Page 139 of Love is a Game

Laurie blinks rapidly, like she’s trying to send a Morse code distress signal.

“Uh—yes,” she says quickly. “Er…” She glances at Sean. “I mean, I don’t know. What do I mean, Sean?”

Sean gathers the ice bags. “I think you mean we’ll head off to our…event. Great seeing you!” He makes to go, obviously anxious to wrap this up.

“Right, well, since you got the ice, I guess we’re good to go.” Molly shifts awkwardly, glancing at me. “See you…uh…see you there?”

I frown. “Where? I’m headed to Pen’s house.”

Finn’s brows furrow. “Yeah, but—”

Laurie hesitates, wincing at Finn as she grips two ice bags. “I think there’s been some confusion.”

“He’s supposed to go to the location,” Molly mumbles under her breath.

I snap my attention to her. “What location? What’s going on?”

Sean leans toward Laurie, whispering like I’m not standing right there. “What are we supposed to tell him?”

Okay. Something is definitely up.

I pull out my phone. “Look—I’m just gonna call Pen and—”

“No!” Laurie shouts in panic.

I back away, hands in the air. What the fuck?

Suddenly, another voice chimes in from behind me.

“Molly? Finn? What’s the holdup?” Violet joins us, impatiently jiggling her keys. “Wow, quite a crowd we have here!”

I quickly roll off a second wave of introductions to Sean and Laurie, hoping Violet can cut through the ridiculous haze of confusion they’ve created.

Meanwhile, Finn shoots her a desperate look.

“Er, Violet…Tuck’s like, clueless. He thinks he’s going to Pen’shouse.”

“And these guys are pretty insistent that’snotthe right thing to do,” I add. “But won’t say why.”

Violet barely hesitates, putting on a beaming smile. “Oh! Well, that’s easy!”

“It is?” Laurie’s shoulders sag like she’s just been saved.

Everyone looks to Violet expectantly. Except…Violet isn’t speaking.

“…So?” I prompt. “What’s the deal here, Violet?”

She looks at the ring of faces. “Well…it’s thethird Sundayof the month, right?”

A few vague murmurs of agreement ripple through the group.

I squint. “Yeah? And?”

Violet lifts her chin, gaining momentum. “So, on the third Sunday of the month…we celebrate!”

I frown. “Celebrate what?”

She waves her arms in a grand gesture. “The joys of living in beautiful Blue Mountain Lake! We are so blessed in this part of the world that we have a tradition—every month, we pick a stunning location and host a get-together!”

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