The Twelve Dates of Christmas Read Online Free PDF

“I already told you, that won’t work,” I said patiently. “How are we going to live happily ever after when I’m running a lab in Boston or New York or Atlanta and Cam’s running a kitchen right here in Claus Lake?”
    â€œBut you guys are such a great couple!” Allie actually looked as if she might burstinto tears. “I mean, okay, maybe you’re not that much alike. But that’s kind of what makes it work!”
    â€œShe’s right, Lex,” Nick agreed. “If you ever hooked up with someone as logical and ambitious as yourself, you’d drive each other crazy.”
    Yeah. He had a point. Then again, it wasn’t really
the
point.
    â€œPlus you guys have always been so happy together,” Allie said. “You barely ever even fight or anything.”
    â€œI know we seem happy enough now,” I said. “But we’ll probably both be even happier once we’ve moved on. And it’s not like we can’t stay friends, like I said. In fact, I can’t imagine not having Cam in my life one way or another.”
    That, as it turned out, was quite literally true. As I sat there, I tried to imagine it. Not having Cam around. Never talking to him, never hanging out together. Maybe never seeing him again after graduation.
    But it didn’t work. My mind couldn’t seem to put together that kind of scenario. It just Did. Not. Compute.
    I shrugged it off, deciding it didn’t matter. If my plan worked out the way Iwas picturing it, there would be no need for me to imagine Life Without Cam. We could stay good friends, hang out for the rest of senior year and all next summer. Then when I went off to college, he’d still be there for me just like Allie and Nick, supporting me from a distance, giving me one of his patented pep talks as I dove off the high board of life into my exciting new future.
    Meanwhile he would be free to figure out how to put his own future in motion. He could find himself a girl who would be perfectly content to stay in Claus Lake all her life, maybe hostessing at Cam’s future restaurant and serving on the refreshments committee with him for the Ball. There were tons of girls at our school who would dream of nothing more, especially if the plan involved an amazing guy like Cam.
    â€œI don’t know, Lex.” Nick still seemed dubious as he methodically scarfed down the rest of the popcorn. “Maybe you should think about this some more.”
    â€œYeah,” Allie agreed. “Don’t forget about the Fast and Furious Theory. The quicker you try to make big moves ordecisions in a relationship, the more likely it is to end in anger or heartache.”
    â€œYou know, that theory actually
almost
makes sense,” I said. “But it doesn’t apply to me. Not unless almost four years counts as a quick move.”
    â€œYou might as well give it up, Allie,” Nick put in. “This is Lexi Michaels you’re talking to, remember? Once her mind is made up, that’s that. No turning back. Mule city.”
    I made a face at him. “Very funny,” I said. “Why don’t you just come out and call me stubborn?”
    â€œI thought I just did.” He shrugged. “But here you go, Ms. Literal. You’re stubborn.”
    I laughed. Now that I’d finally made my decision, I was feeling a little better already. It was always kind of comforting to have a course of action, a plan to follow. No more looming uncertainties. Just a problem to be solved, sort of like an especially challenging and complex bio lab. Now that I had the gist of how to approach it, I just needed to nail down the details and I’d be all set.
    â€œOkay, you guys.” I leaned over to grabthe last few pieces of popcorn before Nick could polish them off. “So help me out here. It’s time to set up a little social experiment. I need to get my boyfriend another woman!”

Getting Cam a new