Max suspected he would he helping her with her five kids more than she would be helping him, but it was a decent idea except for one small detail. “And who am I supposed to be? You didn’t go to college so you don’t have any college friends. We’ll have to tell Doug and the kids something.”
“I have tons of friends,” Emily assured him. “More than Doug can keep track of. You can be my friend Holly I met at the mall. We’re shopping buddies.”
“Oh, joy,” Max droned, secretly amused by the way her mind worked. “I know you can pull that off, but I’m not sure I can fool Doug or the kids if they asking me about anything to do with clothing or fashion. I don’t know anything about women’s fashion, let alone being the kind of woman that’s into that stuff.”
Emily began to dig around in her purse.
“Now you’ve done it,” Kate said with a knowing chuckle. “Just remember, you did this to yourself.”
“Done what?” he asked her.
“Uh,” Max moaned, stalling for time while he thought of an alternative.
Kate just laughed at his predicament. “See? She’ll use any excuse to shop for clothes. You’re not going to get out of this without a full wardrobe.”
Visions of his closet and drawers filled to overflowing with women’s clothing exploded in his imagination. “But …”
Emily was already on her feet. “You’ll have to wear that until I can buy an outfit for you to wear at the mall. No way am I going to be seen with you in men’s clothes.” She shuddered, if if the idea disturbed her. “No way, no how.” Her smile broadened as she pulled him to his feet and began pushing him towards the exit in the kitchen where their coats were hung up. “Besides, I think part of our present should be seeing how people react to you dressed like this in public. Kate and I missed it the first time.”
“But …”
“For you.” The words came out sullen, but at the same time, the part of him that wasn’t afraid was intrigued by ideas of what might happen next.
Dressed in her own coat, purse over her shoulder, Emily took his free arm back, leaving him firmly in his sisters’ clutches. “Exactly. After all, getting to have you as a sister is our Christmas present, not yours.” She smiled. “Ready to find out what that means?”
He couldn’t help it. He smiled. “No.”
Emily reached out and opened the door. “Too late. Here we go.”
The three sisters left the apartment together. The solid wood door closed behind them with a firm thump. In the living room, the Christmas card sat on the coffee table next to the open wooden box. On its cover, the angels were both smiling.