Page 41 of The Holiday Fakers
“Although after a session with him, I call him Major Ab Pains,” Brody continues.
“Really?” Mia asks, looking delighted. “Please let this be true!”
Brody grins. “Unfortunately, not. His name’s Weston.”
She sighs dramatically. “Well, you should still give his number to Hudson. He needs all the help he can get in the personal fitness department, especially after his poor showing in Hideaway’s Wife Carrying Championships last summer.”
Hudson growls and shoves an entire lobster roll in his mouth. They’re mini ones, but still.
Both Hudson and Mia are single. You don’t actually have to be married or even in a relationship with your teammate to participate, and Mia competes with her brother.
“Remind me who won this year?” Mia continues, an expression of pure innocence on her face. “And last?”
“Mia, honey, leave the poor boy alone,” Mom chides. “He still hasn’t processed the defeat.”
Hudson tries to speak, clearly taking issue with the worddefeat, but Mia holds up her hand.
“Not with food in your mouth.” She turns to Harper. “How’s your search going for a shop for your perfume business?”
“I haven’t found the right place yet. But once Christmas is over and the pop-up shops are closed, there should be more choices.” She looks between Mia and me. “You don’t seem surprised about Piper and Brody. Did you know?”
Mia shrugs and finishes her mouthful. “Piper didn’t want to tell you in case you freaked out. Also, she didn’t want to jinx it.”
“Jinx it how?”
“You know, how she’s finally landed the—ow!”
A lifetime of kicking my siblings under the table means I know how to make contact with the right shin. And I also know exactly where Mia’s motormouth was running.
There’s no way I want Brody, or the rest of my family, to know I was head-over-heels for him all those years ago.
“How did they re-meet?” Harper asks.
I wave across the table. “Hello? We are here, you know.”
“Yeah, but Mia will make the story way more exciting than it probably is,” she retorts.
“One hundred percent. So, a few months ago?—”
“Brody was dodging the paparazzi and slid into my booth at a coffee shop,” I say quickly. “We started talking and hanging out. I didn’t want to tell anyone in case it didn’t work out.”
Mia huffs dramatically. “See? Boring.”
“Not everything has to be a big drama,” Hudson says to her. “Nothing wrong with simple and straightforward.”
Which, of course, is nothing like the situation Brody and I are actually in.
“Is that a line from your online dating profile?” Mia asks Hudson. “Simple, straightforward, excels at coming second.”
Hudson raises an eyebrow at Mia and I watch her process the other meaning ofcoming second.
Her cheeks flush a deeper red than her hair, and she immediately changes the subject.
“Hey, Brody. You know you’re not the only new celeb in Hideaway this Christmas?”
Hideaway Harbor has always attracted famous people. They might like the patchy phone signal, the stunning scenery, or the small-town vibe. But they stay because they’re usually treated like normal people, and left alone.
“Amanda Willis is in town,” Mia continues. “She was great as an astronaut inLift Off to Love. Have you ever worked with her before?”
