Page 39 of The Christmas Playbook
“I’ve gotta record this.” Cammie snickers at my back.
My eyes water, and I don’t even know why.
Rhys and I are at an impasse. Our stares are locked on one another from across the resort restaurant, and I wish he could read my mind.
One of his friends nudges him with his elbow, and when Rhys doesn’t budge, he follows his line of sight. Suddenly, his whole posse is staring at us.
“Is that who you’ve been fucking?” one of them asks. His voice carries across the room. “No wonder you haven’t been hanging out with us the entire trip.”
My stepmom gasps.
I clench my eyes together tightly.
Could this get any worse?
“Jack!” a girl exclaims. “She’s with her whole family.Shut up.”
“I’m confused,” my brother says. “Aren’t you two dating? Why don’t they know?—”
“Dating?” someone interjects.
“Shutup,Thorne,” Rhys stresses.
Oh God. They moved closer.
I finally open my eyes, and Rhys is no more than a few feet from me. His lips are tugged into a frown, and I can tell he wants to help in some way, but he doesn’t know how.
I shake my head and look away.
When I turn to face my family, they’re clearly waiting for an explanation.
“No,” I admit. “We’re not dating. In fact, I hadn’t seen him in years until we ended up in the same cabin by accident.”
Cammie snorts while Rachel tries to hide a laugh.
“So you lied?” My mom’s shocked expression clearly displays her disapproval.
Cammie makes a noise of satisfaction. “Of course she lied. I knew there was no way he was dating her.”
Ouch.
I don’t even have it in me to stick up for myself.
It’s already embarrassing enough that this is happening in front of random strangers, but for Rhys and his friends to be standing behind me while I’m made out as the black sheep of the family is the cherry on top.
Instead of bickering with my sister, I scoot my chair from the table and stand abruptly.
My napkin, that my mother forced me to put on my lap, falls to the floor.
I attempt to flee, but stop at the last second when Rhys wraps his hand around my arm.
“Mira…” His tone is soft, like he only says my name for me to hear.
I shake my head and manage a tiny smile. “Thanks for making part of my trip bearable.”
I jerk my arm out of his grasp, and he lets me go willingly. I walk out the door with my arms crossed over my chest, as if they’ll be able to catch my bleeding heart as it falls right out of my chest and onto the snowy ground below.
CHAPTER 17
