Page 53 of A Merry Mountain Christmas

“And no, that’s not what I meant.”

“Aren’t you worried I’ll ruin the show?” I ask, surprised. According to Tina, he left a really good job to accept this gig as Nana’s co-host. “Tina said working on a dating show is your dream.”

“Oh, it is,” he confirms. “And it’s every bit as thrilling as I thought it would be. I mean, imagine how ah-mazing it would be if you end up with the handyman instead of any of the rich men Nana Mayberry has paraded in front of you. Nowthatwould be a season of TV that people would want to watch. It’s the kind of thing they’d talk about for years. Centuries! Okay, maybe I’m getting carried away, but it’s exactly what would make the show memorable. Like keeping Jonah around even though he—” He makes a face because while I didn’t tell him everything, I did tell him about Nana Mayberry.

“Harry,” I say, “I’m pretty sure Rowan wants nothing to do with the show. He basically admitted he’s just helping on set because he thinks it’s his duty to watch over his grandmother.”

Actually, now that I think about it, Rowan’s explanation doesn’t totally square. It’s obvious there’s no affection between Nana Mayberry and her grandchildren, and I completely understand why after the behavior I’ve observed from her and what I’ve been told. Rowan’s eldest sister is marrying a billionaire. If their grandmother needs help and they feel obligated to provide it, surely they could hire someone. So whyhas Rowan, who holds contempt for the show and his family’s matchmaking history, spent so much time here?

He isn’t coming anymore, a voice in my head whispers.He’s staying away because of you.

Harry and I sigh at the same time. “Still,” he says, “it would make for memorable TV.”

“You’re right,” I admit, because I’ve seen plenty of dating shows too. “But it’s not going to happen. It seems like he wants to stay away from me.”

“For now,” he agrees. “But you never know what the future might hold. Maybe we should have Tina read your tea leaves when she visits the set. That would be good for the cameras.”

“Are they still going to be here on Friday?” I ask greedily, because I’m sick of being here by myself. I’m lonely. I know the guys have been hanging out in the brandy room most afternoons, and I got six separate invitations to join them yesterday evening, but I found myself making excuses.

“Yes,” he says. “They’re set to arrive a few hours before the Rolex ceremony.” A feeling of relief wraps me up like a hug. I want them. I want to be around people who like me for me, not for the five minutes of fame they might get if I let them keep their Rolex watches for another week. (The watches are returned to the polished wood box prior to the ceremony, and the eliminated guys’ watches are removed. Jonah was very disappointed to learn he wouldn’t be getting a new one each week, and also that the winner is the only person who will walk away with one at the end.)

“Are you going to send Jonah home?” Harry asks, pursing his lips.

“Wait, you don’t want me to?” I ask in disbelief. “He was making out with Nana Mayberry.”

He lifts his eyebrows. “And you wereyou won’t say-ing withRowanMayberry. So maybe you have something in common. You both have a thing for the Mayberrys.”

I mime throwing up. “That’s vile, Harry.”

“My point is that you’re not in it for the right reasons either, or at least I hope you’re not. I’ve spent a little more time with the guys over the last couple of days, and…” He scrunches his nose as if he smells something unsavory. “Let’s just say, I couldn’t in good faith try to push you toward any of them. I thought Colton was okay, but then he told me a story so boring that I felt resentful about the two minutes of my life it stole from me. And I’m going to be totally honest with you, Marcus seems more interested in Jonah than he is in you.” He tilts his head. “Another good reason to keep Jonah around. He makes for good TV. Even better TV if someone finds out he’s seeing someone else.” He wiggles his eyebrows up and down.

“You want Nana Mayberry to get fired?” I ask, because I’m surprised he’d be so vicious.

“I didn’t say that. And I’m not saying that you or I should be the ones who tattle on her. If we’re lucky, it’ll all come out organically. But yes, obviously I want her to get fired. She calls me Sweet Tea because she spiked my drink at our first one-on-one meeting, and I passed out on her couch. Holly and her boyfriend had to save me.”

“What?” I ask in disbelief. “And you still came to work for the show?”

He picks up his hat and starts messing with it again. “I really did want to work on a dating show, and what was I supposed to do? Leave you here alone with her? No one deserves that.” He cocks his head. “Well, maybe Jonah would deserve it, but we’re not altogether sure he wouldn’t like it.”

“Huh, well, this is all certainly some food for thought.”

“Good talk,” he says, putting the hat back on and getting to his feet. He gives me a skeptical look. “You were just pretending to be sick, right?”

“I haven’t been sleeping well,” I admit.

“I’m going to ask Tina to bring you some of her sedative tea.” He pauses. “I don’t know how to say this and make it sound nice, but you’re not wearing that on the riding date, are you?”

“I’m still in my pajamas, Harry,” I say dryly. “I have the outfit that was selected for this outing, but I have to tell you, I think it’s ridiculous.” It looks like something an equestrian would wear in a Victorian novel.

“You should see what they have Jonah and Marcus in,” he says with a grin.

Then, because he’s a good friend, he gets me coffee while I change.

Jonah and Marcusare wearing identical equestrian outfits, only Jonah’s is white and red, and Marcus’s is white and blue. Their pants are baggy around their crotches and tight at their calves. We were supposed to take a nice, pleasant ride through the valley, but they’ve spent the past hour racing each other, although they’ve each circled back twice to pretend they wanted to talk to me.

The cameramen have been following us in an all-terrain van. Harry’s inside too, and every time the van careens past me to catch up to the guys, he gives me a wave of solidarity, his mouth in a grim line that speaks of motion sickness. Nana Mayberry is there too, sitting back with a dour look on her face. Maybe she was up late with Jonah.

The third time the guys gallop off, leaving me and my borrowed horse, Lady, in the dust, they don’t come back. The van follows them, and I’m left to make my own way to the valley where the picnic has been set up.

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