Page 13 of Hashtag Holidate
After hoppingout of Adrian’s rental car, I walked to the lodge’s entrance to find the man and update him on the plan. I held the door for two teenage girls who were racing to catch up with their parents, but when they stepped inside, I heard one of them take a sharp inhale.
“Holy shit, Brynn. That’sAdrian Hayes!”
“No!” the other girl hissed, grabbing her friend’s arm. “No freaking way.”
“My parents are going to lose it. He changed my life. He seriously… omigod. How… how am I going to talk to him without acting like a complete cringe-fest? I have to say something to him, but what? And what if I burst into tears?”
Since they were basically blocking the door anyway, I didn’t feel bad eavesdropping.
Brynn nodded, eyes like lasers honed in on the beautiful idiot across the room. “Like, remember his post about his parents? And how he was so there for everyone in his comments. Hashtag ‘family complications’ went viral for days after that.”
The other girl closed her eyes for a beat. “He was so real for that. Like, so, so real.”
“And when he talked about burnout? I made my mom watch it with me. It was the first time she actually listened when I said I needed a break.”
Not-Brynn shoved her hand in her coat pocket, most likely looking for her phone. “That one got shared by, like, every teacher at my school. My counselor said it made the rounds on the staff Slack or whatever.”
“Ugh, he’s even hotter in person,” the original girl whispered. “He’s like the perfect guy, pretty and kind. I hate that he’s gay! It’s so unfair.”
They moved deeper into the lodge, giggling excitedly as they scurried toward a table off to the side where their parents were being seated.
I stood rooted to the spot, their words still echoing in my head.
Changed my life? Shared by teachers? So real?
It wasn’t that I didn’t think Adrian had fans—obviously, he did. But I’d assumed they liked him for curated photos, luxury travel tips, and whatever cashmere-scarf brand he was hawking that week. Not…this.
Not for talking about burnout. Or complicated family stuff. Or giving a damn about anyone’s comments.
I shoved my hands into my pockets, teeth gritted against thecold still coming in through the doorway behind me. The girls might’ve seen something in Adrian Hayes I hadn’t. Or maybe I hadn’t wanted to.
Didn’t mean I was wrong about him, though.
But maybe—maybe—I wasn’t entirely right either. Maybe there was more to his posts than I’d given him credit for.
“Did you find someone?”
I blinked at Adrian. He’d approached me while I stood there staring into space and was now looking at me with a little divot of concern between his eyes.
“Uh, no,” I said.
“You’re freezing. Come sit by the fire.” He pulled me away from the door and guided me to a table against the wall on the far side of the giant stone fireplace.
Thankfully, he didn’t pressure me to be his date or say something obnoxious about my rules. Instead, he took the seat opposite me at the small table and waited patiently for me to speak.
I swallowed. “So… obviously, it’s very last-minute. And the good news is…” I closed my eyes and cracked my neck from side to side before opening them again and meeting his expectant expression. “I’ve lined up plenty of dates for you this week.”
“Pretty sure I can guess the bad news from that chiropractic routine you just did,” he pointed out. “Spit it out, Sullivan.”
“No luck on finding you a date for today.”
He lifted one perfectly shaped eyebrow but didn’t say anything. His patience routine was unnerving.
I ground my back teeth together. “So I will do it on three conditions.”
His second eyebrow shot up to join the first, and the edges of his lips curved in satisfaction. “Oh, goody. More rules.”
“One, that you keep your smug bullshit to yourself. Second, that this is the only time. Rule three has a onetime exception only.Third, see those teenage girls over there trying hard not to stare and point at you?”
