Page 21 of Acting Merry
“It’s my fault,” Cole says. “I’ve got a job I’m under the gun on.”
“Shoot.” Tess fiddles with the tie of her apron, and Dylan steps in to help. “Butyoucould at least stay longer, right, Reese?”
I clench my teeth. Defending the decision to come just for the evening was a lot easier over text. I don’t have a great reason for leaving, honestly, aside from the fact that Cole is my ride home and I don’t want to stay without him.
“Yeah,” Dylan chimes in. “You don’t live too far from Brady, right?” He turns to her. “You could drop Reese at home, couldn’t you?”
Oh, boy. I like Dylan a lot, but he’s not the most perceptive guy out there, which makes him a bit blind to the ultra-awkward situation we have going here. Megan and Brady came together, and I’d rather pick-axe my way over Snoqualmie Pass with an ice skate than do the hour car ride with them.
“Cole doesn’t like driving at night,” I say, pulling him closer to me and looking up at him. “I promised I’d go with him.”
Cole’s hand squeezes my shoulder, his smile still intactwhile his eyes flash with amusement. He faces the others with that charming smile. “Never quite grew out of being afraid of the dark.”
I rest my head on his shoulder. I just threw him under the bus, and he tucked his knees and rolled.
“Ugh,” Hannah says. “You two. Never thought I’d find a grown adult being afraid of the dark cute, but you guys manage it. Are you scared of the dark, Ty?” She looks over her shoulder, where her husband has his arms wrapped around her from behind.
“So scared,” he says, nuzzling his head into her hair.
A little smile peeks through as she cocks a brow at the rest of us. “Says the man who puts stickers over every light source in our room to make it pitch black.”
“Very emo of you, Tyler,” Tess says. “Okay”—she claps three times in a row—“if Reese and Cole rudely insist on leaving tonight, we have limited time to get a lot of things done. So, let’s get this party started!” She leads us to the kitchen, where an array of snack foods are laid out—homemade peppermint bark, a holiday trail mix, a cranberry orange loaf, a cheese ball with crackers, and gingerbread cookies.
There are a few things we do every year at this party, and gorging on the fruits of Tess and her mom’s labors is always first on the list. Tess’s mom runs a bakery, and Tess got the baking genes.
The interior of the cabin has been cozified and Christmas’d up like it is every year. Festive pillows and throwson the couches, a fully decorated Christmas tree in the corner, and the long dinner table set with a holiday centerpiece adorned with fresh pine.
I have so many great memories in this place. I wish this year wasn’t so different, but hey, so far, Cole’s getting full marks on the fake boyfriend gig.
“Jeez, Tess,” he says after finishing his third gingerbread cookie. “If this is how all the food’s gonna be, I may have to quit that job tomorrow and stick around.”
I laugh but slide my foot into his. I don’t even want him joking about staying. Seeing Megan and Brady together is every bit as weird as I’d anticipated, and then some. The last time I saw Brady in person, he broke things off, but the night before that? We were…cozy together.
It’s just a lot of visual and emotional change to process, even without my fake relationship thrown into the mix. I may need an emotional chiropractor after tonight.
“Is everyone full?” Tess asks.
Cole nods but snags two more handfuls of trail mix.
“Good,” she says. “You’re going to need all your energy for our next activity. Normally, this is a Day 2 thing, but we couldn’t let you miss out, Reese.”
I raise my brows. “Do you mean…?”
She smiles and wags her brows, then disappears into the pantry.
“What does she mean?” Cole whispers.
“Gingerbread houses,” I say. “Tess’s mom makes themost perfect gingerbread and frosting. We each assemble and decorate our own house, then her mom judges the final products. Whoever wins gets a box of Tess’s mom’s fudge.”
Tess reemerges holding a sheet pan stacked with gingerbread house parts.“This year will be a bit different.”
She can say that again.
“Since everyone has their special someone here, we’ll be doing the houses in teams, and the winning couple will get not only Mom’s fudge but…”
Dylan does a finger drum roll on the kitchen island counter.
“A $50 Visa gift card.”
