Diva 04 _ Diva Cooks a Goose, The Read Online Free PDF

it with her? She’s determined to find someone for him. Honestly, it’s embarrassing the way she tries to matchmake for everyone.” George shook his head and led the way up his walk.
    I deposited packages under the tree and ventured, with some trepidation, into the kitchen. The heavenly scent of cinnamon and yeast bread lingered in the air. I helped myself to a bun with sugary cream cheese icing, and realized that Dad hadn’t been kidding about the tension in the kitchen.
    Strands of hair frizzled around Laci’s forehead and her face flushed redder than the velvet bow on the wreath over the kitchen sink. Unlike Jen’s pink cheeks, I had a bad feeling the mothers were the cause of Laci’s flushed and disheveled appearance.
    My brother had married a beauty. Petite and always pulled together, Laci was a bit of a control freak. More than a bit, really. She made lists for everything. A list of contents was taped to her freezer. A corkboard hung in the kitchen with lists for groceries, chores that needed attention, and a gigantic calendar Laci had made on her computer with color-coded information about their activities. At the moment, she stood in front of the stove, holding a list of some sort in trembling hands.
    Her sister, Shawna, almost ten years younger, sat at the kitchen table, calmly applying bloodred nail polish, evidently oblivious to Laci’s distress. I knew Shawna from The Laughing Hound, a restaurant near my house where she waitressed. Every bit as beautiful as Laci, Shawna wore her lustrous brown tresses longer and dieted constantly in a never-ending battle with extra pounds.
    Mom’s eyes twinkled as she admired Shawna’s manicure. “Shawna’s expecting an engagement ring tomorrow!”
    Great . Not that I wasn’t happy for her, but my mother would take every possible opportunity to remind me.
    “I thought he would give it to me last night.” Shawna blew on her nails. “Wouldn’t that have been romantic? An engagement ring on Christmas Eve? But he didn’t, so I think he’s waiting for his mother’s big Boxing Day party tomorrow. You won’t believe what she has planned. I don’t want to give away any surprises but it’s going to be sweet! Did you know one out of five men pop the question at Christmas?”
    My mom, as petite and uberorganized as Laci, gave Shawna an excited wink. “He’s not joining us today?”
    “It’s difficult for people with divorced parents. He’s spending the day with his dad. He’s genuinely relieved that his mother finally met someone, so she won’t be alone today.” Shawna slapped a hand over her mouth and turned her eyes to her mother, Marnie. An awkward silence fell over us. Laci had warned me that this would be Marnie’s first Christmas apart from their dad.
    Mom came to the rescue by changing the subject. “I hope you brought cranberries, Sophie. It’s just not Christmas without cranberries.”
    “You’re not serving pumpkin pie, are you?” asked Marnie.
    Laci gulped and mashed her eyes shut. When she opened them, she snapped, “This Christmas, you just have to eat whatever is served.” She ripped her list into tiny shreds. “It’s not like I didn’t plan a nice dinner.”
    “I just don’t want to see pumpkin pie, is all. For the rest of my life, I’ll associate it with the day your father left.”
    From the way Laci’s hands clenched the shredded list, I knew I had to find a way to get the moms out of the kitchen—fast. “Mom,” I said casually, as if I hadn’t noticed anything wrong, “Hannah was wondering if she’s dressed right in case that cop, Zack, comes by today. Did you find out if he’s single?”
    It was cruel of me to sic her on Hannah, but there was no gift, other than an engagement announcement, I could have given my mother that would bring her more pleasure than the notion that Hannah might be attracted to someone. Amazement flashed over Mom’s face, and she bolted from the kitchen, still wearing an apron.
    Marnie was a