Page 34 of Merry Mayhem
The rest of the form asks for things like food, allergies, phobias, and anxiety triggers.
I look up at Thea. “Your quest for information about me just got a lot easier.”
She grins at me. “You thought we were going to play Twenty Questions?”
I laugh. But I guess I had kind of hoped so.
Dude, this is your supposed girlfriend’s sister. You need to cool it. For this weekend, at least—or until Violet wakes up and you can come up with a new plan—you need to be interested inViolet.
But I’m not. I don’t dislike Violet, but I’m not curious about her the way I am about Thea.
That’s not fair, you’ve barely spent any time with Violet.
But honestly, I have probably spent as much time with Violet as I have with Thea, and I find Thea impossible not to want more of.
This is definitely going to be messy.
The bottom of the form, in very tiny print, is a disclaimer form.
“Basically, you can’t sue us for anything,” Nora says in her perky voice. “You’re coming into this knowing that you might get hurt, you might get sick, and you definitely might not win.”
“I might get sick?”
“I can’t control how you might react to copious amounts of eggnog or sugar cookie frosting,” she says.
Honestly? Fair enough. I sign my name at the bottom and date it. I straighten. “Okay, I guess we’re officially Merry Mayhem participants.
Thea nods. “Guess so. You can head over to Autre now if you want to.”
Nora gasps again. “No, you can’t leave. We’re going to introduce you to everyone. And then there’s the first challenge.”
“There’s a challengetonight?” Thea asks.
Nora nods happily. “Yup. This one will help the town get to know you and set the stage for the teamwork it’s going to take for the rest of the weekend.”
I’ll admit, I’m intrigued.
“We have a couple more teams to sign in. Go have some more hot chocolate and relax. Browse the booths,” Nora says with a wave of her hand.
Thea sighs. I chuckle.
“Hey, if we’re going to kick ass and bring home the trophy, we’re going to need to be all in,” I tell her. “Enthusiastic about all the challenges.”
“You’re right,” she says. “It’s just that three hours ago, I had no idea I was going to be doing any of this. I’ve watchedMerry Mayhem for four years, but definitely just as an amused observer. I think it’s crazy. You don’t really know what you just signed up for.”
I grin at her and realize that, whether I like it or not, whether it’s a good idea or not, I’m looking forward to this. And it has everything to do with this woman. I get to spend time with her. Do fun Christmas activities with her. It’s not just about avoiding feeling left out and sad over in Autre, I am excited about this. And I’m grateful.
I stop as we walk back down off the stage. Light glints off an object sitting on the end of the table.
“Is that the trophy we win?” I ask.
She nods. “Yep.”
The trophy looks exactly like the statue at the end of Main Street.
“It’s an otter, right?”
“Yup.”
