Page 93 of The Holiday Fakers
“Not true.”
“Hey, whose story is this?”
“I know how it ends already.”
“You do?”
“Yep. The handsome and big-headed young man realized that other people liked looking at him, and so if he left Hideaw—the magical kingdom by the sea—he could get a job modeling ye olde latest fashions.”
“That’s not the whole story. You forgot to mention how the young man didn’t feel worthy, and so, by gathering wealth and admiration, he could prove to himself and everyone else that he had made something of his life.”
“You didn’t need to prove anything to us. You were perf—fine, just the way you were.”
Does she mean I’m not fine anymore?
It doesn’t matter. I’m channeling Braveheart, not Faintheart, and we’re nearly at the reserve. Time to go for broke.
“But that wasn’t his biggest problem. He’d done something very, very bad.”
“What?”
I take a breath. “The handsome young man had fallen in love with his best friend’s younger sister.”
Piper stumbles, and I catch her arm, hauling her against my body before she falls.
We’re standing, breathing heavily. My eyes on her, hers on the snowy ground.
“He was in love with her for years,” I continue quickly. “But he knew he could never do anything about it. She was too young, he needed to earn enough money before he could ask for her hand, and?—”
“Come on, lovebirds!” Erica calls back to us. “The boys are up ahead with Martha!”
Temporary tents have been set up outside the community hall for registering the competitors and for serving food and drink. Piper’s dad is standing by one with Hudson, Ethan, and Martha, who’s being held by her father.
Still clutching my arm, Piper leads us forward, her feet kicking the snow like she’s forgotten how to walk properly.
“I don’t understand,” she finally says. “You never … I never … Why?”
“I never said or did anything because I knew I couldn’t.”
“Why not?”
I don’t answer immediately, and she pulls on my arm, forcing me to look at her. Her face is pinched with pain and confusion.
“Why not, Brody?”
“Because I promised Ethan I wouldn’t.”
CHAPTER 18
PIPER
“Yoo-hoo!” Mom calls over to Dad. “We’re here!”
I’m having an out-of-body experience, watching my legs move like they belong to someone else, while every cell inside me screams, “Brody was in love with me!”
I don’t even stop to question whether he was talking about me or Harper. I just know.
The memory of our almost-kiss on the porch when I was sixteen hums in the air. It echoes from the past, like I could reach out and touch it. Hedidwant to kiss me back then. I hadn’t imagined it. And the reason he didn’t—well, one of them, anyway—is standing in front of us now.
