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
It was a minor Christmas miracle that Alicia didn't wake up with a hangover. It was all thanks to Olly making Alicia chug water before Celeste came to pick her up, but Olly was practically an honorary elf at this point, so it still counted. As Alicia rolled over in bed, she made a mental note to send him a message of thanks, but first... she needed coffee.
Pushing herself up, Alicia felt her head swim. She pressed her hand to her forehead as it throbbed. Maybe she hadn't managed to avoid the hangover entirely, but it could've been much worse. It was the fault of all those sugary drinks. She was sure of it. Sterling's hot chocolate had been as sweet as it was strong. The need for coffee was dire.
She stumbled out of bed, wrapped herself in a robe to stave off the cold of the morning, and staggered out of her room from her bed, heading for the kitchen...
"Good morning... Or should I say afternoon?"
Alicia stopped and turned.
Celeste was sitting on the couch, already dressed and ready for the day. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her glossy lips were pursed. It looked as if she had been waiting... Whether it was for something or someone, Alicia wasn't sure.
"Waiting for someone?" Alicia asked as she continued on her path. "Is Sterling in the shower? He better not use up all the hot water again."
But as she looked down the hall, she realized she couldn't hear the water running...
"Sterling didn't stay over last night," Celeste said.
Alicia turned back to her friend, and as their eyes met—Celeste's bright green ones narrowed down—Alicia realized that she was the person Celeste had been waiting for.
"Can you come sit with me for a minute?" Celeste asked.
Alicia gulped.
Something about the serious set of Celeste's features made all her worries bubble up inside. Did her idiot brother open his idiot mouth even though he promised me that he wouldn't—
"Just for a minute," Celeste said, cutting off Alicia's raging thoughts. She unwound her arms and patted the couch cushion next to her.
"O-Of course," Alicia said, her voice shaking. She was sure she looked guilty, but she needed to buy some time for her brain to boot up. "I will, in a second. First, I need to make some coffee—"
"I already made coffee," Celeste said, pointing at the coffee table. Two steaming mugs were waiting, wrapped in knit cozies to keep them warm.
"Oh. Well," Alicia sputtered, scrounging around her head for something else to buy her more time but coming up empty. "In that case..."
She shuffled over and plopped herself down on the couch next to Celeste. The air between them was icy for the first time since they met. Despite being roommates for three and a half years, they had never had a real fight. Alicia half expected to see her next breath come out in a fluffy cloud.
