. That is bizarre.” Luz said. “Look, she’s not wrong. You are punishing Bryce for saying he loves you. Isn’t that a good thing to know?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You guess so? Some girls wait for years for a guy to come around to that.”

“You’re supposed to come to that together.”

“So, you don’t love him. Is that what’s upsetting you?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I love him.”

Luz slapped her palm to her head. “Then what?”

“Well, he can’t just go blurting it out without saying it to me first. You’re supposed to say it in private and you’re supposed to hold each other and you’re supposed to kiss. That’s when you’re allowed to go barking it around in public and not a minute before.”

“Boy, I’d like to shake some sense into you.” Luz pointed at her cousin angrily.

“What now?”

“Okay, so it wasn’t some fairy tale. His friend badgered him into jumping the gun. The milk is spilled so why the heck are you crying?”

“Well, he’s no Prince Charming.”

“We’re on that again? You want some guy with big broad shoulders who has to crane his neck down to kiss you so you don’t feel like an overgrown freak. Well, yeah, you’re beautiful and you could probably land any guy you want. So, what’s stopping you?”

Veronica put her head down on the table and sobbed pitifully.

“Ha! You know we’re right. He’s the one.”

She continued sobbing. “Not fair.”

“Well, apart from the height requirement, he’s got the whole package.” She poured herself another cup of coffee.

Veronica’s eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying. “Then that’s not the whole package.”

“You’re going to hold out for perfect? You’re going to be old and lonely and bitter.”

Veronica threw her head down and began crying again. Her cousin sat down and rubbed her shoulder gently.

“Why do I have to love him?”

“Well, you don’t have to.”

“But I do.”

“Then forget about his height and love him for who he is instead of who you want him to be.”

“But I’ve already ruined it.” Veronica threw her head down and began crying on the kitchen table again.

“So you stranded him at his friend’s house. Big deal. He already said he loves you. He can get over a little misunderstanding, I’m sure.”

Bryce was having a video conference with his friend in England. “I’ll never get over it, Chad.”

“I can see why you’re upset but do you really want to throw away a chance with a supermodel?”

“She’s not a supermodel. She’s a wannabe dancer. In fact, the day of Dilyn’s party she was working in a department store. She told me so herself.”

“Now why would she tell you that if she didn’t like you?”

“It’s fine when she’s calm but as soon as things get stirred up she goes off like a nuke.”

“It’s called Latin Flair, mate.”

“Well, I’ve had enough to last me a lifetime.”

“And that’s why you yelled in Marv’s face that you love her.”

“You heard about that?”

“He was just gutted about what happened next. He was trying to help.”

“And she went off like a nuclear holocaust. Grabbed her cousin and dragged her outside. I tried to get her to come back in but she flipped out on me and then she called Mary Christmas to come get her. Poof. She’s gone.”

“You met Mary Christmas?”

“A couple of times. You’d expect an elf to be, well, merrier.”

“She’s not really an elf, you know.”

“You’re an expert on the Sentinels?”

“Once a nerd, always a nerd.”

“I guess I’m guilty of that, too.”

“Well, you’ve always been more techno. That makes you more of a geek than a nerd.”

“Whatever, man. What am I supposed to do?”

“Well, it’s Christmastime. Have you thought about being charitable and forgiving her?”

“That’s a tall order.”

“She’s a tall girl.”

“Again with the height jokes.”

“You’re obsessing, Bryce. Let’s get back on track, shall we? You said you love her. Is that true?”

“I thought so.”

“Is it true?”

“Yes. Even if she rips me apart every day for the rest of my life, I can’t help but love her.”

“Then that’s all you need to know.”

“Well, that and how to keep her calm.”

“You have to take the good with the bad, mate. From what I saw at the party, there’s a whole lot of good.”

“She’s amazing, but that temper.”

“You don’t have much of one. You’re generally quite cool. It’s said that opposites attract.”

“That’s a point, I suppose.”

“Now what’s this about someone trying to kill her?”

“There’s some idiot who pops up every year at Christmastime. He’s been at it for quite some time but he only switched to attempted murder this year.” Bryce said, looking out over the city.

“And he’s had a go at her twice already?”

“Yeah, he missed the first time because I pulled her out of the way. Second time, we just got lucky.”

“You’re sure it was directed at her?”

“The first time was random. One of his holiday antics. The second bag had her name on it. Literally. It had a stamped leather name tag attached.”

“So, you saved her life twice and you’re going to let her go because she had a temper tantrum?”

“Twice. For being nice to her both times.”

“Seems like you need to figure out what’s more important, mate. I’d lean towards love if I were you. Love is all you need.”