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That is so, so, so inappropriate!

“Ronni!” Luz stood at the bedroom door. “You gotta come out some time, girl.” She shook her head and headed downstairs. If she couldn’t call her cousin out, she could probably tempt her. She knew that the aroma of a decent breakfast would be more convincing than anything she could say.

Veronica lay there fuming as she began picking up the scent of freshly ground coffee. She silently dared her cousin to try harder. The reply came in the savory aroma of bacon and cracked black pepper. She knew that if there was bacon frying, there would be shredded hash browns. If there were shredded hash browns and bacon, there would be scrambled eggs. Darn that Luz. She was pulling out all the stops. Veronica sat up unwillingly. She was scowling at the walls when the final assault came.

Luz was dancing around her kitchen humming Christmas songs when her cousin plopped down at the table.

“Blueberry muffins? How are you gonna play me like that, Luz?”

“I don’t know what you mean, Dear Veronica.”

“Oh no, don’t you start talking like her.” Veronica pointed at her cousin.

“Here’s your plate. Don’t be a grouch.”

“I’m not a grouch.”

Luz grabbed a highly polished pot lid. “Look at what I’m looking at, girl.”

“Well, what do you expect?”

“I expect you to tell him you love him too.”

“Don’t hold your breath.”

“What in the world is the matter with you? He said he loves you.”

“He grabbed his friend by the throat and screamed it over top of a whole darned Christmas party.”

“That’s so romantic, Veronica! I could dump this coffee over your head!”

“Do I need to signal the elf?”

“That’s all the more reason for me to do it. She’d yell at you, too.”

“She already did.” Veronica speared a piece of bacon. “She said, ’Humans are so dense.’ and then she grunted.” She began chewing furiously. “You haven’t lived til you’ve been grunted at by an elf.” She jammed some hash browns in with the bacon.

“It’s a life-changing experience.”

“Not life-changing enough to actually change your life.” Luz held the coffee pot over her head. “He. Said. He.” She put the coffee pot down and bent over to look her cousin in the eye. “LOVES YOU!”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard him.”

“Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

Veronica jumped to her feet. “It means everything to me but why did he have to scream it at a party full of strangers?”

“They were his friends.”

“Not all of them.”

“That’s not the point.”

“That’s totally the point.”

“How do you figure?” Luz sat down and her cousin joined her.

“We haven’t gotten there, Luz. Neither of us have said that in private, so where does he get off screaming it across a crowded room? That is so, so, so inappropriate!”

“It’s not that inappropriate.” Luz said.

“Are you nuts?”

“Are you? A handsome man who saved your life twice declared his love for you at the top of his lungs and what do you do? You send your escape signal to the magic elf and leave him stranded in nowheresville out in Lang Island.”

“Who does that?”

“Apparently, the man who loves you does that. I think that guy was twisting his arm. Donnie was telling me that whats-his-name…”

“Marvin.” Veronica said as she worked on her hash browns.

“Right, he said Marv liked to bug Bryce.”

“And Janka is obsessed with getting us together.” Veronica said slowly.

“It was like a tag team match on Saturday afternoon wrestling.” Luz said with an angry smirk. “They played you. Both of you.”

“Who needs a guy with meddling friends?” Veronica reached for a blueberry muffin.

Luz smacked her hand. “Finish your bacon and potatoes, wild woman.”

“I just got played by meddling friends. I deserve a muffin.”

“In your dreams.” Luz slapped her hand again. “What are you going to do?”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Decide.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Look at this face. Do I look like I’m kidding you? You stranded that poor guy and made a complete jerk of him on the way out after he said he loves you. Do you love him or hate him or you just don’t care?”

“Love? Can we even talk about that? It’s fine for him to blurt it out in front of all of his friends. What do guys even know about love?”

“So you’re dumb, grumpy AND cynical.” Luz handed her a muffin. “You’re obviously an expert on love.”

Veronica glared at her and ripped the muffin top off.

“Yeah, yeah, Miss Thing. You know I’m right.”

There was a sizzling sound accompanied by a torrent of golden sparks. “Are ye okay?”

“Meirhe, what’s the matter?” Veronica twisted around in her chair.

“Krampus has been spotted.” She cocked her head to listen.

“Here in Sunnyvale?” Luz yelled.

Meirhe shushed her and continued listening. “The miscreant is nowhere near.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Veronica said as she picked at her muffin.

“I’ll say. Maybe you can talk some sense to this one.” Luz waved at her cousin dismissively.

“Twould be magic indeed te get much of anythin’ through a head as thick as hers.”

Luz started laughing so hard she had to excuse herself from the kitchen.

“Yer cousin is a dear woman but I need te speak frankly with ye without an audience. Veronica, yer in danger.”

“I know. If Krampus tracked me down to my cousin’s house…”

“That is no what I mean. M’team is workin’ with the police te track him down. Yer in danger o’ trashin’ an opportunity. I thought we had an understandin’ o’er dinner en then ye flipped yer wig last night. He likes you. Tis a very uncommon thing yev found. What in blazes is in yer mind?”

“He yelled his love for me across a room full of complete strangers.”

“En this is a bad thing?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“We haven’t approached the topic and he goes blurting it to all of his friends like that?” Veronica slapped her hands down on the table.