***
Peg cringed. The questions and accusations pelted her. The grip her mother had on her hands surprised her. She tried to pull away. He mother refused to let go.
“Now, you listen, Peg.” Her mother’s voice yanked her away from all the others speaking at one time. She gazed down as her mother craned her head to look up at her. The hurt in her mother’s blue eyes made her gulp. “Your eggs are getting old. Shriveled up. No time to wait. First the husband, then the baby. That’s the order of things. That’s how the Newburys do things. You included.”
“But, Mama—” she used her childhood name for her mother.
A shrill whistle interrupted the chatter. Peg jerked her head around to see Austin standing, ready to sound off again. “Now that I’ve got your attention,” he said with a scowl between his brows. “Let me get a word in.”
His stare captured hers. Her knees got that wobbly feeling again.
Her mother let go of her hands. Her father came to his wife’s side, putting an arm around her shoulders.
“Peg.” His smooth voice did strange things to her.
“Austin,” she said, half gulping, half groaning.
“We can’t keep it from them any longer, can we?” As he talked, he walked to her.
Mesmerized, she followed his every move. No wonder he had girls of all ages drooling over him. Now, she was one of them.
Shaking her head, she asked, “Keep what from them?”
That little smile he gave spent shivers down her spine. Holy hotness was at it again.
He stopped in front of her and cupped her face in his hands. His eyes held her stare. She gulped again. Criminy, he was gorg, as Rico would say.
She waited. He leaned in, covering her lips with his. Peg gasped at the warm, firm pressure yet at the soft touch. She did what any smart girl would do in the same situation. She kissed him back.
A tremble shot through him; she felt it when she clutched his sides. Had she ever done that to anyone else before? No way, Jose. .
When the breathtaking kiss ended, she stood dumbfounded. He looked as shocked as she felt, searching her gaze.
“Holy macaroni, hotness,” she said in a husky voice.
He couldn’t speak. He just stared.
“You’re engaged, that must be it!” her mother said.
That pulled them both out of their stupor to look at her parents.
“You’ve got it all wrong.” Austin could have dumped a cold bucket of water over her head.
The four of them cheered and hugged, talking about planning Peg’s wedding.
Peg smacked him on the arm. “Now, look what you’ve gone and done.”
“Me? I was just trying to help you.”
“Hey, next time you try to help, remind me, so I can knock some sense into you first. “ Her family looked so happy, too. “Geez ’em Christmas. How am I gonna get out of this mess?”
***
Of all places, Peg found refuge in the new window display. The big, red sofa facing the window looked comfy and cozy. The cute little living setup made her laugh. Charlie had come up with great idea. Again.
It was as if the husband and wife mannequins sitting on the sofa were actually looking at their TV instead of out the glass to the crowds on the street. The curtains were pulled shut for the night.
With barely any light to guide her, Peg hefted the boy mannequin over her shoulder.
“Hey, buddy, watch the hands, will ya?” she said when his plastic mitt dropped to her butt. “You’re married, if you didn’t remember. Geez!”
Moving the smaller female version to the nearby chair didn’t take as much muscle. “There, Mrs.,” she muttered, brushing back the flyaway strands of the wig she wore.
“Criminy, where did you get that shade of brown? Maybe I should have Rico try that one on me?”
Finally, she hunkered down in the tiny area, snuggled on the sofa, with a new hot pink comforter. But, her ears still rang with her family’s cries of joy.
“Not good. Not good at all,” she muttered under her breath and yanked the bedding over her head. “Snap, pop, presto, just let me disappear.”
Engaged? A wedding? Austin Rhoades had given her a measly kiss in front of her family and, bang, they already had them hitched. Well, it wasn’t so measly, she admitted.
She groaned.
“Peg?”
No, it couldn’t be him. “Go away.”
Rustling noises came from a few feet away. “They won’t leave me alone,” he said. “You’ve got to save me.”
“You deserve everything you get, buster,” she grumbled. A tug on her covers had her sitting up. “What are you doing?” Her forehead knocked against his. “Oh, holy night,” she cursed.
He grunted and rubbed his head. “I swear I’m going to have a goose egg tomorrow morning.”