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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Zeke
The Snowball's Chance had finally quieted down. The Games crowd had tuckered out early and headed off into the night, back to their cozy homes and hotel rooms. That's where the Brightons had gone, Zeke along with them, and Celeste, too, as she went to escort them. Olly and Sterling were busy doling out drinks to the remaining patrons, and Alicia was left down at the end of the bar, nursing her drink.
She had switched to soda water and syrup half an hour ago, but her head still felt a little too fuzzy. She didn't need a hangover tomorrow. She needed to be sharp. Tomorrow morning, she was—
A big glass of ice water dropped down in front of her. She looked up.
Olly. He grinned at her. "I thought you might need this."
"You're the best," Alicia said, eagerly taking the glass. She put her lips to the straw sticking out the top and drank deeply. "And a goddamn mind reader."
"I wish I was a mind reader," Olly replied. "If I was, then I'd be able to figure out what in St. Frick is going through your mind."
Alicia looked up at Olly. "What? My mind? What are you talking about?"
Olly leaned over and lowered his voice. "I'm talking about you and Zeke."
"What about us?" Alicia said with a scoff, making a face.
"Exactly that," Olly said, his eyes brightening. "Is there an...'us'?" He hooked his fingers around that last word.
Alicia realized what he was asking, and a guttural noise shook her. "No! Absolutely not!" she cried. "There's nothing between—"
She noticed someone watching her.
Sterling, at the other end of the bar.
He had overheard her outburst and was now watching the two of them with a quizzical look on his face. Even if Sterling and Zeke seemed to be on better terms, there was no telling how Sterling would react to even the idea of that, whether it was true or not. And that wasn't even considering what Celeste would think...
Alicia smiled at him, then turned back to Olly and dropped her voice. "There is nothing between me and Zeke."
"It didn't look like nothing," Olly replied, a single eyebrow rising. "In fact, it looked downright friendly. You even laughed at his joke."
"That?" Alicia let out a long breath of air. "Come on."
"And you two seem to be getting along quite well now," Olly pressed.
"Only because we have an understanding," Alicia said, turning smug. "Remember my plan? Well, it worked."
Olly just laughed. "Yeah? Zeke and Sterling are besties?"
