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Kitty promptly says, “Jamie Fox-Pickle, but we’ll only call him that when he’s in trouble” She claps her hands and coos, “Co like mad

I’ve never her seen her so happy or so patient She spends all of Christ hi Itcould be solved with a Christmas Day puppy

I only check my phone once to see if Peter called And he didn’t

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THE MORNING OF THE PARTY I co for hours Margot’s the head chef and Daddy’s her sous-chef She has hi pots To us she says, “Lara Jean, I need you to clean the downstairs bathroo decorations”

“Can we at least have sooes back to scooping cookie dough

To Kitty I whisper, “I didn’t even want to have this party and now she’s got ood job?”

“Because I’ onto a stool at the breakfast bar

Margot spins around and says, “Hello, the toilet needed to be scrubbed anyway! Besides, it’ll all be worth it We haven’t done recital party in so long” She slides a cookie sheet into the oven “Daddy, I’ to need you to make a run to the store soon We’re out of sour crea of ice”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” our dad says

The only one of us Margot doesn’t put to work is Ja a nap under the Christreen plaid bow tie with a white button-down and a tartan skirt I read on a fashion blog that ive me a braid crown, and she curls her lip at me and says, “That’s not very sexy”

I frown “Excuseto look festive”

“Wellyou look like you’re a Scottish waiter, or maybe a bartender at a bar in Brooklyn”

“What do you know about bartenders in Brooklyn, Katherine?” I de look “Duh, I watch HBO”

Hht need to put sooes to my closet and pulls out my red off-the-shoulder knit dress with the swishy skirt “Wear this It’s still Christ my candy-cane pin on it”

“Fine, you can wear the pin But leave your hair down No braid” I give her my best sad pouty face, but Kitty shakes her head “I’ll curl the ends to give it so iron and sit on the floor with Jamie in my lap, and Kitty sits on the bed and sections my hair off She wraps my hair around the barrel like a real pro “Did Josh RSVP yes to the party?” she asks me

“I’,” I say