In the picturesque town of Winter Grove, the tenacious Alicia Whittaker faces off against her best friend's snobbish brother, Zeke Brighton, when his disapproval of his sister's boyfriend threatens to upend their Christmas.
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Tenacious college stud...
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Zeke
The bar's lights shut off just as Zeke stepped out of the door. He checked his phone and saw that it was exactly ten o'clock. He groaned. The town turned in early, and he wasn't ready to head to bed yet...
One of the hotel employees walked past, and Zeke waved them down.
"Hey, is there anywhere I can get a drink in this town that doesn't close at ten?" Zeke asked.
The employee, a tall, reedy guy with a flat expression, looked over. "Oh, sure. Lucky for you, it's just down the street."
A small glimmer of hope filled Zeke's chest. "Does it have a name?"
"It's called The Snowball."
Zeke's face fell. "Is that the only place open past ten?"
"Yeah," the guy said with a shrug. "It's a small town, y'know how it is."
"I do," Zeke grumbled. "Thanks."
The guy nodded and pushed through an EMPLOYEE ONLY door. Zeke stood there and sighed, tilting his head to look up at the ceiling. They had even woven evergreen boughs across there, too. There was no escaping Christmas in this town.
Of course, he thought to himself. The only place in this town to get a drink, and I've been banned from it.
Thinking of his ban, Alicia flashed into his mind. The memory lingered on the bright flame dancing in her dark eyes, her smug smile as he was dragged away by his mother, unable to refuse his family's holiday enthusiasm.
He had been wrong about her. She was more than trouble—she was dangerous. He couldn't believe she'd somehow roped him into yet another family outing—several of them in fact.
The Winter Grove Games...
This was going to be a nightmare.
He shook his head and abandoned his hopes of finding a place to get a drink. He stuffed his phone back in his pocket and headed to the elevators, grumbling to himself the whole way.
He thought one of the few redeeming qualities of small towns was that they were supposed to be peaceful. This place had brought him everything but.
As Zeke closed in on his room, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He paused in front of his door to pull out his keycard and brought his phone along with it.
His heart stuttered as he glanced at the screen.
It was a message from her.
Can we talk?
Seeing her name on the screen sent a stab of pain through his chest. The memory of the last night he'd seen her flashed through his mind... The penthouse, city lights...
