Page 75 of A Merry Mountain Christmas

“I like your natural flow of conversation,” Oliver tells him with a smile. “It’s unlike anyone else’s.”

“We don’t do anything,” I insist, earning me surprised looks from all of them. “We leave the decision to Kennedy.”

“Way to bait and switch, Ro,” Holly tells me. “You’re the one who’s been gung-ho on the sabotage mission from day one.”

“Wait, what?” Harry says, frowning. Half a second later, his eyes widen and he points an accusatory finger at me like Donald Sutherland in that peapod people movie. Yeah, it’s old. We only owned about five movies as kids. “It was you. You turned Kennedy orange.”

I sigh and hand the phone over to Holly, who takes it with a look of contrition in her eyes. “Yeah, I did,” I say. “She knows already, so I’m not going to ask you not to tell her.” He still seems upset, and I remember that he’s dreamed of hosting a dating show for years. So I’ve been shitting on someone else’s dream. Fantastic. “I’m sorry man. I fucked up. I just…my grandmother shouldn’t be in a situation of power. She’s not a nice person. I thought it would be best for everyone if I could pull that out from under her while it was still possible.”

“So your solution was to turn Kennedy orange?” he sputters in disbelief.

“Yeah, it sounds like a pretty shit plan when you put it like that.” I rub my beard. “Turns out I’m not very good at sabotage.”

“No, your grandmother’s much better at it. Still, I wish you’d told me.” His mouth twists to the side, then he flinches, so maybe the sudden movement aggravated the hives. “I actually thought you liked Kennedy. I told her—” He cuts himself off and shakes his head, miming that he’s zipping his lips. “You know what, I’ve gotten into too much trouble from opening my mouth when I shouldn’t. I’m going to mind my own business for once.”

Shit. Does he need to start now? I’m suddenly desperate to know every last word he said to her.

“Harry…Idolike her.” I swallow, thinking of the disappointment and hurt on her face. “A lot.”

Holly’s eyes immediately widen, and she looks gleeful.

“Yes.Yes,” she says with feeling. “I knew this was going to happen. You were such a Debbie Downer when I fell for Cole. You said you’d never let yourself fall in love, and now look how the mighty have fallen.”

“Are you calling him mighty?” Oliver snorts.

I simultaneously blurt out, “No, I’m not in love with her. That’s not what I meant.”

Except…I might not be all the way in love with her, but I can’t totally lie to myself. I’m partway there.

“Maybe I should come over,” Bryn says from Holly’s hand, surprising me because I’d forgotten the FaceTime connection was still open on the phone. “It feels like a lot of significant things are happening over there.”

“No, don’t,” I say, but it came out too harsh, so I add, “I’m going to bed soon. I’m really tired. Why don’t you go back to bed too, Bryn?”

“I like that plan,” I hear Rory say in the background. “But, hey, if you need anything, let us know, Rowan.”

Again, I know that he means what he says.

I hate asking my future brother-in-law for help. He’s beyond rich—he’s loaded. Which also means he has people asking him for favors every minute of the day, probably every second. I don’t want to be one more person holding out a hand. But some things in life don’t come cheaply, especially if you need them quickly.

So I sigh and bite the bullet. “Do you think you can get me a bulldog puppy?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

KENNEDY

“Stop glowering at them,” Tina tells Zach, but from the way she’s beaming at him, it’s obvious she kind of enjoys the glowering. Turning to me, she says, “So which one is he, Kennedy? It’s that Marcus guy, isn’t it? He’s pretty.”

Zach shifts his glower to her. “Pretty?”

“What? He is!”

It’s Friday, family day, thank God, and Zach and Tina are here. Tina, at least, seems pleased about it. Zach, who’s usually the life of any party, looks like he wants to be the death of this one.

Then again, he’s made it very clear what he thinks of me doing this show. Unlike our parents, he isn’t worried about how the publicity will reflect on him. His objections are twofold. He doesn’t think much of Maeve Mayberry—join the club—or of the kind of man who would willingly appear on a dating show—fair enough, as I’ve come to realize. We’re at a happy hour in the ballroom, enjoying appetizers and another champagne tower that Jonah hasn’t learned enough to stay away from, and Tina and Zach have hustled me over to a corner of the room to discuss the various guys. It would feel more intimate, more like a real family meeting, if there weren’t a cameraman hunched on hisheels across from us, soaking in every moment and making it belong toMatchmaking the Rich.

I keep looking at the doors as if Rowan might stroll right in, but there’s no sign of him, of course. I haven’t seen or heard from him since he left, and even though it makes me feel helpless and angry and sad to admit it to myself, maybe I won’t. I tell myself it’s for the best. Yes, I feel a deep connection to him. He’s gorgeous and intense and soulful and so much more than the front he puts on for the world. But he’s also the man who turned me orange.

The room is warm tonight because he isn’t downstairs messing with the radiator, but I can’t deny that I want to be here about as much as Zach does.I don’t want to do this anymore.Idowant Leto’s Hands to survive—I need it to—but it’s starting to feel like I’m no better than these guys. None of us are here because we believe in the show’s premise.

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