Page 1 of My XOXO Holidate

1

Amelia

“A confession? No. Just no. What did you do?”

My best friend and partner in crime, Mia, wrinkles her nose. “Nothing.” She feigns innocence, but I can read her. When she gets that little sparkle in her green eyes, that’s when I have to worry.

“You know the last time you had a confession to make, it turned out you crashed a wedding.” I shake my head. “And took me along as your accomplice.”

Mia points her finger at me. “Hey, admit it. You had fun.”

She does have a point. “Fair enough.” I plant my bare feet on the coffee table in the living room of the apartment we share.

Mia’s naturally curly red hair and green eyes are as zany as she is, but I love her. We met in grade school and have been friends ever since. She makes me laugh with her crazy, hair-brained ideas.

With barely a cent in my bank account, I returned from college to our hometown, Cedar Springs. Not only did college drain me financially, but it drained me emotionally and I’ve got the scars on my heart to prove it. Thankfully, Mia took me in as any good friend would.

When I look back, I see cracks in my past relationship, but Collin and I had a whirlwind romance, and six months in, we were engaged. Turns out, Collin liked blackjack and roulette just a little more than he liked paying our rent. He drained our joint bank account, dropped out of college, and left me with an angry landlord and unpaid bills while he skipped town. I was evicted from our apartment and discovered he’d taken out credit cards in both our names.

I dropped out of college for a full year, rented a small room, worked a full-time and part-time job, and hired an attorney. The following year, I managed to finish my education and earn my degree, but I’m still working to clean up the financial mess with the help of my attorney.

Although my parents live here, I didn’t go to them for help. They’ve had problems with finances. Dad had to retire early because of some health issues and my mom is the breadwinner. Besides, I didn’t want to admit what had happened. I didn’t want to disappoint them.

With my college degree in hand, I went to real estate school and became a licensed agent. I’ve been selling real estate here in Cedar Springs for the past six months.

Thankfully, when I came crawling back into my hometown and finished real estate school, I was able to find a job at Benson Real Estate.

I’m almost afraid to ask. “So, what’s your confession?”

“The Valentine Masquerade Ball.” Mia leans back in her chair.

“I already agreed to go.”

“It’s actually a Valentine Masquerade Blind Date Ball kinda thing.”

I squint my eyes at my bestie. “What blind date ball kinda thing?” My heart pounds in my chest.

Mia lets out a breath and squeezes a pillow to her chest. “It’s a Valentine Masquerade Ball, but when I registered us, I filled out a questionnaire.” She wrinkles her nose and bites her thumbnail. “When we get there, we’ll be matched with a suitor.”

My eyeballs pop out of my face. “Awhat? Asuitor? Are you kidding?”

She nods. “Before you get your panties all up in a bunch, hear me out.”

I throw my head back and study the ceiling. “Oh, I’m listening.”

This should be good.

“Ever since you broke up with Cringy Collin—”

“Do you have to keep calling him that?”

“Fine.” Mia tosses the pillow aside. “Ever since you broke it off with Collin—”

“Broke it off with Collin? He left town, remember?”

“Whatever.” Mia tosses her curls behind her shoulder. “Anyway, you’re kinda boring.”

“Boring?” I roll my eyes. “Collin burned me and I’m not rushing into something else.” I glare at her. “Besides, I don’t care howboringyou think I am.”

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