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 studen...
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Alicia
As they followed the Brightonstowards the pitch, Alicia felt optimistic. It had looked a little dire for a second when Sterling and Zeke got into that almost-shoving match, but thankfully, Herb had stepped in just in time. Things were still a little tenuous, but as though things might be turning around.
Or at least Sterling and Zeke were content to ignore each other.
So far, so good.
For now.
Celeste nudged Alicia, pulling her from her thoughts.
"What are you up to?" she asked.
Alicia batted her lashes, doing her best to appear innocent. "What do you mean?"
Celeste wasn't fooled. "Don't pretend. You told me to trust you, so I know you have got to be up to something. I've been growing suspicious..."
Alicia felt a flutter of panic in her chest. Suspicious?
"...that you've been trying to mastermind something between Sterling and Zeke," Celeste finished.
Alicia let out a breath. That hadn't been what she was thinking.
"Kind of hard not to," Celeste said, leaning close to whisper. "And don't get me wrong, I appreciate your help. But you're really going above and beyond. More than necessary."
"A-Am I?" Alicia said, fighting the hitching of her voice.
"Uh, yeah. But what I can't figure out is... why. Why are you doing so much?" Celeste pressed. She leaned closer and narrowed her gaze as if she could see the truth written in Alicia's eyes if only she had gotten close enough.
Alicia felt that flutter of panic again. "I-I just... I just wanted to make this Christmas special!"
Celeste pulled back and tilted her head.
"Special?" she echoed with a raised eyebrow.
"It's our last Christmas together," Alicia explained.
Celeste paused, thinking it through. "It is, isn't it? Oh, I'd been so wrapped up in this Sterling and Zeke kerfuffle, I hadn't even realized..."
"Well, I did. And that's why I want to help smooth... things over. I wanted our last Christmas together to be perfect, not tied up in all this drama, so we'll have a great memory to look back on."
Celeste lunged forward and pulled Alicia into a tight hug that almost made her drop their own basket.
"Aw, Alicia," she said, her voice going thick. "You're so sweet to worry like that. You know, I think I didn't realize it was our last Christmas together because I've been trying not to think about us going our separate ways at the end of this year. I'm going to miss you so much." She squeezed her tighter. "At least I get you for one more semester..."
