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 door to The Snowball's Chance chimed as they entered. The place was quiet, with only a few regulars dotted around, as the post-Games crowd was not yet here. Olly was alone behind the bar and looked up as he heard the door.
His eyes went wide.
"What in St. Frick happened to you guys?" he asked, looking between each of them.
Zeke, Alicia, Sterling, and Celeste shared a look. Snow clung to their hair, and their clothes were askew and soaked.
"I thought you guys were just supposed to be making snowmen," Olly added, aghast.
"The snowmen fought back," Zeke said.
Next to him, Alicia let out a giggle.
Olly raised an eyebrow, then his eyes shifted to Zeke... and narrowed.
Though at first glance, the guy looked harmless—lithe frame, bleached hair, Santa hat, and dorky sweater—Zeke could see something sharper in his eyes, lingering under the surface. His look was both a judgment and a warning.
Olly wasn't the only one looking at him. Zeke caught his sister, giving him a sideways glance.
Alicia seemed to feel their stares, too. Her cheeks deepened in color, and she cleared her throat as though she could pretend that laugh hadn't come from her.
"And it looks like they put up quite the fight," Olly said, his stare now zeroed in on Alicia. "Did you at least win?"
"No, they were both disqualified," his dad said as he pushed between them, his mother coming up behind. They were in much better shape, as they had stayed far away from the snowy carnage. "for turning their snowmen into snowballs."
"Children can be so unruly," Olly said with an affected sigh, then reached across the bar. "Hi, there! You must be Celeste's parents."
"That's right!" his dad said, his mustache bristling as he smiled. He took Olly's hand and gave it a hearty shake. "I'm Herb, and this is my wife Lydia. And you must be Olly."
"The one and only."
"We've heard so many good things about you!"
Olly beamed. "I'm not surprised."
"Don't compliment him too much," Sterling said. "Or it'll go to his head, which is already big enough."
Olly adjusted his Santa hat and stuck his tongue out at Sterling.
They all laughed.
Zeke's parents claimed spots at the bar while the rest of them went to hang up their wet coats by the radiator. Zeke watched as Sterling carefully helped Celeste out of her coat. It made Zeke pause. It was such a little thing, but he would not have thought a guy like Sterling knew how to act like such a gentleman. Most men—men with a thousand times his potential, a million times his worth—never bothered with such things. Even he had never bothered with Nancy...
