Page 43 of Merry Kissmas

At the two-hour mark, we step outside, along with everyone else.They decide to start on the other side of the villas, leaving ours for last.

Andrew and Kenzie did a Santa Claus theme, making the tree an actual Santa.I’m actually surprised Andrew pulled it off, and I assume Kenzie did the majority of it since party planning is her thing.They might be our biggest competition.

Tre and Tessa’s theme was white Christmas, which was beautiful with all the intricate snowflakes they made.

Abe and Gwen decorated theirs as a snowman with a giant top hat as a tree topper.

Carter and Faith’s looked like a bunch of children decorated it.

Brynn nudges my arm and nods toward the big rings of multicolored construction paper wrapped around Carter’s tree as a garland.It’s nice to have an inside joke with her, I can’t lie.

Gwen takes the pictures, then we all head back to the main house for some hot cocoa and a movie.It seems that everything is planned up to the minute, and I wonder if I’ll ever get any alone time with Brynn.

“Random selections were made before we came here so there are no fights.”Abe holds up a piece of paper and tapes it to the wall by the television.

“What’s that?”I ask Brynn, who, surprisingly, has sat next to me.

“It’s the Christmas movie list.Get ready because this week you’re getting your fix of holiday movies whether you want to or not.”

“Every year, a list is made, and we cross them off as we watch them,” Tre says, holding a sleeping Ryah to his chest.

Gwen sits in the chair next to me, sipping her cocoa.“When these three were young, they’d spend days in front of the television arguing about what Christmas movie to watch.”’

“And I always got outvoted.”Brynn glares at Carter.“How many times did I have to watchBad Santa?”

“Which was inappropriate.”Abe glares at his sons while everyone else laughs.

“Well, it’s not on this year’s list,” Gwen says.

Tre and Carter groan and share a look.

Brynn pulls a blanket from the back of the couch and lays it over her lap.“Press Play.”

Someone dims the lights, and the television glows in front of us.

When the opening scene comes on, everyone but me shouts, “Christmas Vacation!”

Then they all point at one another and argue about who said it first.

When Andrew said they were competitive, I had no idea how much.

I’m starting to like it and them.Which is probably a good thing, because if I want to have a chance with Brynn, I need to want them to be part of our lives.They’re all clearly close to one another, and they mean a lot to her.

Family.

Still a concept I have a hard time comprehending.

ChapterSeventeen

Brynn

Once again, I wake up to an empty villa.

It’s likeGroundhog Day—the bed is put away, the blankets and pillow neatly stacked on the end of the couch.

The only new thing is our decorated tree.I know we’re going to earn the win today.The other trees were adorable in their own right, but ours is out of their league.

I pull on a sweatshirt, slide into my boots, and trek across the paved path to the main lodge, careful not to slip like I did last night.As soon as I open the door, I hear my mom’s laugh.

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